Dayana Mendoza

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Mendoza and the second or maternal family name is Moncada.
Dayana Mendoza
Beauty pageant titleholder
Born Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada
(1986-06-01) June 1, 1986
Caracas, Venezuela
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Measurements 33.5-23-35[1]
Hair color Light Brown[1]
Eye color Green[1]
Major
competition(s)
Miss Universe 2008 (Winner)
Elite Model Look International 2001 (Finalist)[2]
Miss Venezuela 2007 (Winner)

Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada (born June 1, 1986) is a Venezuelan actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 2008. She previously won Miss Venezuela 2007 on September 13, 2007 in Caracas.

Career

Miss Venezuela and Miss Universe

Mendoza after winning the title of Miss Universe

Mendoza beat 27 other candidates to win Miss Venezuela 2007 on September 13, 2007, and became only the second woman representing the Amazonas state to win, following Carolina Izsak in 1991.[3] She was crowned Miss Universe 2008 at the pageant in the Crown Convention Center, Nha Trang, Vietnam, on July 13, 2008.[4] Mendoza became the first winner of the pageant from Venezuela since Miss Universe 1996's winner Alicia Machado,[5] thus making her the first Venezuelan Miss Universe in the 21st century.

Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori crowned her with a tiara worth $120,000 USD. Her prize package includes cash, a year contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free, prestigious New York City flat, luxury apartment and a gift bag stuffed with designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a $100,000 stipend for a 2-year course at the New York Film Academy and free access to famous fashion houses and beauty parlors. Mendoza will spend her year-long reign traveling the world to lecture on humanitarian issues and to promote education regarding HIV/AIDS.[6]

As of June 2009, Mendoza as Miss Universe has traveled to Indonesia, Singapore, Italy, Vatican City, Spain, France, Nicaragua, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Bahamas, Russia, El Salvador, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Bolivia, Argentina, Romania and Vietnam, in addition to numerous trips around the United States and her homecoming in Venezuela.[7][8][9] Together with Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz, Mendoza was also used as the goodwill ambassador of Venezuela-based technology firm Smartmatic to thank the Philippines for entrusting the company the success of their 2010 presidential elections.[10][11]

Other appearances

Dayana in the Amazonas, Venezuela

Mendoza was a contestant on the 2012 season of Celebrity Apprentice. In Episode 3, "How Much is That Celebrity in the Window?", she was the winning project manager of her team on a task to create two themed living window displays for Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessory line, winning $20,000 for her charity, the Latino Commission on AIDS.[12] Mendoza notes in Episode 11, "Winning by a Nose" that she holds the record for being brought back to the final boardroom, having done so six times by that episode.[13] She came in sixth place after being eliminated in the 12th episode, "Jingle All the Way Home" (her seventh time in the boardroom), in which she was project manager of the losing team on a task to create a jingle and presentation for Good Sam Club.[14]

On June 3, 2012, Mendoza served as one of the panel of judges for the Miss USA 2012 competition.

Personal life

Mendoza was once kidnapped in Venezuela, and stated that the trauma taught her to remain poised under pressure.[15] In 2001, she signed with Elite Model Management and was a finalist at the Elite Model Look International 2001, in Nice, France.[2] She has worked with the companies Max Mara and Costume Nacional, where she modeled in New York City, Italy, Germany, France, Athens and Spain for Versace, Roberto Cavalli and other fashion designers. She speaks Spanish, English and Italian.[16] After Elite, she signed to Trump Model Management, and in Milan, Names Model Agency.

Controversies

Modeling photos

After photos of Mendoza modeling naked for a jewelry firm surfaced, officials from the Miss Universe Organization decided against penalizing her, saying that the candid photos were not pornographic but "artistic in nature, and they don't have an ounce of pornographic content to them."[17]

Guantanamo Bay visit

On 27 March 2009, Mendoza documented a visit to Guantanamo Bay detention camp on her Internet blog.[18] In it, she was quoted as saying, "[Guantanamo] was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful". She also stated that when she visited the detainees camps, "...we saw the jails, where they shower, how they recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting".[19][20][21] In her home country, Venezuela, the issue became the talk of the town, with the president, Hugo Chávez, reconsidering the praise he had previously given her.[22] The Miss Universe Organization has replied that "...[her] comments on her blog were in reference to the hospitality she received while meeting the members of the U.S. military and their families who are stationed in Guantánamo". On 1 April 2009, the entry vanished from her blog.[23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Profile of fashion model Dayana Mendoza". Fashion Model Directory. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Maxima Moda - Noticias
  3. Rodriguez, Julio. "They Have Been Miss Venezuela". Retrieved July 20, 2008.
  4. "Miss Universe to come to Viet Nam in 2008". Saigon Tourist. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
  5. afp.google, Venezuela wins Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam
  6. MISS UNIVERSE 2008 PRIZES
  7. MISS UNIVERSE 2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
  8. Miss Universo visitará El Salvador para apoyar campaña contra el sida
  9. La mujer mas linda de Argentina será consagrada en Mar del Plata
  10. Tan, Kimberly Jane (June 16, 2010). "No meeting with Noynoy for Miss Universe 2008 Mendoza". GMA News and Public Affairs. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  11. Tan, Kimberly Jane (June 15, 2010). "Smartmatic shows gratitude, brings Miss Universe 2008 to RP". GMANews.TV. Retrieved August 31, 2013.
  12. "How Much is That Celebrity in the Window?". The Celebrity Apprentice. Season 12. Episode 3. March 4, 2012. NBC.
  13. "Winning by a Nose". The Celebrity Apprentice. Season 12. Episode 11. April 22, 2012. NBC.
  14. "Jingle All the Way Home". The Celebrity Apprentice. Season 12. Episode 12. April 29, 2012. NBC.
  15. gmanews.tv/story, Kidnapping survivor from Venezuela is Ms Universe '08
  16. Dayana Mendoza - Miss Universe 2008
  17. Miss Universe - Dayana Mendoza, Times of India
  18. " 10 stories that could be April Fools... but aren't" BBC News dated 1 April 2009. Retrieved on 1 April 2009.
  19. "Miss Universe Visits Guantánamo Bay" The New York Times 30 March 2009. Retrieved on 1 April 2009.
  20. "Guantanamo 'fun' - Miss Universe" BBC News dated 1 April 2009. Recovered on 1 April 2009.
  21. "Guantanamo Bay" missuniverse.com dated 31 March 2009. Retrieved on 1 April 2009.
  22. "Dayana Mendoza dice que se divirtió mucho en Guantánamo" El Universal dated 1 April 2009. Retrieved on 1 April 2009.
  23. "Miss Universe’s Blog Post on Guantánamo Vanishes", The New York Times 1 April 2009. Retrieved on 1 April 2009.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dayana Mendoza.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Japan Riyo Mori
Miss Universe
2008
Succeeded by
Venezuela Stefanía Fernández
Preceded by
Ly Jonaitis
Miss Venezuela
2007
Succeeded by
Stefanía Fernández
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