Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada (born 1 June 1986) is a Venezuelan actress, model, film producer and director. She is also a former beauty queen, winner of the titles of Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008. Dayana Mendoza, in 2012, participated in ''Celebrity Apprentice'', with magnate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. In 2018, she ventured as a producer and director of films.

Personal life

Dayana Mendoza, was born in Caracas and her parents are Willy Mendoza and Laura Moncada from the states of Táchira and Aragua (Venezuela). Mendoza was once kidnapped in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and stated that its

psychological trauma Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. ...

taught her to remain poised under pressure. In 2001, she signed with

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) refers to two independent chain modeling agencies that originated as one in Paris, France in 1972 with subsequent locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London and Toronto. In 2004, the agencies in New York, Miami, ...

after being Top 15 semifinalist at the

Elite Model Look Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the in ...

International 2001 held in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France. She has worked with the companies

Max Mara Max Mara (Italian aks 'ma:ra is an Italian fashion business. It markets up-market ready-to-wear clothing. It was established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). In March 2008, the company had 2, ...

and

Costume National Costume National is an Italian fashion house founded in 1986 by Ennio Capasa, creative director, and his brother Carlo, CEO. It has its head office in Milan. The company produces clothing under the brands ''Costume National'', ''Costume National ...

, where she modeled in New York City, Italy, Germany, France, Greece, and Spain for

Versace Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as w ...

Roberto Cavalli Roberto Cavalli (; born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer and inventor. He is known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans. The high-end Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli sells luxury clothing, per ...

and other fashion designers over eight years. She speaks Spanish, English, and Italian fluently. After Elite, she signed with the

Trump Model Management Trump Model Management, later shortened to T Management, was a New York City-based modeling agency founded by Donald Trump as T Models in 1999. It was closed by Trump in April 2017, shortly after he became U.S. president. History In October 20 ...

since 2009, and in Milan with Names Model Agency. In 2012, she denied the rumors, that she had an affair with magnate Donald Trump. Dayana married businessman; Michael Pagano, on 6 December 2013. The wedding was celebrated in Altos de Chavón in the Dominican Republic. The celebration lasted three days. The former Miss Universe wore an outfit designed by the Venezuelan fashion designer Ángel Sánchez. Subsequently, on 7 June 2015, Mendoza announced on her Instagram account that she was pregnant and expecting a daughter. On 5 October 2015, she gave birth to Eva Mendoza Pagano in New York. In September 2016, Mendoza separated from Michael Pagano officially, declaring in an interview that the separation was carried out on good terms. In August 2020, she was baptized under the evangelical Christian religion.

Pageantry

Miss Venezuela 2007

Mendoza beat out 27 other candidates to win Miss Venezuela 2007 on 13 September 2007, and became only the second woman representing the Amazonas state to win, following

Carolina Izsak Carolina Éva Izsák Keményfy (born September 21, 1971 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan beauty queen who competed in the 1992 Miss Universe pageant on May 8, 1992 and placed fourth after being the leader of the competition that night. Early life Iz ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Miss Universe 2008

She was crowned Miss Universe 2008 at the pageant at the

Crown Convention Center Crown Convention Center is an indoor arena in Nha Trang, Khánh Hòa, Vietnam. It is the third biggest Convention Center on Southeast Asia, placed after the Sentul International Convention Center in Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Re ...

Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hòa District, Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh Distri ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, on 13 July 2008. Mendoza became the first winner of the pageant from Venezuela since

Miss Universe 1996 Miss Universe 1996, the 45th Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 17, 1996 at Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Alicia Machado of Venezuela was crowned by Chelsi Smith from the United States at the e ...

's winner

Alicia Machado Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo (; born December 6, 1976) is a Venezuelan-American actress, TV host, singer and beauty queen who was Miss Venezuela 1995 and then Miss Universe 1996. She was the fourth woman from Venezuela to be named Miss Univer ...

Miss Universe 2007 Miss Universe 2007 was the 56th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Mexico on May 28, 2007. At the end of the event, Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico crowned Riyo Mori from Japan as Miss Universe 2007. It is Ja ...

Riyo Mori (born December 24, 1986) is a Japanese actress, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2007 in Mexico City. Personal life An only child, Riyo Mori began dancing at the age of 4. She has studied at Quinte Ballet School of ...

crowned her with a

tiara A tiara (from la, tiara, from grc, τιάρα) is a jeweled head ornament. Its origins date back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women ...

worth . Her prize package includes cash, a year contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free prestigious

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

apartment, a luxury apartment, and a gift bag stuffed with designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

for a two-year course at the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, ...

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 The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. As of June 2009, Mendoza as Miss Universe has traveled to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, and

, in addition to numerous trips around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and her homecoming in

Modeling photos

After photos of Mendoza modeling naked for a jewelry firm surfaced, officials from the

Miss Universe Organization Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Str ...

decided not to penalize 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."

Guantánamo Bay visit

On 27 March 2009, Mendoza documented a visit to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp on her Internet

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

. In it, she was quoted as saying, " uantanamowas 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 entertain themselves with movies, art classes, books. It was very interesting." In her home country,

, the issue became the talk of the town, with the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

, reconsidering the praise he had previously given her. The

has replied that "... ercomments 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.

Artistic career

Dayana Mendoza studied acting and cinema at

, one of the most important film institutes in the United States, thanks to a scholarship awarded by the Miss Universe Organization. In 2009, she starred in her first short film Sweet Misery. In that year, she was part of the group of presenters of the morning show Venevisión, Portadas. In 2010, she hosted ''Relaxed'', a celebrity talk show broadcast on E! Entertainment, Latin America. That same year, she appeared in the music video "Bla Bla Bla". and accompanied Donald Trump to the island of

, where she recorded a golf program featuring the billionaire. Also in 2010, Dayana is part of the cast of the comedy ''Lord of the Dreams''. Dayana participated in the famous reality show ''

The Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States) Donald Trump from 2008 to 2015, an ...

'' with businessman Donald Trump, where she interacted with personalities such as

Lisa Lampanelli Lisa Lampanelli (born Lisa Marie Lampugnale; July 19, 1961) is an American former stand-up comedian, actress and insult comic. Early life and journalism career Lampanelli was born in Trumbull, Connecticut, to a middle-class family. Three of her ...

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...

and

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

. Dayana's participation in the TV program was involved in controversy, due to the alleged rivalry she had with the American comedian Lisa Lampanelli. In 2013, she played Jasmine in the short film, ''The Mermaid Complex''. In 2017, she starred in the movie ''Nothing's Fair in Love'', where she played Jessica. In 2018, she produced her first film titled ''Honey'', which received good reviews. ''Honey'' was recognized as a semi-finalist film by the Hollywood International Film Festival. In 2019, she participated as the host of the Queen Beauty Universe.

Other appearances

Together with

Miss Universe 1969 Miss Universe 1969, the 18th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 19 July 1969 at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Gloria Diaz of the Philippines was crowned by Martha Vasconcellos of Brazil at the end of the even ...

Gloria Diaz Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz (; born 10 March 1951) is a Filipino actress of film and television, model and beauty queen who rose to fame after being crowned Miss Universe 1969, becoming the first Filipino to hold the Miss Universe title. Early ...

, Mendoza was the

goodwill ambassador Goodwill ambassador is a post-nominal honorific title, a professional occupation and/or authoritative designation that is assigned to a person who advocates for a specific cause or global issue on the basis of their notability such as a public ...

of Venezuela-based technology firm

Smartmatic Smartmatic (also referred as Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) or Smartmatic SGO Group is a multinational company that builds and implements electronic voting systems. The company also produces smart cities solutions (including publ ...

to thank the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

for entrusting the company the success of their 2010 presidential elections. On June 3, 2012, Mendoza served as one of the panel of judges for the

Miss USA 2012 Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. This ...

competition. In March 2015, she appears in a commercial for a drink, along with Miss Universe 2012; Olivia Culpo of the United States and Miss Universe 2014; Paulina Vega from Colombia. The filming took place on the island of Bali in Indonesia. On January 6, 2018, Mendoza returned to the

, where she was crowned Miss Universe 2008, as a judge on

Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 was the 3rd edition of the Miss Universe Vietnam pageant. It was held on January 6, 2018 at Crown Convention Center, Nha Trang. Miss Universe Vietnam 2015 Phạm Thị Hương crowned her successor H'Hen Niê at the ...

Filmography

*2009: Sweet Misery (Short film.Natas Productions) ....... Protagonist. *2009: Portada's (Programa.Venevision) ........ presenter *2010: Lord of the Dreams (Short Film) ......... Supporting Actress (Isabela). *2010: Relaxed (Show interview.E! (Latin America)) ...... Hostess. *2010: Bla Bla Bla (Music Video) ......... Protagonist. *2012: Celebrity Apprentice (Reality Show, NBC) ... Participant. *2013: The Mermaid Complex ......... (Short Film) ........ Supporting Actress (Jasmine). *2017: Nothing's Fair in Love (short film, 1 More Mile Productions) .......... Protagonist (Jessica). *2018: Honey (Short film,Dayana Mendoza Productions in association with Jane Chae) ......... Executive producer and director *2019: Queen Beauty Universe 2019 .......... Presenter

References

External links

Miss Universe Official website

Miss Venezuela Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Dayana 1986 births Kidnapped Venezuelan people Kidnappings in Venezuela Living people Miss Universe 2008 contestants Miss Universe winners Miss Venezuela winners New York Film Academy alumni People from Caracas Participants in American reality television series The Apprentice (franchise) contestants Venezuelan beauty pageant winners Venezuelan female models Television controversies in Venezuela Venezuelan bloggers Venezuelan women bloggers