FILIPINO-FRENCH beauty Gwendolyne Bolivar Fourniol, 21, has come back braver and stronger at Miss World Philippines 2022 after a respectable top 15 finish last year.
Eyeing the Miss World Philippines title because it will give her a wider platform to serve humanity by ensuring the education of marginalized children via ERDA Foundation, Gwen has, indeed, come back armed with her Filipino mom’s determination and inner strength and her French dad’s wit and intelligence.
On her second crack at the tilt, Gwen is now under the fold of Pro Media as one of its #ProMediaAthletes who are being holistically trained and professionally managed by a team spearheaded by its charismatic president Paul Izon Reyes and Belle Salon CEO Jam Aquino.
Gwen’s inner beauty is revealed by her involvement with ERDA (Educational Research and Development Assistance) Foundation, Inc., initiated in 1974 by Fr. Pierre T. Tritz, SJ, that help reduce the rate of school dropouts in the country by helping poor but deserving Filipino children have access to education.
Gwen’s connection with ERDA is very personal, beginning with her mom, Sim Fourniol (nee Bolivar) who escaped poverty via ERDA which helped her finish her education, obtaining her degree in AB Psychology from PWU, and eventually working in Europe where she met Gwen’s French dad Thierry Fourniol who is a software engineer. Sim now works as a nurse in England.
“In a way, I owe my life to ERDA!” Gwen revealed, continuing her involvement with the foundation by helping them with their humanitarian projects now that she is based in the Philippines.
Before her grand entry at Luxent Hotel’s ballroom for her meet-and-greet, Paul Reyes spoke about his passion on pure, unfiltered beauty which he shares with pageant scribes and bloggers, recalling how nature intervened at the rained-out Beach Beauty challenge of Miss World Philippines at New Coast Beach of Belmont Hotel Boracay last May 17.
The show went on amidst a heavy downpour with the ladies’ hair sprays and makeup washed out and sans their heels, sashayed in their swimsuits with their soaked skin shimmering on stage.
Quite particularly, Gwen stood out with her bare, unfiltered beauty, joyously communing with nature and giving her all for an awesome, unforgettable performance that earned her a much-deserved spot among the Top 10 Beach Beauty finalists.
We can’t wait to see how this exceptionally empowered Filipina who was born in Lyon, France and schooled in England (pursuing degrees in Economics and Modern Languages) and now raring to be the next Miss World Philippines, will face the succeeding challenges of the tilt leading to the grand finale at the MOA Arena come June 5.
As we write, Gwen has also made it to the top 5 for Talent and top 13 for the head to head challenge.
Oh, lest we forget, we’re also charmed by Gwen’s combined British and French accent and how she belts out with so much feeling the all-time favorite French song, Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose,” as she did at the Talent Challenge at Lucky Chinatown Hotel, like a true-blue belle femme.
Bonne chance, Gwen Fourniol!
