Dayana Mendoza

Dayana Mendoza
Born Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada
(1986-06-01) June 1, 1986
Caracas, Venezuela
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair color Light Brown[1]
Eye color Green[1]
Major
competition(s)		 Elite Model Look International 2001 (Top 15 semifinalist)[2]
Miss Venezuela 2007 (Winner)
Miss Universe 2008 (Winner)

Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada (born June 1, 1986) is a Venezuelan model, beauty queen and actress, 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 2008

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 apartment, luxury apartment, and a gift bag stuffed with designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a $100,000 stipend for a two-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

Mendoza in the Amazonas state, Venezuela

Mendoza was a contestant on the 2012 season of the NBC reality competition series The 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 after beining Top 15 semifinalist at the Elite Model Look International 2001 held in Nice, France.[2] She has worked with the companies Max Mara and Costume National, where she modeled in New York City, Italy, Germany, France, Greece and Spain for Versace, Roberto Cavalli and other fashion designers over eight years. She speaks Spanish, English and Italian fluently.[16]

After Elite, she signed to Trump Model Management since 2009, and in Milan with 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 March 27, 2009, Mendoza documented a visit to Guantanamo Bay detention camp on her personal 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 April 1, 2009, the entry vanished from her blog.[23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3
  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. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. 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". GMA News and Public Affairs. 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, The Times of India
  18. ↑ "10 stories that could be April Fools... but aren't". BBC News. April 1, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  19. ↑ Mackey, Robert (March 30, 2009). "Miss Universe Visits Guantánamo Bay". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  20. ↑ ""Guantanamo 'fun' - Miss Universe"". BBC News. April 1, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Guantanamo Bay" MissUniverse.com dated March 31, 2009. Retrieved on April 1, 2009.
  22. ↑ "Dayana Mendoza dice que se divirtió mucho en Guantánamo". El Universal (in Spanish). March 31, 2009. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  23. ↑ Mackey, Robert (April 1, 2009). "Miss Universe's Blog Post on Guantánamo Vanishes". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
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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