Sparkle actress Roxie Smith said having multiple dreams, and the privilege to be allowed to pursue them, motivated her decision to sash up and represent her hometown Baguio City in the upcoming Miss Universe Philippines pageant.

“It just so happens that I was born with multiple dreams. I want to remind women that they are allowed to dream boldly– whether it is to be a mom, a business woman, an actress, or a beauty queen,” said the 29-year-old beauty queen during the closed door MUPH 2026 Preliminary Interviews posted on the EmpirePH Youtube channel on Thursday, April 16. 

In the brief question-and-answer segment presided by MUPH Executive Vice President Voltaire Tayag, Roxie was asked why she wanted to return to the big stage six years after an accomplished year in pageantry. 

It is, after all, a comeback of sorts for the Baguio native – born Roxanne Alisson Baeyens to a Filipina mother and a Belgian father – as she last competed in 2020 where she won the Miss Earth PH crown and represented the country en route to a Top 4 finish in the virtually held 20th Miss Earth pageant.

Since winning Miss Earth, she had turned her focus to television acting and hosting. 

As such, Roxie wants her upcoming MUPH stint to also be a reminder that women are “capable of achieving anything you set your mind into.”

“I am happy I pursued both, and I feel like a winner already pushing past fear and reaching for the stars,” she added.

Asked why she should be the next Miss Universe Philippines titleholder, Roxie said she aspires to represent empowerment from an artistic standpoint. 

She wants to use her “deeper understanding” of what it means to advocate for women as someone who’s put in the grit in portraying different versions of a woman. 

“I should be the next Miss Universe Philippines because in my experience of being an actress I've had a deeper understanding of women– I’ve played a broken woman, a hopeful woman, an enthusiastic woman, and with those stories I found pieces of myself,” shared Roxie, “and that’s the core of Miss Universe Philippines– women empowerment.”

“And so I’m happy that I feel like I have a relationship with women and therefore can advocate for them, and that's what it takes to become a Miss U,” she concluded.

Roxie was also asked how she maintains her infectious positive outlook, to which she excitedly said that it’s all inborn. 

“I feel like I was always born with it! My mom would say I was very talkative. As young as the age of three, I would face the mirror and have conversations with myself. My bubbliness really comes from within,” she explained.

She takes pride in the innate skill and desire in “talking to people” and “having conversations."

“Fun fact, I have a long history of winning Ms. Congeniality!” shared Roxie.