The 72nd Miss Universe announced the members of the selection committee who will help select the new Miss Universe in El Salvador on Nov. 18 (Nov 19 Manila time).

Filipino-American physician Dr. Connie Marano is among the members of the selection committee for the prestigious competition. Mariano served as a physician to former US presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Barrack Obama. She became the first Filipino American in history to become a Navy Admiral on July 1, 2000.

Other members of the selection committee are fashion model Halima Aden, actor-designer Carson Kressley, mixed martial artist Mario Bautista, director of program management at Roku Sweta Patel, Miss Universe 1977 Janelle "Penny" Comissiong, Puerto Rican actress Giselle Blondet, Denise White, Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere and social media personality Avani Gregg.

Dr. Mariano is the 12th Filipino to judge in the history of the Miss Universe beauty pageant. Other Filipino judges were: diplomat Carlos P. Romulo (1974), fashion designer Josie Cruz Natori (1989), singer Kuh Ledesma (1991), philanthropist businessman Don Emilio T. Yap (1994), Broadway star Lea Salonga (2011), boxing champ Manny Pacquiao (2015), Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach; New-York based Filipino-American fashion designer Monique Lhuillier and Louis Chavit Singson (LCS) Group of companies' CEO Richelle Singson-Michael (2018); Kapuso actress Marian Rivera (2021); and skin care expert Olivia Quido-Co (2022).

Who is Dr. Connie Mariano?

Acccording to a bio shared by the Foundation of Women Warriors, Mariano was born at the Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite City, Philippines in 1955. She is the eldest daughter of a career Navy enlisted serviceman and his wife, a dentist. When she was 2 years old, her parents moved to Hawaii. Her father served in the navy as a steward and eventually retired with the rank of Master Chief.

Mariano was the class of 1973 valedictorian of Mar Vista High School. In 1977, she received her Bachelor’s degree with honors in Biology from University of California, San Diego. After she graduated she joined the U.S. Navy. In the Navy, she received a medical degree from the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine (the nation’s military medical school) and commissioned as a lieutenant.

After her education, she began her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Mariano served on the USS Prairie (AD-15) in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific as the General Medical Officer and Medical Department Division Head from 1982-1984. 

Upon receiving board-certification in Internal Medicine, Dr. Mariano was assigned to the Naval Medical Clinic in Port Hueneme, California from 1986-1990 where she ran the Specialty Clinic and the clinic’s urgent care facility. 

In 1990, Dr. Mariano returned to the Naval Hospital in San Diego to become the Division Head of General Internal Medicine. 

Only a year away from being eligible for release from active duty, she was nominated by her commanding officer to serve as Navy physician and was personally selected by the incoming President, Bill Clinton, to be White House Physician and director of the White House Medical Unit. 

Dr. Mariano became the first woman in the military in to be appointed White House Physician when she joined the unit in June 1992, serving as a physician to President George H.W. Bush. 

As a result, she received an early promotion to captain on Dec. 7, 1994. In the autumn of 1999, Mariano was nominated by the President to the rank of rear admiral (lower half); she was formally promoted in 2000. She became the first Filipino American in history to become a Navy Admiral on July 1, 2000.

In 2001, completing 24 years of active duty service, Dr. Mariano retired as a Rear Admiral from the Navy and left the White House to join the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2005, she went on to found the Center for Executive Medicine in Scottsdale, a medical concierge practice which provides presidential-quality medical care to CEOs and their families.

Hawaii State Senator Will Espero, submitted Mariano’s name to President Barack Obama for the position of Surgeon General of the United States in May 2009.

She is the author of the book, The White House Doctor: My Patients were Presidents, A Memoir, published in 2010 by St. Martin’s Press. With a foreword from Bill Clinton, the autobiographical book takes a look at the personal lives of the three American Presidents and three American First Ladies she had taken care of while working as a Physician to the President.

An expert in presidential health care including the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, Dr. Mariano is a frequent guest speaker on television and print media on the topics of care to VIPs, presidential disability, travel medicine, and optimizing quality of care. Dr. Mariano is also a former radio talk show host of House Calls on the Voice America network.

72nd Miss Universe hosts

Eighty-five lovely contestants are vying for the title of Miss Universe.

Earlier, the hosts for the Miss Universe Competition have been announced.

Olivia Culpo and Jeannie Mai will return to the Miss Universe stage to host the 72nd annual competition, joined by television host, presenter, actress, New York Times-bestselling author, entrepreneur, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and host of “Heal Squad,” Maria Menounos. This is only the second time in MOU history that the show will feature an all-female hosting team. 

The show will also feature two backstage correspondents: Filipina model, singer, and television personality, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray; and Emmy Award-winning TV host, actress, and producer Zuri Hall, a co-host of Access Hollywood and NBC’s American Ninja Warrior.

Catriona and Zuri return after last appearing as the backstage correspondents at the 71st Miss Universe. Multi-platinum artist, EGOT recipient, songwriter, producer, and activist John Legend will also perform live at the event.