Alicia Machado

Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈlisja maˈtʃaðo]; born December 6, 1976) is a Venezuelan-American actress, TV host, singer and beauty queen who was Miss Venezuela 1995 and then Miss Universe 1996. She was the fourth woman from Venezuela to be named Miss Universe.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Machado and the second or maternal family name is Fajardo.

Alicia Machado
Machado in 2016
Born	Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo (1976-12-06) December 6, 1976 Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Title	Miss Maracay 1995 Miss Venezuela 1995 Miss Universe 1996
Children	1
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Major competition(s)	Miss Venezuela 1995 (Winner) Miss Universe 1996 (Winner)

During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Machado publicly criticized the prior behavior of Donald Trump, who owned the Miss Universe pageant during her reign. She was mentioned by Hillary Clinton during the first 2016 U.S. presidential debate.

Early life

Machado was born in Maracay, Venezuela. Her father was a toy store owner who emigrated from Spain and her mother's family emigrated from Cuba prior to the Cuban revolution.[1][2] Machado took to performing at an early age. She began dancing at age 4 and acting at age 12.[1] Machado attended college for a year and half but left to pursue modeling and appearing in commercials.[1][3]

Career

Machado won the 1995 Miss Maracay pageant,[2] and then the 1995 Miss Venezuela pageant representing Yaracuy state and then the Miss Universe 1996 crown in Las Vegas. Early in her training, she refused plastic surgery recommended to her, notable in Venezuelan beauty pageant culture.[4] The runner-up, Jacqueline Aguilera, also won the Miss World 1995 crown, marking the second time that two Venezuelans from the same pageant won two world titles. Machado's reign came as American businessman Donald Trump took ownership of the Miss Universe pageant. While preparing for Miss Universe, Machado underwent intense dieting. Machado said that, when she won, she weighed 116 pounds and was anorexic and bulimic.[2]

During her reign as Miss Universe, Machado gained what she said was about 12 pounds in weight,[5] drawing considerable press attention.[6] The President of Miss Universe Organization denied that the organization was considering replacing her with runner-up, Taryn Mansell of Aruba.[2] After mounting pressure to lose weight from Trump and other pageant officials, Machado asked Trump to assist her with orienting toward a healthier lifestyle. Trump arranged for 80 reporters to "watch [her] sweat" in a gym, which Machado later called "in very bad taste".[2] Scandal that catapulted her directly to world fame, making her the most publicized and popular Miss Universe in history.[7]

In 1998 Machado had her first starring telenovela role as the title character in Samantha. In 2001, she had a small role on the international soap opera Secreto de Amor. During 2004–2005, she pursued a career as a TV commercial model with particular success in promoting a dieting product.

In 2005, Machado appeared on a Spanish reality show called La Granja de los famosos ("The Farm"), whose participation, generated headlines in Spain, Mexico, Miami and Venezuela, for having sexual relations in front of the cameras with his partner Fernando Acaso, while still committed to the Venezuelan baseball player Bob Abreu.[8][9] On February 19, 2006, Machado debuted on the Mexican reality show Cantando Por Un Sueño ("Singing For A Dream").

Machado appeared in (and on the cover of) the February 2006 issue of Playboy magazine's Mexican edition, becoming the only Miss Universe to pose nude for that magazine.[10] Machado was cast in the comedic soap opera Una familia con suerte where she played a woman who fell in love with her brother's enemy. The show began airing in Mexico in February 2011 and in the United States in October of that same year.[11] She again posed nude for the July 2010 issue of the Mexican edition of Playboy.[12]

On September 9, 2012, Machado was one of ten competitors on the third season of Mira Quien Baila. On November 18, 2012, Alicia won 3rd place in the 3rd season of Univision's dance competition Mira Quien Baila. In 2013, Machado starred as the protagonist of La Madame, a television serial produced by RTI Productions and RCN TV in Colombia. In February 2014, she joined Univision's beauty pageant Nuestra Belleza Latina 2014 as a mentor where she coach the participants on how to succeed in the modeling and television industry.

In 2017, she posed nude for PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur," ad campaign.[13]

Involvement in politics

In 1998, Machado publicly supported the presidential campaign of Henrique Salas Römer.[14] In 2010 she criticized populist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in an interview with Playboy.[12]

In July 2015, after Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign, Machado announced that she would publish a book detailing what she called his "abuses of power" and "racism".[15] She said that, during her year as Miss Universe, Trump called her "Miss Piggy" because she gained weight and "Miss Housekeeping" because of her Hispanic background. Trump's spokeswoman denied that Trump had made those insults.[16] Machado has repeatedly called Trump a "nazi rat", compared him to Hugo Chavez and Adolf Hitler, and said that he was capable of starting a new Holocaust.[17][18][19][20][21]

On September 26, 2016, Hillary Clinton brought up Machado's statements against Trump during the first presidential debate. The following day, Trump responded on Fox and Friends, describing Machado as "impossible" and saying that "she gained a massive amount of weight and it was a real problem. We had a real problem. Not only that, her attitude, and we had a real problem with her."[22] Later that week, Trump made a series of tweets in which he called her "disgusting," condemned Clinton's judgement for not "checking her past", falsely claimed she had appeared in a "sex tape", and baselessly accused Clinton of using her influence to help Machado become an American citizen.[23][24][25][26]

The tweets were condemned in editorials in the Los Angeles Times[27] and The Globe and Mail.[28] John Cassidy of The New Yorker wrote that Trump's "original comments about Machado reeked of sexism and racism" while his subsequent series of tweets "highlighted, anew, his impulsiveness and lack of discipline."[29] The following day, Clinton telephoned Machado to thank her for her support.[30]

Beginning in June 2016, Machado publicly campaigned in support of Hillary Clinton.[21][31] The Clinton campaign coordinated many of her media appearances, featured her in two online advertisements, and used her to introduce Clinton at a campaign rally.[16][32]

Personal life

In 1998, a Venezuelan judge accused Machado of threatening to kill him while he was presiding over a case against her then-boyfriend for attempted murder. Machado was also accused of driving the boyfriend's getaway car. Machado denied both accusations and was never charged with a crime. The controversy caused a media sensation in Venezuela unseen since the conviction of President Carlos Andres Perez.[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]

Machado once dated professional baseball player Bobby Abreu; the couple later split, calling off their engagement.[42][43]

In 2010, responding to being mocked on Twitter after mistakenly referring to North and South Korea as China, Machado closed her Twitter account and wrote, "I now have a lot of psychopaths on the account and it's best I start another one, kisses."[44]

Machado has one daughter. In 2013, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Machado underwent a double mastectomy.[45]

In May 2016, Machado became a U.S. citizen.[46]

Filmography

Telenovelas

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Samantha	Samantha del Llano	Protagonist
1999	Infierno en el paraíso	Marian Ordiales
2002	Mambo y Canela	Canela
2007	Amor sin maquillaje	Marina Fernández Rosales
2009–2010	Hasta que el dinero nos separe	Karen Sandoval	Supporting role
2009–2010	Atrevete a Soñar	Electra	Special appearance
2011–2012	Una familia con suerte	Candelaria "Candy" López
2012–2013	Porque el amor manda	Candela	Special appearance
2013	La Madame	Madame Rochy "La Madame"	Protagonist
2015	Lo imperdonable	Claudia Ordaz

Series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	The Nanny	Herself
2000	Estamos Unidos	Mari
2007	El Pantera	Diana Rodríguez
2009	Los simuladores 2	Camila	1 Episode: "El precio de la fama"

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Cansada de besar sapos	Cassandra
2007	Dios o demonio	Giselle

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Un amante a la medida	Linda
2010	Los Alacranes
	Hairspray, El Musical	Velma

Reality and game shows

Year	Show		Notes
2005	La Granja	Herself	Participant Finished 8th place
2007	Nuestra Belleza Latina 2007		Judge
2012	2012 Premios Juventud		Host
	Mira Quien Baila		Participant Finished 3rd place
2014	Nuestra Belleza Latina 2014		Participated as a mentor/team leader

Discography

Machado both wrote and produced her debut album, unusual in the genre.[47]

• Alicia Machado (2004)
• Si se Acabara el Mundo (2010)

Awards and nominations

Midia

Year	Category	Telenovela	Result
1998	Best New Actress	Samantha	Won
	It's the best history

Premios ACE

Year	Category	Telenovela	Result
1999	Best Revelation of the Year	Samantha	Won

Paseo de las Luminarias

Year	Nominee	Result
2010	In recognition of her artistic career in Mexico	Won

TVyNovelas Awards

Year	Category	Telenovela	Result
2012	Best Co-star Actress	Una familia con suerte	Nominated

Premios People en Español

Year	Category	Telenovela	Result
2012	Best Supporting Actress	Una familia con suerte	Nominated

References

1. "Biography of Alicia Machado". Terra. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
2. Martin, Lydia (May 16, 1997). "Miss Universe, Sizing Up Her Reign". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
3. "Fotos Y Biografia De Alicia Machado En La Telenovela Amor Sin Maquillaje". Retrieved October 3, 2016.
4. Stavans, Ilan (October 2, 2016). "Alicia Machado vs. Donald Trump's Machismo". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
5. Barbaro, Michael; Twohey, Megan (September 27, 2016). "Shamed and Angry: Alicia Machado, a Miss Universe Mocked by Donald Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
6. Winter, Jessica (May 17, 2016). "That Time Donald Trump Humiliated Miss Universe for Gaining Weight". Slate. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
7. "¿Por qué Alicia Machado es la Miss Universo más famosa y la reina del escándalo?( Why is Alicia Machado the most famous Miss Universe and the queen of scandal?))". Ahoramismo.com.
8. "Alicia, en programa de escándalo.In English:Alice, in scandal program". Eluniverso.com.
9. "Ex novio habla del escándalo de Alicia Machado.In english:Ex-boyfriend talks about the Alicia Machado scandal". Peopleenespanol.com.
10. Alicia Machado Pose For Playboy Archived April 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
11. Pérez-Duthie, Juan Carlos (October 20, 2011). "On TV: Machado opens Una familia con suerte". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
12. "Alicia Machado se desnuda para quejarse de Hugo Chávez". El Comercio. July 13, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
13. Kate Feldman, "Alicia Machado strips down for PETA ad — ‘I'd rather go naked than wear fur’" New York Daily News, 12 April 2017.
14. Jones, Bart. Hugo!: The Hugo Chavez Story from Mud Hut to Perpetual Revolution. Steerforth Press. p. 220. ISBN 9781586421694. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
15. Romero, Angie. "Ex-Miss Universe Alicia Machado to Write Book About Donald Trump's 'Abuses of Power' & 'Racism'". Billboard. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
16. Chozick, Amy; Grynbaum, Michael M. (September 28, 2016). "'She Has a Name,' Alicia Machado, and It Is Everywhere". The New York Times.
17. Blakely, Rhys (September 29, 2016). "Subscribe | theaustralian". TheAustralian.com.au. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
18. Paquette, Danielle (September 30, 2016). "'Public slut-shaming' and Donald Trump's attack on a former Miss Universe's alleged sex history". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
19. "Tras escándalo de Donald Trump, Alicia Machado lo compara con Hitler". Publimetro. Publimetro. June 25, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
20. "Alicia Machado arremete contra Donald Trump". elnuevoherald. El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
21. Mason, Melanie; Carcamo, Cindy (September 27, 2016). "Alicia Machado, former Miss Universe insulted by Trump, emerges as forceful Clinton ally". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
22. Diaz, Daniella; Merica, Dan. "'Miss Universe' tearfully thanks Clinton for defense against Trump's 'Miss Piggy' remarks". CNN. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
23. Donald Trump says he'll make President Bill Clinton's infidelity a campaign issue, CBS News, 1 October 2016
24. Trump bashes ‘disgusting’ former beauty queen Alicia Machado, accuses her of having ‘sex tape’, The Washington Post, 30 September 2016
25. Trump jumps into the gutter. Louis Nelson, Politico, 30 September 2016
26. As America Sleeps, Donald Trump Seethes on Twitter, The New York Times, 1 October 2016
27. Editorial: Dogged by tweets and taxes, Donald Trump proves yet again he's not fit to lead. Los Angeles Times, 3 October 2016
28. The real Donald Trump, everyone. The Globe and Mail, 2 October 2016
29. John Cassidy, The Meaning of Trump's Early-Morning Tweet Storm, The New Yorker, 30 September 2016.
30. "Campaign 2016 updates: Donald Trump discusses campaign, immigrants in video deposition over hotel dispute". Los Angeles Times. September 30, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
31. Barbaro, Michael (September 27, 2016). "Shamed and Angry: Alicia Machado, a Miss Universe Mocked by Donald Trump". The New York Times.
32. Alba, Monica (November 1, 2016). "Clinton and Alicia Machado make case against Trump". NBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
33. Kraul, Chris; Mogollon, Mery (October 2, 2016). "Trump says former Miss Universe was tied to a murder attempt. So what did happen in Venezuela?". Los Angeles Times.
34. Chozick, Amy; Grynbaum, Michael M. (September 28, 2016). "'She Has a Name,' Alicia Machado, and It Is Everywhere". The New York Times.
35. Carcamo, Cindy; Mason, Melanie (September 27, 2016). "Alicia Machado, former Miss Universe insulted by Trump, emerges as forceful Clinton ally". latimes.com. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
36. "BBC News | World | Beauty queen in attempted murder trial". news.bbc.co.uk. January 27, 1998. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
37. Gutkin, Steven (February 5, 1998). "Ex-Ms. Universe Accused of Threat". apnewsarchive.com. AP. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
38. Ex-Miss Universe stars in real-life Venezuela soap Reuters, via Hurriyet Daily News, 2/7/1998
39. "ALICIA MACHADO AMENAZA DE MUERTE A JUEZ - Archivo Digital de Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo desde 1.990 - eltiempo.com". El Tiempo. February 6, 1998. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
40. "Alicia in the big city". The Economist. February 19, 1998. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
41. "ALICIA MACHADO ES SAMANTHA: - Archivo Digital de Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo desde 1.990 - eltiempo.com" (28 Feb 1998). Retrieved September 28, 2016.
42. Jesse Sanchez, 'Comedulce' a hero in his country: Phillies' Abreu often underrated in the United States, MLB.com (June 12, 2006).
43. Mike Berardino, Mom, this homer is for you, Orlando Sentinel (May 15, 2005).
44. "Venezuelan beauty queen stumbles over Korea crisis". Reuters. November 24, 2010.
45. "Alicia Machado: su lucha al descubrir que tenía cáncer (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. January 16, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
46. Bruces, Rubén (May 20, 2016) "¡En hora buena! Alicia Machado obtuvo la ciudadanía americana"
47. "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 24, 2004. Retrieved October 29, 2016.

External links

• Alicia Machado on IMDb

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Chelsi Smith	Miss Universe 1996	Succeeded by Brook Lee
Preceded by Denyse Floreano	Miss Venezuela 1995	Succeeded by Marena Bencomo
Preceded by Lody Attie	Miss Yaracuy 1995	Succeeded by Romina Meraviglia