Angela Perez Baraquio
Encyclopedia
Angela Perez Baraquio Grey (born June 1, 1975 in Honolulu, Hawaii
), known professionally by her birth name of Angela Perez Baraquio, was crowned Miss America 2001
on October 14, 2000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey
, becoming the first Asian American
and first teacher ever to win the pageant. She participated in the pageant as Miss Hawaii
2000. A member of a now prominent Hawaiian family, she is the eighth of ten children (sixth of seven girls) born to an immigrant couple from the Pangasinan
province of the Philippines. A politically conservative, pro-life
Catholic, Baraquio has been publicly active in supporting various Republican
politicians and in speaking out against abortion rights. She is also an educator whose platform as Miss America
was character education
. Since 2004, Baraquio has co-hosted the eponymous Hawaiian television show Living Local with the Baraquios. She also helped host the Miss America 2002
pageant and has appeared as a panelist on MTV
's Pageant School: Becoming Miss America and on the conservative talk show, Hannity
, of the Fox News Channel
. Baraquio is also a professional public speaker and author and has worked as a celebrity spokesperson for a Hawaiian bank and a hotel. Married to musician Tinifuloa Grey and currently residing in California, she and her husband have two children and have started their own business, Isle Entertainment, a Polynesian
music and dance troupe in which the couple performs with others for group events. One of her sisters is Hawaiian media personality Bernadette Baraquio Hamada
and one of her brothers-in-law (Bernadette's husband) is Hawaiian conservative talk radio
show host and columnist, Rick Hamada.
Baraquio graduated from Moanalua High School
in June 1994 magna cum laude. Upon graduation, she attended the University of Hawaii
at Manoa where she graduated in May 1999 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education with an emphasis in speech. From August 1999 to June 2000, Baraquio was a faculty member at Holy Family Catholic Academy in the Salt Lake
subdivision of Honolulu. She taught physical education, was athletic director and coached basketball, volleyball and track. Baraquio was also choir director of the historic St. Augustine Church
in Waikiki
. Baraquio earned her Master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of Hawaii in December 2004. During her year as Miss America in 2001, Baraquio's platform was character education
.
In 2002, Baraquio married her high school sweetheart, musician Tinifuloa Grey. They have two sons, Isaiah and Michael.
Baraquio has worked as a celebrity spokesperson for First Hawaiian Bank
, First Hawaiian Center
, and the Four Seasons
hotel in Hawaii. Currently, Baraquio and her family live in Anaheim, California
. Baraquio is a professional public speaker and is also writing her first book.
While Miss America in 2001, Baraquio participated in the National Prayer Breakfast
in Washington, D.C., and was acknowledged by President George W. Bush
in his remarks. Bush said, "Angela, it's wonderful to see you again. Thank you for your testimony and your beauty and your grace." In June 2006, President Bush appointed Baraquio to the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
, where she served until November 2008.
In 2003, Baraquio hosted a series of television shows for Governor Linda Lingle
(R
-HI
), called "Talk Story with Your Administration," showcasing activities and individuals of the Lingle Administration.
The former Miss America was one of Senator Sam Brownback
's (R-KS
) earliest and most prominent supporters in the 2008 Republican presidential primary season
. She formally joined the Brownback campaign December 14, 2006, and served on his presidential exploratory committee, where her main task was promoting the conservative Kansas senator in her native Hawaii. She said she was drawn to the senator's strong opposition to abortion rights. Baraquio said, "As a Catholic, I am proud to support this wonderful man who believes in the sanctity of every human life." On January 20, 2007, Baraquio introduced Brownback at his presidential campaign kick-off event in Kansas. In her remarks, Baraquio said Brownback "is a man we can trust to take our values to the White House." Brownback withdrew from the presidential race on October 19, 2007, before any primary contests.
In late October 2008, shortly before the 2008 presidential election
, Baraquio released a brief video (available here on YouTube) for the JustOneJudge campaign, calling on voters to "vote pro-life
" in order to "end the reign of Roe v. Wade
" when deciding between Barack Obama
and John McCain
. She cited the effect "just one judge" appointed to the Supreme Court by either man as president could have in terms of retaining or rejecting Roe v. Wade. She said, "As a teacher and mother I see just how important it is to protect children. Did you know that in the United States, the most dangerous place for a child to be is in the mother's womb? If Roe is not overturned, the children I teach will likely grow up as part of a culture of death, learning that when we had our one real chance to end this atrocity, we didn't do enough."
Baraquio remains active in speaking out against abortion. CMG Booking an agency which specializes in booking prominent conservative Catholics for public speaking engagements, books Baraquio for events. On her page on CMG's website, Baraquio lists "Pro-life 'Whole-life' issues" first among her speaking topics.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
), known professionally by her birth name of Angela Perez Baraquio, was crowned Miss America 2001
Miss America 2001
Miss America 2001, the 80th Miss America, pageant, was from on the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 14, 2000 on ABC Network.-Placements:*Miss America 2001: Angela Perez Baraquio...
on October 14, 2000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, becoming the first Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
and first teacher ever to win the pageant. She participated in the pageant as Miss Hawaii
Miss Hawaii
The Miss Hawaii competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Hawaii in the Miss America pageant. Hawaii has twice won the Miss America title.- Winners :- External links :*...
2000. A member of a now prominent Hawaiian family, she is the eighth of ten children (sixth of seven girls) born to an immigrant couple from the Pangasinan
Pangasinan
Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers . According to the latest census,...
province of the Philippines. A politically conservative, pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
Catholic, Baraquio has been publicly active in supporting various Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politicians and in speaking out against abortion rights. She is also an educator whose platform as Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
was character education
Character education
Character education is an umbrella term loosely used to describe the teaching of children in a manner that will help them develop variously as moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant and/ or socially acceptable beings...
. Since 2004, Baraquio has co-hosted the eponymous Hawaiian television show Living Local with the Baraquios. She also helped host the Miss America 2002
Miss America 2002
Miss America 2002, the 81st Miss America, pageant, was televised live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 22, 2001 on the ABC Network. The pageant was won by Katie Harman of Oregon....
pageant and has appeared as a panelist on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Pageant School: Becoming Miss America and on the conservative talk show, Hannity
Hannity
Hannity is a television show on the Fox News network, a replacement to the long-running show Hannity & Colmes. It is hosted by conservative political pundit Sean Hannity....
, of the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
. Baraquio is also a professional public speaker and author and has worked as a celebrity spokesperson for a Hawaiian bank and a hotel. Married to musician Tinifuloa Grey and currently residing in California, she and her husband have two children and have started their own business, Isle Entertainment, a Polynesian
Polynesian culture
Polynesian culture refers to the indigenous peoples' culture of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. Chronologically, the development of Polynesian culture can be divided into four different historical eras:...
music and dance troupe in which the couple performs with others for group events. One of her sisters is Hawaiian media personality Bernadette Baraquio Hamada
Bernadette Baraquio Hamada
Bernadette Baraquio Hamada is an American journalist and entertainer from the state of Hawaii. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, she was one of the few Filipino Americans from Pangasinan on television featured on a regular basis in the state. Born and raised in Honolulu on the island of...
and one of her brothers-in-law (Bernadette's husband) is Hawaiian conservative talk radio
Conservative talk
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and Canada devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio...
show host and columnist, Rick Hamada.
Baraquio graduated from Moanalua High School
Moanalua High School
Moanalua High School is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1972 and graduated its first class in 1975, Moanalua High School is located in suburban Salt Lake near Moanalua in the...
in June 1994 magna cum laude. Upon graduation, she attended the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
at Manoa where she graduated in May 1999 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education with an emphasis in speech. From August 1999 to June 2000, Baraquio was a faculty member at Holy Family Catholic Academy in the Salt Lake
Salt Lake, Hawaii
Salt Lake is a suburban neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of O‘ahu. The area is also known as Āliamanu after a nearby crater, although Salt Lake itself is in a crater called Ālia pa‘akai — meaning "salt pond" in the Hawaiian language...
subdivision of Honolulu. She taught physical education, was athletic director and coached basketball, volleyball and track. Baraquio was also choir director of the historic St. Augustine Church
Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace — also known by its original French name Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix, its Portuguese variant Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz and its Hawaiian derivative Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui — is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Honolulu and houses...
in Waikiki
Waikiki
Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
. Baraquio earned her Master's degree in Educational Administration from the University of Hawaii in December 2004. During her year as Miss America in 2001, Baraquio's platform was character education
Character education
Character education is an umbrella term loosely used to describe the teaching of children in a manner that will help them develop variously as moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditional, compliant and/ or socially acceptable beings...
.
In 2002, Baraquio married her high school sweetheart, musician Tinifuloa Grey. They have two sons, Isaiah and Michael.
Baraquio has worked as a celebrity spokesperson for First Hawaiian Bank
First Hawaiian Bank
First Hawaiian Bank is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii at the First Hawaiian Center. It is a subsidiary of BancWest Corporation, which itself is a subsidiary of the French banking company, BNP Paribas...
, First Hawaiian Center
First Hawaiian Center
First Hawaiian Center is the tallest building in Hawaii.-Description:Located at 999 Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu near Bishop Park, the First Hawaiian Center is the world corporate headquarters of First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii's oldest bank and multi-billion dollar company established by Charles...
, and the Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. is a Canadian-based international ultra-luxury, five-star hotel management company. Travel + Leisure magazine and Zagat Survey rank the hotel chain's 84 properties among the top luxury hotels worldwide...
hotel in Hawaii. Currently, Baraquio and her family live in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
. Baraquio is a professional public speaker and is also writing her first book.
While Miss America in 2001, Baraquio participated in the National Prayer Breakfast
National Prayer Breakfast
The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., on the first Thursday of February each year. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide...
in Washington, D.C., and was acknowledged by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in his remarks. Bush said, "Angela, it's wonderful to see you again. Thank you for your testimony and your beauty and your grace." In June 2006, President Bush appointed Baraquio to the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was created by President George W. Bush in January 2003 by executive order. Its mission is to encourage volunteerism and to recognize the contributions Americans make through service and civic participation.In January 2002, President...
, where she served until November 2008.
In 2003, Baraquio hosted a series of television shows for Governor Linda Lingle
Linda Lingle
Linda Lingle was the sixth Governor of Hawaii. Lingle holds a number of distinctions: first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since the departure of William F...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-HI
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
), called "Talk Story with Your Administration," showcasing activities and individuals of the Lingle Administration.
The former Miss America was one of Senator Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
's (R-KS
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
) earliest and most prominent supporters in the 2008 Republican presidential primary season
Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
The 2008 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election...
. She formally joined the Brownback campaign December 14, 2006, and served on his presidential exploratory committee, where her main task was promoting the conservative Kansas senator in her native Hawaii. She said she was drawn to the senator's strong opposition to abortion rights. Baraquio said, "As a Catholic, I am proud to support this wonderful man who believes in the sanctity of every human life." On January 20, 2007, Baraquio introduced Brownback at his presidential campaign kick-off event in Kansas. In her remarks, Baraquio said Brownback "is a man we can trust to take our values to the White House." Brownback withdrew from the presidential race on October 19, 2007, before any primary contests.
In late October 2008, shortly before the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, Baraquio released a brief video (available here on YouTube) for the JustOneJudge campaign, calling on voters to "vote pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
" in order to "end the reign of Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
" when deciding between Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
. She cited the effect "just one judge" appointed to the Supreme Court by either man as president could have in terms of retaining or rejecting Roe v. Wade. She said, "As a teacher and mother I see just how important it is to protect children. Did you know that in the United States, the most dangerous place for a child to be is in the mother's womb? If Roe is not overturned, the children I teach will likely grow up as part of a culture of death, learning that when we had our one real chance to end this atrocity, we didn't do enough."
Baraquio remains active in speaking out against abortion. CMG Booking an agency which specializes in booking prominent conservative Catholics for public speaking engagements, books Baraquio for events. On her page on CMG's website, Baraquio lists "Pro-life 'Whole-life' issues" first among her speaking topics.
Media appearances
- Appeared as a guest on Late Night with David LettermanLate Night with David LettermanLate Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
- Appeared as a panelist on ESPN's 2 Minute Drill2 Minute Drill2 Minute Drill is an ESPN game show based on the general knowledge UK game show Mastermind. The program aired from September 11, 2000 to December 28, 2001...
- Appeared on Wheel of Fortune
- Appeared on Hollywood SquaresHollywood SquaresHollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
- Appeared on PyramidPyramid (game show)Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
- Appeared on Behind Closed Doors with Joan Lunden on A&EA&E NetworkThe A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...