Denny Mendez

Denny Mendez after winning the 1996 Miss Italy pageant

Denny Mendez (born on July 20, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) was a former beauty queen turned model who once represented Italy in the 1997 Miss Universe pageant. A native of the Dominican Republic, Mendez relocated to Montecatini, Italy as a very young child with her mother in search of a better life. Many of Mendez's aunts had relocated to Italy and had married Italian citizens, and after divorcing Denny's biological father, she relocated to Italy and married an Italian man whom she met while he was on vacation in the Dominican Republic. [1] Mendez, who had no formal training as a model was studying to become a tourist guide prior to enrolling in the pageant. Image File history File links Dennymendez073. ... Image File history File links Dennymendez073. ... Image File history File links Dennymendez96. ... Image File history File links Dennymendez96. ... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Santo Domingo de Guzmán, population 2,061,200 (Metro) (2003), estimated 2,253,437 (Metro) in 2006, is the capital and the largest city of the Dominican Republic. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Logo of the Miss Universe event. ... Montecatini is the name of several locations in Tuscany, Italy. ...

Her election as Miss Italia on September 7, 1996 in the Italian town of Salsomaggiore caused a little scandal throughout that nation. It was the first time that a woman of non-Italian ancestry was elected to represent the country in an international beauty pageant and many xenophobic Italian citizens saw it as a wake-up call for Italy to close its borders to further immigration. Two members of the judging panel were suspended for saying that a black woman could not represent Italian beauty. The news of the first black Miss Italy was carried to millions overseas via the popular African-American periodical, Jet Magazine. The author of the article wrote: Miss Italia is the name of a beauty pageant awarding prizes every year to young, female contestants from Italy. ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Terme Salsomaggiore Terme, is a village of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Parma, 6 m. ... Xenophobia means fear of strangers or the unknown and comes from the Greek ξενοφοβια, xenophobia, literally meaning fear of the strange. It is often used to describe fear of or dislike of foreigners, but racism in general is sometimes described as a... Languages Predominantly American English Religions Predominantly Christianity and Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... Jet magazine is a popular African-American publication founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company. ...

“Denny Mendez . . . born in the Dominican Republic to a naturalized Italian mother and an Italian [step]father, was named Miss Italy after receiving nine million telephone votes from the television audience.” Nine million Italians voted to shatter the prism of race, just by watching a TV beauty pageant and phoning in their votes! Beauty is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder, and the eyes of the world today are quite capable of seeing past skin color. The Italian people’s choice was Denny Mendez, notwithstanding the objections of a pageant official who said, “A black girl can’t be Miss Italy. It’s not in the rules.”[2]

Surprisingly with all the scandal surrounding her election, Denny was selected as one of the 10 semifinalists in the 1997 Miss Universe contests. Although she did not win the top prize in that pageant (Miss USA Brook Mahealani Lee was the winner of the pageant, which was held in Miami Beach, Florida on May 16, 1997), the publicity from the pageant helped her land modeling jobs among many of Europe's leading fashion houses and magazines. A beauty contest, or beauty pageant, is a competition based mainly, though not always entirely, on the physical beauty of its contestants. ... Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner who competed as Miss Kentucky USA Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley who competed as Miss North Carolina USA Miss USA 2004 Shandi Finnessey who competed as Miss Missouri USA The Miss USA pageant (not to be confused with Miss America) is a beauty contest that... Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee (born January 8, 1971), also known as Brook Lee, was crowned Miss Universe 1997 on May 16, 1997. ... Miami Beach is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ...

Today, Mendez is a popular television personality in Italy. She remains very active in the modeling world and has become a budding actress. Besides several theatrical productions, she has guest starred on many Italian sitcoms, dramas, and feature films, she also had a small role in the film Ocean's Twelve starring George Clooney and Matt Damon. Mendez is fluent in Italian and has working knowledge of both English and Spanish. Oceans Twelve is a 2004 film that takes place after the events of the 2001 movie Oceans Eleven. ... George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award and two-time Golden Globe winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, known for his role in the first five seasons of the long-running television drama ER (1994–99), and his rise as an A-List movie star... Matthew Paige Damon (born October 8, 1970) is an Academy Award-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning American screenwriter and Academy Award-nominated actor. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

References

• Bohlen, Celeste. "Italians Contemplate Beauty in a Caribbean Brow". New York Times, 10 September 1996

• Bohlen, Celeste. "Que Pasa, Miss Italy?". New York Times, 15 September 1996

• Jet Magazine. " First Black Miss Italy Picked Amidst Two Judges' Disapproval. Jet Magazine, 23 September 1996

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Jet magazine is a popular African-American publication founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

External links

• (Italian) Official Website
• (English) Denny Mendez on the Internet Movie Database
• (Italian) Denny Mendez Pictorial