1. Zuleyka Jerris Rivera Mendoza was born on October 3,1987 and is a Puerto Rican actress, TV host, dancer, model, and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 2006 in Los Angeles.
23 Facts About Zuleyka Rivera
1. 2.
Zuleyka Rivera was previously crowned Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006.
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Zuleyka Rivera made her debut as a telenovela actress in Mexico's Telemundo's soap opera Dame Chocolate in 2007, which was followed by several other soap opera roles.
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Zuleyka Rivera had placed as the first runner-up in the Miss Teen Puerto Rico pageant.
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Only eighteen years of age when she was crowned Miss Universe, Zuleyka Rivera is one of the youngest women to win the title.
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Zuleyka Rivera represented her hometown of Salinas municipality at Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2006, held on November 10,2005, where she was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder and Miss Universe 2005 1st Runner-Up Cynthia Olavarria.
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Zuleyka Rivera is the second woman with noticeably mixed features to win Miss Puerto Rico Universe after Alba Reyes in 2004.
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Zuleyka Rivera represented Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe 2006 which was televised live internationally from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on 23 July 2006.
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Later that evening, Zuleyka Rivera fainted briefly during a press appearance.
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Zuleyka Rivera was the fifth Puerto Rican to win the title, which makes the island the third most successful entity in the pageant.
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Zuleyka Rivera was the third consecutive delegate from Puerto Rico to make the Top 5 at Miss Universe, after Alba Reyes placed 2nd Runner-Up in 2004 and Cynthia Olavarria placed 1st Runner-Up in 2005.
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Zuleyka Rivera is the first winner from Puerto Rico to have noticeably mixed heritage features, different from her four predecessors who have distinctly European features.
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Zuleyka Rivera's win came only five years after Denise Quinones, the most recent winner from Puerto Rico, won the crown.
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Zuleyka Rivera was based in New York City, where she shared an apartment with Tara Conner, Miss USA and Katie Blair, Miss Teen USA 2006.
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Zuleyka Rivera participated in a photo shoot with Kurara Chibana in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in Tokyo, Japan.
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Miss Universe Japan, and Zuleyka Rivera visited Mikimoto, the creators of her dazzling crown.
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On September 4,2006, Zuleyka Rivera returned to her home, Puerto Rico for an official homecoming celebration and parade.
18.
Zuleyka Rivera passed on her crown to Japan's Riyo Mori at the Miss Universe 2007 pageant, which was held in Mexico City, Mexico on May 28,2007.
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Zuleyka Rivera debuted in the 2007 telenovela Dame Chocolate with Carlos Ponce and Karla Monroig.
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Zuleyka Rivera had a small role on the film Runner, Runner.
21.
From late 2010 to 2013, Zuleyka Rivera dated Dallas Mavericks point guard JJ Barea.
22.
Zuleyka Rivera gave birth to her son Sebastian Jose Barea Zuleyka Rivera in Minnesota on February 18,2012.
23.
Zuleyka Rivera responded with a statement of her own alleging "false information" on Barea's statement.