Ana Christina Rodriguez (born January 20, 1986) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...

. On her fifth attempt at the statewide title, she was crowned Miss Texas USA 2011 and went on to be named third runner-up to

Miss USA 2011 Miss USA 2011 was the 60th Anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, held on the Las Vegas Strip at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Paradise, Nevada on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned ...

Pageant career

Early years

Rodriguez first entered the Miss USA system of pageants in 2006. She was chosen as Miss Laredo USA and competed for the Miss Texas USA 2007 title, placing in the top 16 finalists and voted "Miss Congeniality" by her fellow contestants on June 25, 2006. She won the Miss Webb County USA crown in 2007 and competed for the Miss Texas USA 2008 title where she was named second runner-up on July 1, 2007. The following year she was named Miss Port Laredo USA and competed for the Miss Texas USA 2009 title where she was named second runner-up on June 29, 2008. In 2009, competing as Miss

Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas surrounding Austin and roughly bordered by San Saba to Bryan and San Marcos to Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part of the Texas Hill Country and corresponds to a ph ...

USA, Rodriguez was named first runner-up at the Miss Texas USA 2010 competition on September 6, 2009.

Miss Texas USA

In 2010, Rodriguez won the title of Miss Central Laredo USA and competed at the Miss Texas USA 2011 pageant in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas. Her fifth try proved to be the charm and she was crowned Miss Texas USA 2011 on September 5, 2010. Rodriguez is the first Laredo native to be named Miss Texas USA. As Miss Texas USA, Rodriguez represented the state in a variety of events across Texas and around the United States. These included serving as the Grand Marshal of the Fiesta Flambeau Parade in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, meeting the troops aboard the USS ''Iwo Jima'' during

Fleet Week Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock in a variety of major cities for one week. Once the ships dock, ...

in New York City, running the Rock 'n' Roll Dallas Half Marathon, and helping to construct the world's largest

peanut butter and jelly sandwich A peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PB&J) consists of peanut butter and fruit preserves—jelly—spread on bread. The sandwich may be Open-faced sandwich, open-faced, made of a single slice of bread folded over, or made using two slic ...

at the Great American Peanut Butter Festival in Grand Saline, Texas.

Miss USA

Winning the Miss Texas USA 2011 title allowed Rodriguez to compete in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

for the national

title. During the competition, Rodriguez made international headlines for her interview competition response that the wives of politicians caught cheating on them should leave their husbands "and find a man who really loves you." She was named third runner-up during the nationally televised finals on June 19, 2011.

Personal life

Rodriguez was born in

in 1986. = She is a 2004 graduate of Laredo's United High School. Rodriguez graduated from

Concordia University Texas Concordia University Texas is a private university in Austin, Texas. The university offers undergraduate, Graduate school, graduate, and online degrees as well as an adult degree program for part-time and returning students. Concordia Universi ...

in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in communications. She has modeled for ''

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

'', ''Pageantry'' and ''Savvy'' magazines. Rodriguez works as a preschool teacher in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

References

External links

Miss Texas USA - Official websiteOfficial Miss USA Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Ana 1986 births People from Laredo, Texas Living people Miss USA 2011 delegates American female models American beauty pageant winners American people of Mexican descent Concordia University Texas alumni