Tracy Maureen Perez opens up on late beauty queen mom Chona Perez

Did you know that Tracy Maureen Perez has beauty queen blood running through her veins?

The newly crowned Miss World Philippines 2021 is the only child of the late Chona Perez, who was a Binibining Pilipinas finalist in 1979.

In an interview with GMA-7's "Unang Hirit," Tracy shared how she ended up following her mom's footsteps into the world of pageantry.

"To be honest, hindi ko siya dream [to be a beauty queen] noong super bata pa ako," she said.

"Parang jino-joke ako ni mommy na kinukwento niya 'yung mga experiences niya pero hindi po ako masyadong nakikinig kasi parang hindi ko siya gusto before. Pero noong na try ko siya one time noong college na po ako sa school, parang ang saya pala," she added.

["To be honest, it was not my dream (to be a beauty queen) when I was young. My mother was joking with me and telling me stories of her experiences, but I did not listen properly because I was not interested in it before. But when I tried it once when I was in college, apparently it was fun."]

READ: Your new Miss World Philippines is Tracy Maureen Perez: 5 things you need to know about her

The Cebuana beauty said she was a "miracle baby," as she was born premature and her mom Chona feared she would never get pregnant after getting involved in an accident when she was 18.

"As in sinabihan po talaga siya ng doctors na never na po talaga siyang magkakaanak kasi sa lahat ng operations na pinagdaanan niya and in the past hindi pa po masyadong maganda ang mga hospitals doon," Tracy said.

"Sinabihan po talaga siya na 30 years old na lang po 'yung lifespan niya, hindi na po siya magkakaanak," she added.

["Doctors told her that she would not be able to have children because of the operations she had undergone and in the past, the hospitals were not as well-equipped."]

["She was told that her lifespan is 30 years old, she would no longer have children."]

Tracy is set to represent the Philippines at the Miss World 2021 pageant this December, hoping to be the second Filipina ever to win the crown after Megan Young in 2013.

—Margaret Claire Layug/MGP, GMA News