Maria Margarita Roxas Moran was born on 15 September 1953 in Manila, Philippines, to lawyer Francis Gonzalez Morán and Rosario McIlvain Roxas. Her father was the son of Chief Justice Manuel Morán and Nieves Gonzalez de Morán, a granddaughter of Don Francisco Gonzalez y Reinado, owner of the 39,000-hectare Hacienda Esperanza that covered the municipalities of Santa Maria, Santo Tomas, Rosales and San Quintin, extending through the rest of Pangasinan and the provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.[11][12][13][14] Her mother is one of three children born to Manuel Roxas, fifthpresident of the Philippines, and Juanita Muriedas McIlvain. Her siblings are Consuelo Roxas-Javellana and Manuel "Manny" Roxas, Jr.[15][16]
Moran graduated high school from St. Theresa's College[17] and attended college at Maryknoll College (now Miriam College). Prior to joining the Miss Universe pageant, she modeled part-time for the fashion designer, Auggie Cordero.
Moran won the right to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant in Athens, Greece, after winning the Binibining Pilipinas competition in 1973.[18] Moran said that she entered the contest because of the incessant urgings of friends and family. Moran, then-19 years old with a height of 5 ft 6 in, ultimately won the Miss Universe 1973 title and also garnered the Miss Photogenic award.[19] She is one of the only four Miss Universe winners to also win Miss Photogenic, the others being Margareta Arvidsson, Janelle Commissiong, and Denise Quiñones.
Her passion and experience as a dancer at the age of 18, prompt her to promote arts and culture with Southern Philippines Foundation for the Arts, Culture and Ecology.[3][4] She ran the over-all operations of Ballet Philippines as its president from 2009 to 2018.[5][8] In January 2018, Moran was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as member of the Board of Trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She was elected as the cultural agency's chairperson in April 2018.[6]
Moran was 21 years old when she married Antonio R. Floirendo Jr., who would later serve as representative of Davao del Norte's 2nd district. However, after 30 years of marriage, they are now living separately.[14] They have two daughters, Monica Danielle and Gabrielle Antoinette.[22]
