At just 15 years old, Unica Raija De Vera has already carved a niche for herself in modeling, singing, dancing, and hosting. Hailing from the Philippines and now a resident of Qatar, this young talent is leaving an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, showcasing her unwavering dedication to her craft. 

In 2021, Unica was crowned Princess of the Universe, a title that further solidified her status as a rising star in the entertainment realm. With Unica’s belief that “a crown should not only worn in the head but in the heart”, she uses her title and continues her advocacy to help the poor school children in her hometown, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan in the Philippines. She has been doing projects like feeding programs and providing school supplies since 2017 when she won the “Munting Prinsesa (Little Princess) of Qatar 2017”. She is continually doing these projects, especially now that she is the Ambassador of the Princess of the Universe 2023. 

Photographer: Elmer Diaz

Unica is very active both in her academics and in the community. An academic achiever who consistently the Top of her class, she has won championships in various quiz bowls, poem and public speaking competitions, sportdances and singing competitions in her school Philippines School Doha. Aside from these academic winnings, her love for fashion is still evident every time she joined and won some inter-school modeling shows and beauty pageants. She is also very active in participating in the various activities of the Filipino Community in Qatar, and lately became the Stage Director of one of Qatar’s fashion show and beauty pageant-talent competition for little kids. 

Nobody can stop Unica from her modeling passion, as she participates in fashion shows locally and internationally.

At seven, she participated in the Qatar Fashion Meets Passion Fashion Show since 2015 and continuously attended the same fashion show in 2016 and 2017. After the pandemic, she continued modeling, participating in the Kulay Fashion Show in 2021. She also joined the fashion shows of Qatar-based designer Celso Collado Dahil in October 2023, June 2024, and July 2024. She was the only full-blooded Filipina model in the Doha Fashion show last May 2024 wearing the Mitch Desunia. Internationally, Unica was a runway model for the various Fashion Shows of Mitch Desunia in New York and London in 2023 and London and Milan-Italy in 2024.

Aside from the fashion shows, Unica has been featured in various magazines such as the World Fashion Media News Magazine-UK in 2022; the Harper’s Bazaar-British Magazine in July-August 2023; and the LLQ Lifestyle Magazine-Qatar in July 2023. 

As Unica is incessantly chasing her dreams, she is relentlessly inspiring the young girls, motivating them to go out and get their crown. Glam Team: Jenny Pascual, Marz Torres, Normie Starr