Dayana Mendoza

Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada (born 1 June 1986) is a Venezuelan actress, model, film producer, director and beauty queen.

Mendoza became the first pageant winner from Venezuela since Miss Universe 1996's winner Alicia Machado.

In 2001, she signed with Elite Model Management after being Top 15 semifinalist at the Elite Model Look International 2001 held in Nice, France.

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.

She winner of the titles of Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008.

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 in 1991.

Miss Universe 2007 Riyo Mori crowned her with a tiara worth US$120,000.

Her prize package includes cash, a year contract promoting Miss Universe, world travel, a rent-free prestigious New York City apartment, a luxury apartment, and a gift bag stuffed with designer shoes, dresses and beauty products, a US$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.

She was crowned Miss Universe 2008 at the pageant at the Crown Convention Center, Nha Trang, Vietnam, on 13 July 2008.

After leaving Elite, she signed with the Trump Model Management since 2009, and in Milan with Names Model Agency.

As of June 2009, Mendoza as Miss Universe has traveled to Indonesia, Singapore, Spain, France, Nicaragua, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Bahamas, Russia, El Salvador, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Bolivia, Argentina, Romania, and Vietnam, in addition to numerous trips around the United States and her homecoming in Venezuela.

On 23 August 2009, she crowned her successor, fellow Venezuelan Stefanía Fernández, at the Imperial Ballroom in Nassau, The Bahamas.

After photos of Mendoza modeling naked for a jewelry firm surfaced, officials from the Miss Universe Organization 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."

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

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 entertain themselves with movies, art classes, books. It was very interesting."

In her home country, president Hugo Chávez publicly reconsidered the praise he had previously given her.

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 was removed from her blog.

Dayana Mendoza studied acting and cinema at New York Film Academy 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.

That same year, she was part of the group of presenters of the Venevisión morning show, 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 Puerto Rico, where she recorded a golf program featuring the billionaire.

Dayana Mendoza, in 2012, participated in Celebrity Apprentice, with magnate Donald Trump.

In 2012, she denied rumors that she had had an affair with 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 and Pagano divorced with Mendoza declaring in an interview that the separation was carried out on good terms.

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

Dayana Mendoza, was born in Caracas to Willy Mendoza and Laura Moncada, from the states of Táchira and Aragua (Venezuela), respectively.

Mendoza was once kidnapped in Venezuela, and stated that its psychological trauma taught her to remain poised under pressure.

In August 2020, she was baptized as an evangelical Christian.