10 Things to Know About Miss Philippines USA Turned fashion+tech Maven Nicole Guerrero

Written By Nico Belasco

Branching out of the Bay and into the Philippines was just one of many purposeful pursuits taken by San Jose, California-native Nicole Guerrero. This beauty queen turned fashion maven is taking the world by storm and paving her path, letting nothing stand in the way of doing what she loves. From the runaway of Filipino fashion powerhouses like Mark Bumgarner and Francis LIbrian, to the branding helms of global companies like Victoria’s Secret and OPI, Nicole is the ultimate multi-hyphenate to watch for. Here are 10 things to know about this phenomenal Filipina. 

1. She was born in San Jose, California

Nicole grew up in the Bay Area and was born into a family that was deeply rooted in Filipino culture. She grew up with Tagalog and Ilocano being spoken in the household and the smell of delicious Filipino food in the air. 

“I feel like the Bay has a lot of Filipino culture as well, especially like I have family that's in Daly City. And so I think a lot of people know Daly City as like Filipino Central as well. So Filipino culture was definitely prominent within my upbringing, eating Filipino food and then also visiting the Philippines. I think the first trip I had was when I was in the third grade. How old are you then? Like six, potentially seven. Yeah. So I didn't really understand, obviously, like going there. My mom was kind of just telling me to be careful and just stay locally when we're at our parents' house because I'm not as familiar with the area, let alone I can't speak Tagalog. I grew up around the language, but also my family speaks Ilocano, so it's kind of like Taglino is the way I call it. And so I can't differentiate. Sometimes I'll respond and then they're like, what language are you speaking?”, she shared.

2. She graduated from San Jose State University 

Nicole graduated from San Jose State University with a major in business administration, concentrating in marketing. Initially, she started her college years with the hopes of becoming a teacher down the road, however her knack for marketing quickly came to surface as she progressed with her studies. 

“So college was a unique experience. I went in wanting to be a teacher, which I still would like to do eventually down the road. So I switched my major to business after taking a career exploration class. My professor at the time was very frank and honest with me in terms of my trajectory and how I wanted to go about my career and told me, hey, like this degree will give you a teaching credential because I just would love to do elementary school teaching. So she's like, ‘You can get the best of both worlds. If you decide you want to do teaching right away, or if you decide you want to pursue your marketing’. In this class, I didn't realize I was already doing jobs within the marketing sphere. I was a cashier at my local pizza place, but my manager had asked me, ‘Oh, we have these events where we work flyers, like district events. Do you want to table’? And I'm like, ‘Sure’. I get paid on the weekends. Why not? To just stand around and say hi to people. Like, you know, you're a broke college student. That was marketing, which I didn't realize at the time. I was a commuter student in my first two years, I really wanted to do my best to kind of feel like college. So that's why I wanted to join a sorority. I wanted to get that full college experience. But it was a challenge. I would always go home. I had a boyfriend at the time who I decided to hang out with versus fostering those college friendships. And I was very career focused, which isn't a bad thing. I think I did the best given my circumstances and I really enjoyed San Jose state,” she shared. 

3. Her passion for pageantry started in college 

Most know Nicole for her popular stint in the Bb. Pilipinas 2019 pageant. However, most are not aware of the amount of preparation that went into her journey. Nicole took her first step into the world of pageantry when she was in the Miss Greater Bay Area pageant, where she was in hopes of advancing to the Miss California competition in the Miss USA system during her college years. She then went on to compete in the Miss Philippines USA pageant where she ultimately won the crown and broadened her horizons as she set out to compete in the prestigious Binibining Pilipinas pageant. This achievement led to her move to the Philippines and start a whole new life while in preparation for the competition. 

“Honestly, when they called my name, I had to look down. I'm like, oh, wait, that's me. And I was just totally in shock. And from there, I was like, Okay, cool. But then Mama J was a guest judge. And again, truthfully, I didn't know much of the pageant scene, let alone the Philippines pageant scene, which is another thing of its own. I had no idea about it. Everyone's like, ‘Do you know him? Mama J’? I did my research and we're talking big leagues! So when Mama J kind of presented this idea to me, it felt kind of very surreal. Again, just moving to LA, kind of dipping my toes into pageantry and modeling, you hear when you're young to be careful, right? You don't know if you're going to get scammed, this and that. So truthfully, I thought this was a scam. And I'm like, I'm an adult. I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to be one of those girls, but I am so glad it turned out obviously not to be that case. My mom was more than supportive. I gave her every reason. I told her, ‘Mom, it's one thing going there visiting, but I'm going to go live there now’. And then, I just moved to LA. I just got my big girl job. I was working at OPI doing global marketing. Now I have to potentially do this. This feels kind of chaotic, kind of irresponsible. But my mom was like, ‘Go! When are you going to get this opportunity again? If in three months it doesn't work out, you move back’. How many people can say that they can do that? And I was like, well damn, alright, I got to do this and see where it goes. One year turned into two years, then turned into two and a half years. So just getting that initial foot in the door was a crazy experience.”

4. She is a model 

While a lot of Nicole’s modeling career took place in the Philippines, she had an early start in the industry. As with most models of color, she experienced harsh criticism for her looks, getting rejected by respected agencies due the fact that they already had Asian-looking models. However, that didn’t stop her from achieving incredible accomplishments in the industry. Nicole has appeared on the pages of Mega Magazine and Cosmopolitan Magazine. She’s also worked with some of the Philippines most respected designers, including Rajo Laurel, John Herrera, Francis Libiran, Mark Bumgarner, and Puey Quinones. 

“It wasn't until pageantry and the opportunity that Mama J gave me and my experience in the Philippines where that really kind of changed and I was given that kind of opportunity. Modeling in Asia versus in America, I don't have too much experience so I can't speak on that, but my experience in Asia was also unique in itself. I feel like the beauty standards are just so different. It was definitely a shock to me when I started out there, because they are so small. I just personally did not fit into that mold. And I remember sometimes casters, you know, telling me, ‘Oh’, and I'm like, I work out twice a day and I stick to a strict diet. It's crazy because they'll feed us like Jollibee, McDonald's and all these foods on set. I'm like, this doesn't make sense. I'm confused. And then I think, you know, your genetics, your biology also plays into it. Some of the girls could eat whatever they wanted and still remain healthy. Personally, in my case, I think my weight fluctuates and it's pretty regularly normal where if I eat pretty bad it shows and if I eat healthy and I exercise you know my hard work is also shown so I had to be really really strict. That was also a challenge. Being in the industry, there is this thought, like what is deemed great? How can I, you know, make my bread and butter but still have so much fun? Like, you're kind of told growing up and in general, what to look out for in the industry and not to take things to heart. Beauty is subjective and not everyone's going to cast you for whatever reason. You're not going to be loved for whatever reason. That's fine. You don't want to be everyone's cup of tea. You want to be their shot at tequila, right? So I recognize not everyone's going to vibe with me, or I'm not going to fit the look that they're looking for, but you just keep moving on,” she mentioned.

5. She loves to thrift 

Nicole is a thrifter. If you were to look at her Instagram page, you’d see that thrifting is one of the many things that brings her joy. There’s no denying that her passion for sustainable fashion is an inspiration in itself. 

“It’s kind of like a treasure hunt, finding cool things. And just like, I think the Asian in me, Filipino in me, just likes finding deals. I'm a smart shopper. So whenever I'm looking for inspo, especially when it comes to events, you know, working in fashion, sometimes you just use an outfit once. You don't want to spend an arm and a leg when you know it's gonna maybe only get like X amount of life. So if I can get it on a deal I'm proud of that. I really look for anything and everything while thrifting. Some of my favorite pieces I do love to get are pants. I struggle finding great pants, but I've always found for whatever reason, amazing pants. I love getting jackets. I feel like a lot of people, for whatever reason, toss out their jackets. I like buying things off season. So now that summer's coming, I will go looking for winter stuff because it's going to be cheaper because no one's trying to buy that. That's another hack. Then I love finding vintage Coach bags or just like vintage bags in general. I'll find them in pristine condition for like on the low. I think, why would someone give this away?,” she said.

6. She is fearless in pursuit of the career that she wants (in tech and fashion)

Nicole’s resume consists of work with prominent companies in the worlds of tech and fashion. Some of the brands she’s worked with consist of powerhouses like Coach, Abercrombie, Victoria's Secret Pink, and LinkedIn. From coast to coast, she has proven to be an asset to every company that she’s worked with for her work ethic and ability to produce. However, her journey through her career wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies. 

“As I mentioned previously, I was working for a tech startup and that's the opportunity I had as an intern to kind of travel around the US. I was doing marketing and events there and then I also had a stint with Victoria's Secret Pink being a campus rep for San Jose State. That was like my intro to fashion, beauty, and entertainment. Eventually I moved to LA because, unfortunately, the Bay Area is more tech and medicine based. I got a job at a startup e-commerce company. Unfortunately, on the second day, I was let go because it was a startup. Understandably so, they gave me at least a month's notice. I think that kind of lit the fire in me. That's where I'm like, okay, let me look for other avenues and opportunities, which ultimately led me to OPI, where I was doing global marketing. Then from that, obviously the Philippines and then coming back during the pandemic, I worked at LinkedIn. My time at LinkedIn was coming to an end and I was very open and honest with my team, with my manager from the beginning. So when the time came, I was like, all right, let's go to New York. I originally didn't get the job at Coach that I was going for. And then two weeks before my move, I still was like, I'm going to still just move to New York. If I have to be a waitress for a hot minute, kind of figure it out, so be it. I just need to get there. Two weeks before my flight, I got an email from Coach saying a new role opened up and on the same team that I had interviewed for. If I was still interested, the job was mine. And then obviously in talks, negotiation, three hours before my flight, I got my official offer letter. I was just like on cloud nine. I was like, I'm moving to New York. I have an apartment. I got a new job back in fashion. Like, wait, this is working out for the best. Now we're here. We're doing e-comm and merchandising and I just bet on myself. I followed my dreams and I just kind of put faith into the universe and God that it's going to work out. If it's meant to be, it'll be,” she shared. 

7. She loves to travel

Nicole is a traveler. From traveling domestically to places like New York, Texas, Minneapolis, Atlanta in the United States to backpacking her way through Europe for five-weeks, there is no denying her of an adventure. 

“I did five weeks with my best friend from middle school. I think we went to 13 countries, 18 cities, and we spent like three days exploring each city and just really wanted to hit high, high, high spots, kind of all tourist-like attractions because it was our first time. It was such a fun experience. Like we did half hostels and half Airbnbs, and just really dove into the culture. I highly recommend it to everybody and anybody, especially those coming from America.”

8. She shaved her head in support of her aunt 

Three years ago, Nicole made the courageous decision to shave her head in support of her aunt who was diagnosed with breast cancer. In addition to opening up the playing field to a wide range of fun halloween costumes (like her fun Avatar inspired look as seen below), this act of love has inspired people across the globe to take action in meaningful ways and has shown us that supporting others can take the form of many things. 

“So being in the pandemic, I've always wanted to shave my head, but could never pull the trigger. When we found out about my aunt I was thinking of a way that I can support her. I feel like as women one thing that always comes up, I think with these types of situations with cancer patients and women in general, we hold our hair so much as our identity. I felt like having been a model, I totally understood that. I wanted to kind of share that journey with her, like figure out how to put on a wig, how to wear a headwrap, scalp care routine and all that stuff. That is another way I can support her other than taking her to the doctor, making food. And so, I took the liberty of shaving my head. I didn't tell her because I knew she would get mad, but she kind of was, understandably. I know she didn't want to feel like a burden but by no means was she.”

9. She is proudly Filipino 

When asked what it means to be Filipino, she answered, “The first thing that comes to mind is family. I feel like we carry so much of our family and our heritage in us and that's just what it means. I was just talking to my roommate about it. She's like, ‘Filipinos, you guys always are so bonded like family and just like it's communal’. Like everything is not just about you it's about not just your actual family but your chosen family, your extended family and I think it's just what makes us. Being Filipino is about family.”

10 .She has words of wisdom 

Her advice to those who wish to follow in her footsteps: “It's so cheesy, but honestly, just do it. It's hard, but you just have to believe in yourself. Like baby steps, whatever the ultimate goal is kind of looks like breaking it down. What can I do now to hit that goal and honestly just like you don't know unless you try.”

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Written By Nico Belasco

Photographer, Writer, Speaker, Podcast Host, Creative

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