Claudia Julissa Cruz Rodríguez (born February 5, 1986, in

Bonao Bonao is a city in the Cibao region of Dominican Republic. It is the capital of the Monseñor Nouel province. The city is located in the center of the country, to the northwest of the national capital Santo Domingo. The city is known as "Villa ...

) is a Dominican actress, TV Host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who represented her

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

at the

Miss World 2004 Miss World 2004, the 54th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 4 December 2004 at the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, China. The 2004 pageant marks the second straight year that Sanya played host of the pageant. Rosanna Davison of ...

pageant. After representing

and placing only as the fifth runner-up in the

Miss Dominican Republic 2004 The Miss República Dominicana 2004 was held on April 3, 2004. That year 34 candidates competed for the national crown. The chosen winner will represent the Dominican Republic at the Miss Universe 2004 pageant which was held in Santo Dominigo, Rep ...

pageant, which was won by Larimar Fiallo, Cruz decided to take another chance at the new revamped and independent Miss Mundo Dominicana contest. For the first time ever the contest would be a reality show, the semifinalists being narrowed down by judges and the finalists and winners based on public vote. Having received 66% of the votes, Claudia was named winner on October 10, 2004, only a month before departure to the contest. Despite the lack of time to prepare herself for the Miss World pageant, she won the title of Continental Queen of the Caribbean and finished as the first runner-up to the eventual winner,

María Julia Mantilla María Julia "Maju" Mantilla García (born 10 July 1984) is a Peruvian actress, dancer, model, teacher and beauty queen who won Miss World 2004 in China. Early life Born in Trujillo, Mantilla is the younger of two daughters of Olmedo Lucio Ma ...

from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. Cruz is the first Dominican beauty queen to have been elected by public vote. She is also the second-highest placed Dominican ever in the Miss World contest as she placed second, only Mariasela Álvarez has placed higher as she was the winner of

Miss World 1982 Miss World 1982, the 32nd edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 18 November 1982 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. The winner was Mariasela Álvarez from the Dominican Republic. She was crowned by Miss World 1981, Pilín León ...

. Cruz crowned her successor Elisa Abreu, on July 10, 2005. Claudia has a sister, sports reporter Carolina Cruz de Martínez, who is married to the famous Dominican pitcher

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

. Claudia converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

External links

Claudia Cruz Official Website

Miss World
1986 births Living people People from Bonao Miss Dominican Republic Dominican Republic beauty pageant winners Miss World 2004 delegates {{Pageant-bio-stub