Former beauty queen Mariel de Leon's dream to have her face on a billboard has been fulfilled.
Mariel, who represented the Philippines at the 2017 Miss International beauty pageant, shared on social media recently that her photo made it to one of the billboards at Times Square in New York.
"My photo was up in TIMES SQUARE for a few moments last Tuesday night! So crazy!," she wrote on Instagram, posting a photo of the same.
She extended her gratitude to New York City-based photographer Eric Vitale, as well as, to her agency, TRUE Model Management, "for taking a chance on me and believing in me."
Mariel did her first fashion show in New York City early this year.
The milestone was extra special for her as she walked the ramp for American reality star Kim Kardashian's shape-wear brand.
Mariel also shared how in the past few years she went through a lot of online bullying and body shaming but thankfully she can proudly say that what was perceived by many as “negative” about her was the very thing that got her the gig in The City That Never Sleeps.