Controversial beauty queen-turned-actress Maria Isabel Lopez continued to steal spotlight with her emerald evening gown when she wore it the fourth time around, this time during a guesting stint on a noontime program recently.
“Wala na ba s’yang ibang masuot na gown? Nalabhan na rin kaya ‘yung train ng gown nya? Mahaba ang train ng gown nya, I’m sure nakakawalis ’yun ng dumi,” said a beauty pageant fan who requested anonymity, after Lopez wore the gown as a contestant on “It’s Showtime!” aired on ABS-CBN.
Lopez re-enacted her scene-stealing red carpet walk in one of the segments of the noontime program.
The emerald gown designed by Albert Andrada initially gained attention when Lopez wore it at the red-carpet premiere of the Brillante Mendoza film “Ma’ Rosa” at the 69th Cannes film festival in May.
“Thank you #Albert Andrada for making me feel like Miss Universe,” said Lopez after her gown trended on social media.
Andrada is the designer of the royal blue evening gown of reigning Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach during the finals of the beauty pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada in December 2015.
Lopez said that she is overwhelmed by the attention of netizens who reacted when she turned the red carpet into her own runway.
“I love you all,” the actress said.
After Cannes, it seemed Lopez had never had enough of the evening gown when she later wore it in three local events.
Lopez rose to fame when she represented the Philippines in the 1982 Miss Universe beauty pageant held in Lima, Peru.
She did not place.
The pageant’s edition is still the highest-rating Miss Universe show of all-time, according to US Nielsen.
Earlier, Lopez had hogged the headlines when she traded jests with the late actress Ms. Rita Gomez, then one of the judges in the Bb. Pilipinas beauty contest, during the question-and-answer portion.
Rita: “Here’s your question hija, are you still a virgin?”
Maria Isabel: “If I say I still am, can I bring home the crown tonight?”
Rita: “Good answer!”
Maria Isabel: “How about you, ma’am, are you still a virgin?”
Rita: “Hija, I have five different children with five different fathers. What do you call that, Immaculate Conception?”
Lopez, who graduated fine arts at the University of the Philippines, has ventured into show business. She was previously married to Japanese Hiroshi Yokohama. They have two children.