The list of this year's participants to the prestigious Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant got some big showbiz attention after the public learned that actress and Starstruck triumph Rich Asuncion is in the roster. Aside from the honor of qualifying, it was a realization for critics and fans that the lady is on her way to following the footsteps of prominent showbiz personalities with beauty queen tags.

Belonging to Batch 4 of that famous TV star-search, Rich was dubbed as  "First Princess of Starstruck: The Next Level". This claim to fame sealed her a Regal Films contract and has already acted in a number of GMA TV teleseryes, including last year's "Kamandag" and "Boys Next Door" and the more recent "Magdusa Ka" and "Lalola." She is also part of the big GMA Artist Center where she is honing her talents as a rising star.

Being a Starstruck Alumni may have helped her earn a spot in the country's top beauty pageant. But Rich is more than just an overnight sensation with a pretty face. She is actually not new when it comes to joining beauty contests and she has since won in various competitions that bank on beauty, brains, and talents.

"I've been joining pageants even before and I found that the opprtunity has come for me to join the biggest search for beauties to represent the Philippine flag," shares Rich during a weekend interview a couple of weeks after she was named one of 2009's Binibinig Pilipinas hopefuls.

She first joined a pageant when she was just fifteen, ending up third runner-up for the Miss Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVRAA) in 2004. At that same contest held in Cebu she was also declared "Miss Talent" and "the Best in Fun Wear."

A pride of Bohol, Rich dropped her familiar screen name in exchange for the one written on her birth certificate: Richell Angalot. Without bragging about her steadily rising showbiz career, she made it into the final 24 out of around 170 girls, 36 of these underwent tough auditions and only those with enough composure and irresistible appeal got past through. She is just the second Starstruck alumni, after Ailyn Luna of Batch 2, who joined the pageant that produced now big names and former Miss Universe beauties Gloria Diaz and Margie Moran.

"I've really prepared for the pageant and in a way I've quite sacrificed my career for it," admits the stunner measured at 5'5" tall during the audition. She actually looks taller than that and really has the face to make heads turn.

Right moves for Rich  

Used to sacrificing priorities and repursuing unfinished business to good result, Rich has carefully plotted how she should run her career early in life. She considers grabbing the Starstruck chance and sidelining studies for a while as her life's turning point. No wonder she went back to school as soon as she was able to find time and continue her Tourism studies in UP Diliman.           

Aside from acting in GMA primetime soaps, Rich has also become a regular performer on SOP Rules. But then again with her big pageant duties, she once again had to put on the side her TV appearances and rather concentrate on the big challenge she dreamed of being part of.

"I wish to be an international beauty queen and be someone sharing the Philippine culture to foreigners", she points out with a smile, "Win or lose the experience of being a Binibining Pilipinas contestant has really helped me become better as a Filipina."

As expected, the 20-year old pretty star will go attending to her showbiz career again once her journey at the pageant reaches destination. Besides she is one primed to stay long in the biz, especially with an outlook that TV stars must have. When asked if intrigues can bring her down, she simply replied, "It's about handling things and you shouldn't be affected by whatever negative write-up that might come up. It's always the truth that matters most."

Once it has been rumored that Rich is pregnant minus the planning. She just shrugged that off since the truth is, she is a responsible woman, family-oriented, charming, and is doing everything to be a role model. Her Binibining Pilipinas stint alone is a proof.

Being a smart girl, Rich has filled her life with activities todays classy ladies go into. She plays guitar and listens to pop and hip songs. She is a fan of J.K. Rowling, a dog lover, and even plays basketball. Her favorite item amidst the troubles of the real word: rosary.

As a grade 3 pupil, Rich already performed in a play. As young as she was then, many from the townsfolks predicted her to be a would-be beauty star one day. Years back in a Santacruzan she  was chosen as muse of Bohol Lions. She was likewise declared female grand champion in a Campus Discovery competition.

All these analyzed, it seems that Rich is really made to become a beauty queen to look up to.