Karla Paula Ginteroy Henry (; born May 23, 1986) is a Filipino-Canadian beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned Miss Earth 2008, becoming the first Philippine delegate and the first in the Asian region to win that title.
Early life
Henry was raised by her grandparents until the age of four when her family moved to Tsawwassen, Canada, where they lived for ten years but frequently visited the Philippines for Christmas and summer vacations. Upon her family's return to the Philippines, they first lived in Albay, Bicol for a year then moved to Cebu.
Henry's father traveled often, and she transferred schools frequently. She graduated high school from Camp Lapulapu National High School and attended college at the University of Cebu. She holds a bachelor's degree in tourism and was working with Marco Polo Plaza Hotel when she was invited to join the Miss Earth pageant. She speaks fluent Spanish.
Henry's beauty pageant career began as a student representative her school for Miss Intramurals and Miss Milo Olympics. She joined her first professional beauty contest at age 17 in October 2003. In 2006, she was the second runner-up in the Miss Cebu pageant.
Growing up with her father, she considered him as the biggest influence in her life. She moved from Canada to the Philippines, but before joining pageants, she had a 9-to-5 job as an hotelier in Cebu. She then moved to Manila to participate in beauty contests.
Pageantry
Miss Philippines Earth
Henry was chosen Miss Philippines Earth 2008 on May 11, 2008, and was held at the Crowne Plaza Galleria in Ortigas, Mandaluyong, besting 40 contestants from all over the Philippines and Filipino communities abroad. On the pageant night, contestants were asked how they would explain the degradation of nature to simple folk. Henry gave the winning answer: "I will educate them by giving them an example; through my example I will give nature the best of me".
In a press conference, she narrated how the pageant influenced her: "When I joined Miss Philippines, there was a very funny story about the first day I saw the other girls, the contract-signing day with Carousel Productions, the pageant organizer. Miss Untalan (Miss Earth Foundation executive director) warned me, ‘If you’re here for the fame and glamour of being a beauty queen, then you’re in the wrong pageant. Here, we’re really serious about our advocacy. We really do get down and dirty with the activities that we do.’ I said, these guys are really serious. I should really join this. I pursued it and I have no regrets."
As Miss Philippines, she utilized her reign in promoting environmental awareness, working with Miss Earth Foundation through its project I Love My Planet Earth School Tour. Henry, along with her court has visited more than 20 schools and communities, teaching kids about the environment, through games, singing songs, storytelling, and even demonstrating how easy it is to plant trees.
Apart from the outreach projects, she travelled in June 2008 to Europe and participated in the opening of Expo Zaragoza 2008, an international exposition held from June 14 – September 14, 2008, coordinated by the Bureau of International Expositions held in Zaragoza, Spain, with the topic of Water and Sustainable Development that took place in the meander of the river Ebro and promoted the ecotourism of the Philippines.
On July 18, 2008, she served as one of the quizmasters of a history quizbee for high school students with disabilities as part of the activities of the 30th Philippine National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week, a project under the office of the President of the Philippines, which aimed on promoting greater access of disabled individuals to mainstream social activities.
In early September 2008, Henry, Miss Singapore 2008 Ivy Leow Kian Peng, and Miss Earth 2007 Jessica Trisko travelled to Singapore and to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. They visited the Miss Áo Dài Center and met with media correspondents at a press conference at the New World Hotel then visited the Cần Giờ Mangrove Forest, listed as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and an important wildlife sanctuary in Vietnam; she took part in the environmental activities as green ambassador and keynote speaker. Along with the other Miss Earth beauties, they also presented mid-autumn gifts to orphans, and participated in the activities of the International Tourism Exhibition 2008, where they met and interacted with the Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.