Vanessa Mendoza
Vanessa Mendoza | |
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Born | Vanessa Alexandra Mendoza Bustos (1981-07-25) July 25, 1981 (age 43) Quibdo, Chocó, Colombia |
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[citation needed] |
Beauty pageant titleholder | |
Title | Miss Chocó 2001 Miss Colombia 2001 |
Hair color | Black[citation needed] |
Eye color | Brown[citation needed] |
Major competition(s) | Miss Colombia 2001 (Winner) Miss Universe 2002 (Unplaced) |
Vanessa Alexandra Mendoza Bustos (born 25 July 1981) better known as Vanessa Mendoza, is a Colombian politician, actress, fashion model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Colombia 2001 being the first Afro-Colombian to win that title.
Biography
Mendoza was born in Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia in 1981. She grew up in a small town named Unguía. Mendoza grew up in poverty, and was one of her parents' sixteen children. Her father died when she was still young, leaving her mother to care for the family. Despite the poor conditions the family endured, Vanessa showed early interest in becoming a model, and began pursuing that career.
Mendoza became Miss Chocó in 2001, a year in which Miss Colombia pageant was facing a racism scandal. She became the first Black Miss Colombia, winning the title over first runner-up, Consuelo Guzmán Parra. Despite suspicion that she had won the contest so that rumors about racism would be eradicated[citation needed], Mendoza became popular among Colombians, who gave her the nickname "Black Barbie". Mendoza was the object of an official reception in Cartagena after her victory, where she declared that she was about representing her race and country.
Mendoza replaced Andrea Nocetti as Miss Colombia. Prior to winning Miss Colombia, Mendoza had the distinction of being the only contestant of the pageant's 2001 version not to admit having a plastic surgery for the contest. Mendoza participated in the Miss Universe 2002 pageant, winning the Best National Costume award.
On March 2, 2005, she and United States comedian Chris Tucker were the key speakers at a speech in Benedict College.
Politics
She won a seat as part of the black minority in Congress and became a member of Chamber of Representatives from 2017 to 2018.[1] Colombia's 10% black minority has the right to two of the 166 seats in the lower congressional chamber.[2]
References
External links
- Mendoza at Benedict College celebrity lecture series Archived 2006-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Vanessa Mendoza and the Miss Colombia 2001 fairytale
Preceded by | Miss Colombia 2001 | Succeeded by Diana Mantilla |
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- Piedad Mejía Trujillo (1970)
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- Aura María Mojica (1976)
- Mary Shirley Sáenz (1977)
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- Patricia Arbeláez (1979)
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- Julie Pauline Sáenz (1982)
- Susana Caldas (1983)
- Sandra Borda Caldas (1984)
- María Mónica Urbina (1985)
- María Patricia López (1986)
- Diana Patricia Arévalo (1987)
- María Teresa Eugorrola (1988)
- Lizeth Mahecha (1989)
- Maribel Gutiérrez (1990)
- Paola Turbay (1991)
- Paula Andrea Betancur (1992)
- Carolina Gómez (1993)
- Tatiana Castro (1994)
- Lina María Gaviria (1995)
- Claudia Elena Vásquez (1996)
- Silvia Fernanda Ortiz (1997)
- Marianella Maal Paccini (1998)
- Catalina Acosta (1999)
- Andrea Nocetti (2000)
- Vanessa Mendoza (2001)
- Diana Lucía Mantilla (2002)
- Catherine Daza (2003)
- Adriana Tarud Durán (2004)
- Valerie Domínguez (2005)
- Eileen Roca (2006)
- Taliana Vargas (2007)
- Michelle Rouillard (2008)
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- Lucia Aldana (2012)
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- Ariadna Gutiérrez (2014)
- Andrea Tovar (2015)
- Laura González (2016)
- Valeria Morales (2017)
- Gabriela Tafur (2018)
- María Fernanda Aristizábal (2019)
- Valentina Espinosa Guzmán (2021)
- Sofía Osío (2022)