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A lot of people know Michelle Dee and her famous parents Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez and action star Derek Dee.

But not a lot of people know that Michelle's lineage comes from a line of business magnates with a heart for giving back to the people.

This is what Michelle revealed during her head-to-head challenge yesterday, December 4, to host and former Miss World 2018 Vanessa Ponce de Leon.

“My grandmother was such an angel. She passed away five years ago and it was her death anniversary prior to coming here [to London.]

“And I really credit my love for giving back to her. She has spent most of her life giving back despite her position of privilege.

“She founded this foundation called Inner Peace Foundation and it's basically a group of people that come together to share their experiences and help each other grow. It's been in existence for more than I've been alive.

“It's just so humbling to have that kind of values and qualities that raise you because it really gives you a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a sense that you really just want to give back to people that helped you.”

According to Town and Country Philippines, Michelle's grandmother is Regina Y. Dee, daughter of Yu Hung-Chun, who was the premier nationalist government of Taiwan.

On its story titled “Newly Crowned Miss World Philippines Is Descendant of Chinabank Founder,” Town and Country Philippines wrote, “Regina was a swan of her time--simple and yet extremely poised. She was also very well-read and intelligent, having graduated Magna cum Laude from an American University.

Michelle Dee reveals her two siblings with autism drive her to fight for awareness

With that being said, Michelle then explained her advocacy on autism awareness to which she describes as her “lifelong mission” having grown up with two autistic siblings.

“Coming from the States, you really see the difference or loss of health services that are embedded in the community, laws, or even in the educational system which is absent in the Philippines nowadays.

“We don't have laws that protect autistic individuals, we don't have those health services readily available for them.”

She further added that she's been working closely with the Autism Society of the Philippines, which is the nation's widest and largest autism awareness community that spearheaded the National Autism Care Plan that is currently pending in the senate.

“The reason why I work so closely with them is that I recently made to the Mountain Province of Sagada. We catered to learning people with learning disabilities and disabilities as a whole.

“It really warmed my heart 'cause I saw people from five years back who couldn't even speak, couldn't even converse, and now they're speaking and having fun.

“And when I found out that some families would travel five or six hours by foot just to get to the institution, it really opened my eyes that this is how I want to help my country. I want to add these chapters to all these rural areas.

“In addition to that, the foundation also has a campaign called 'Autism Works,' where we give training to individuals in the spectrum to have a sense of purpose.

“Because the misconception on the autism spectrum is that they have no purpose, they can't do anything.

"But what the reality is if you give them the right opportunities, the right place in the world, they would feel like they belong. I want them to be happy,” she concluded.

IN PHOTOS: Michelle Dee's journey to the Miss World 2019 crown

Watch Michelle's head-to-head challenge in the video below:

READ: Michelle Dee plans to donate a portion of her winnings to patients with autism

LOOK: Michelle Dee partners with local brand to raise autism awareness