Zuleyka Rivera

Zuleyka Rivera Beauty pageant titleholder
Rivera at Antara Mall in Polanco, Mexico City, May 2007.
Birth name:	Zuleyka Jerrís Rivera Mendoza
Birthdate:	October 3 1987 (1987-10-03) (age 20)
Birth location:	Cayey, Puerto Rico
Height:	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Eye color:	Brown
Hair color:	Brown
Title(s):	Miss Salinas 2006 Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006
Major Competition(s):	Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006 (winner) Miss Universe 2006 (winner)

Zuleyka Jerrís Rivera Mendoza (born October 3, 1987 in Cayey, Puerto Rico, and raised in Salinas, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican beauty queen who has held the titles Miss Puerto Rico Universe and Miss Universe 2006. Presently she's making her debut as a telenovela actress in Telemundo's soap opera Dame Chocolate.

Miss Universe 2006

Zuleyka Rivera represented Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe 2006 pageant which was televised live internationally from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on July 23, 2006. After competing in swimsuit, evening gown and interview, she was crowned Miss Universe by outgoing titleholder Natalie Glebova of Canada. Her 1st runner-up was crowd favorite Kurara Chibana of Japan. Later that evening, Rivera fainted briefly during a press appearance. The incident was reportedly attributed to heat exhaustion (from the stage lights) coupled with the weight of the heavy, chained dress she was wearing.^[1] Rivera was the fifth Puerto Rican to win the title, which makes the island the second most successful entity in the pageant (behind the United States). Prior to Rivera's win, Puerto Rico had been tied with Venezuela, with each having won the pageant four times. Rivera was the third consecutive delegate from Puerto Rico to make the top five at Miss Universe, after Alba Reyes placed second runner-up at Miss Universe 2004 and Cynthia Olavarría was first runner-up at [iss Universe 2005. Rivera's win came only five years after Denise Quiñones, the most recent winner from Puerto Rico, won the crown. As Miss Universe, Rivera represents the Miss Universe Organization, both in the United States and internationally. She was based in New York City, where she shared an apartment with Tara Conner, Miss USA and Katie Blair, Miss Teen USA 2006. At the Miss Universe 2007 pageant she relinquished her crown to Riyo Mori of Japan in Mexico City, Mexico on May 28, 2007 before a predicted audience of 600 million viewers^[2]. Her reign lasted 10 months, one of the shortest in Miss Universe history.

A Year in the life as Miss Universe

After being crowned on July 23, 2006 in Los Angeles, Zuleyka was interviewed by many news teams in Los Angeles and when she arrived at her new home in New York. From the end of July until early August, Zuleyka traveled to Japan where she presented the Five Star Diamond Award to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo. She also participated in a photo shoot with Kurara Chibana, Miss Universe Japan (and first runner-up), and Zuleyka also visited Mikimoto, the creators of her dazzling crown. In late August, Zuleyka traveled to Indonesia where she attended the opening of a new spa, met with the Minister of Culture, and attended the Miss Indonesia Universe pageant where Agni Pratistha was crowned. While in Indonesia, Zuleyka also visited Bali. On September 4, 2006, Zuleyka returned to her home, Puerto Rico for an official homecoming celebration and parade. The following day, Zuleyka returned to her hometown of Salinas.[1]. As of April 2007, Zuleyka has traveled to the Czech Republic, Russia, Turkey, France, Greece, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand, and Brazil, in addition to Japan, Indonesia, and Puerto Rico. On April 1, 2007, Rivera appeared at Wrestlemania 23 along with Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith and Miss Teen USA 2006 Katie Blair, supporting Donald Trump in the Battle of the Billionaires match against Vince McMahon. She passed on her crown at the Miss Universe 2007 pageant to Japan's Riyo Mori, which was held in Mexico City, Mexico on May 28, 2007.

Family and Personal Life

Prior to winning the Miss Puerto Rico title she won the local pageant for her hometown of Salinas. She had also placed as the first runner-up in the Miss Teen Puerto Rico pageant. Only eighteen years of age when she was crowned Miss Universe, Rivera is one of the youngest women to win the title. She is also the first winner from Puerto Rico to have noticeable mixed heritage features, as her four predecessors (Marisol Malaret, Deborah Carthy-Deu, Dayanara Torres, and Denise Quiñones) all have distinctly European features.

References

External links

• An Interview with Zuleyka prior to her winning Miss Universe 2006
• Miss Universe official website
• Zuleyka Rivera on the Internet Movie Database