Stacey Gabriel (born 24 August 1997) is a Filipino actress, beauty pageant titleholder, model, and entrepreneur.[1][2][3] As representative for Cainta, Gabriel competed in Miss Universe Philippines 2024, where she finished 1st Runner-Up.[4] She is also known for her role as Master Sgt. Tricia Almario on the hit Philippine action drama seriesFPJ's Ang Probinsyano.[2]
Gabriel was born in Manila, Philippines to a single mother, and is of Filipino and Spanish descent. She was bullied in school,[5] hence finding comfort in acting, proclaiming herself a "theater kid" at an early age.[6][1]
Acting career
Gabriel made a deal with her mother that she would wait until finishing high school before pursuing her professional acting career.[3] After graduation, she started taking acting classes and eventually made her acting debut in a guest role on Ipaglaban Mo! in 2017.[1] Two years later, Gabriel auditioned for the hit Philippine action drama series FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano. She was cast by the star and producer of the show, Coco Martin, to play Master Sgt. Tricia Almario, a member of the crime-fighting Task Force Agila.[2]
In 2022, Gabriel made a career pivot when she joined Binibining Pilipinas.[3] During the televised pageant, Gabriel platformed a message of mental health de-stigmatization and stood up to revisionist history in a timely and politically motivated question and answer portion. Actor Joshua Garcia asked her, “Personally, how do you distinguish a historian from a Marites?[7] She answered:
"A historian is one who recognizes our painful past with factual evidence; looking back at our rich, vibrant, history, as well as the times when our humanity was trampled on and our heritage was almost erased. If we look at our past, we can surely move onward and upward, and rebuild, rise from this pandemic, and dream for a safer, healthier, and happier Philippines."[8]
Gabriel was deemed to have "won netizens' hearts" and finished with the 2nd Runner-Up title.[7]
In February 2024, Gabriel announced her return to pageantry as the representative of Cainta at Miss Universe Philippines 2024.[9] On April 20, 2024, Gabriel found success in the Swimsuit Challenge, a pre-pageant event held in Boracay. Garnering the most accolades of the night, she was announced the first-ever Miss We Sportz, as well as one of the eight "Aqua Angels" and one of the 20 "Arete Tagaytay Goddesses."[10]
At the Miss Universe Philippines coronation night on May 22, 2024, host Jeannie Mai announced Gabriel’s advancement into the top ten, then posed the impromptu question: "Tell me a juicy secret you have never told anybody else before." To that, Gabriel gave her now-famous answer:
"Are you kidding me? In front of the whole universe? Well, I guess the secret would be that I have so much hairspray on, I am extremely flammable. So don’t come near, anybody with a lighter!"[11]
Upon becoming a Top 5 finalist, Gabriel fielded another prompt from Mai during the Question and Answer segment. She was asked, "Women have inspired you all throughout your life. Now, tell us about how you have inspired another woman." Gabriel responded:
"You know, I’ve been told many times that I am too short to join a beauty pageant; but now, I realize that pageants are a representation, a reflection, of that very nation. And tonight, I am not only representing myself, but every Filipina woman who sees themselves in me. I hope to inspire every Filipina that just like the universe, we too, are limitless."[12]
While there were four other crowns available that night, Gabriel has since explained that she respectfully declined offers to be appointed a titleholder for a different pageant organization, choosing instead to remain Miss Universe Philippines 2024 1st Runner-Up.[4]
In April 2025, Gabriel was among the "top queens"[14] featured prominently in A Queen's Runway, a documentary film streaming on Netflix, which takes audiences behind the scenes of the Miss Universe Philippines competition.[15]
Charity work
In March 2024, Gabriel formally introduced the Daisy Legacy Ministry, a prison outreach program for incarcerated senior citizen women. Her dedication to prison ministry began when her late grandmother, Daisy, introduced her to the cause at age 14. Today, the outreach includes over 700 inmates at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, Philippines.[16]
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