Alicia Machado
- Actress
Venezuelan-born Alicia Machado is the daughter of a Cuban father and
Spanish mother who immigrated to Venezuela during the middle of the
1900s. Her father, a relative of former Cuban dictator Gerardo
Machado, fled Cuba and found refuge in Venezuela after the fall of the Machado
regime. Alicia began modeling at an early age before
winning the title of Miss Venezuela. After winning the 1996 Miss
Universe title (the fourth contestant from Venezuela to do so in the
pageant's history), Alicia became a media star; however, winning the
title came with a price. Alicia gained weight and was forced by pageant owner Donald Trump to
either lose the weight quickly or lose the crown. Many
womens' groups attacked Trump's ultimatum, calling it sexist and
discriminatory, but within a few months Alicia lost the weight and was allowed to keep her crown. Returning to Venezuela after her
reign, she transformed herself into a Spanish-language soap opera/serial
star. She shoots the serials in her native Venezuela and remains a major media star throughout Latin America.
