Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach[4][5] was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to a German father and a Filipina mother,[6] and has a sister.

[29][30] During the question and answer portion of the pageant she was asked by then-Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo: "Social media is now a very powerful tool on communication.

[31]On April 17, 2016, Wurtzbach crowned Maxine Medina as her successor at Binibining Pilipinas 2016 held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.

[32][33] Wurtzbach represented the Philippines in the 64th Miss Universe pageant, and won on December 20, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US.

At the national costume competition, Wurtzbach wore a white capiz terno with a matching fan and headpiece.

[39] She wore a black and white two-piece bikini at the swimsuit competition and advanced to the top ten.

[40] She wore Albert Andrada's figure-hugging, strapless serpentina gown, inspired by the Philippines, "Pearl of the Orient".

[43] During the first question and answer round, Wurtzbach was asked by host Steve Harvey, "Earlier this year, there was a controversy in the Philippines about the United States reopening a military base in your country.

[44]At the end of the contest, host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez as the winner.

However, after Gutiérrez's crowning, Harvey returned to the stage and stated that he had misread the results and that Wurtzbach was the winner.

[45] Wurtzbach is the third Filipina Miss Universe titleholder, following Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margie Moran in 1973, and was succeeded by Catriona Gray three years later.

[48][49] On February 1, 2016, she arrived in San Francisco to fulfill her duties as Inside Edition's special correspondent for Super Bowl 50.

[68][69] She was welcomed by the mayor of Machala, Carlos Falquez Batallas to the city and was named as an honorary volunteer of the Guayas Red Cross wherein she was invited to participate in the global appeal of raise resources to build 6,000 homes for the earthquake victims.

[71] In June 2016, Wurtzbach represented the Philippines and the Miss Universe Organization at a meeting of the United Nations that aimed at ending AIDS.

[72][73] As Miss Universe, Wurtzbach also visited Indonesia, Ecuador, Cayman Islands, Thailand, Panama, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.

[74] As a parting gift on her final official photoshoot, Wurtzbach was granted access to the elusive Mikimoto Crown.

On January 30, 2017, at the Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines, Wurtzbach crowned Iris Mittenaere of France Miss Universe 2016.

[77] On June 3, 2017, Liza Soberano portrayed the role of Wurtzbach in her life story on Maalaala Mo Kaya's episode entitled "Korona".

[89] Wurtzbach attended the 2024 Paris Fashion Week where she walked at the L’Oreal’s Le Défilé “Walk Your Worth” show alongside Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, Eva Longoria, Viola Davis, Camilla Cabello, Jane Fonda, and Simone Ashley, becoming the first Filipina celebrity to model in a runway show by a beauty brand at Paris Fashion Week.