Cecilia Carolina Bolocco Fonck (born May 19, 1965) is a Chilean actress, TV host, and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universo Chile 1987 and

Miss Universe 1987 Miss Universe 1987, the 36th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 27 May 1987 at the World Trade Centre in Singapore. Bárbara Palacios of Venezuela crowned her successor Cecilia Bolocco of Chile. 68 contestants competed in the pageant. Results ...

. Bolocco has worked as a journalist on the Spanish language edition of

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, on

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

and on various programs for Chilean Television and she acted on the soap opera ''

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

''. Between 2001 and 2011 she was married to the 44th President of Argentina

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...

Early life

Bolocco was born in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

to Enzo Bolocco Cintolesi, an

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

businessman and Rose Marie Fonck Assler. She attended primary and secondary school at

Santiago College Fundación Educacional Santiago College is a private educational (PK-12) institution in Santiago, Chile, founded in 1880. It was founded by American Methodist Ira H. La Fetra and his wife as a girls boarding school. In March 1972 the school became ...

. She then studied a year of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

at the

University of Santiago, Chile The University of Santiago, Chile (Usach) ( es, Universidad de Santiago de Chile) is one of the oldest public universities in Chile. The institution was born as ''Escuela de Artes y Oficios'' (Spanish: ''School of Arts and Crafts'') in 1849 by Ig ...

, before dropping out to pursue

costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

at the INCA-CEA Institute.

Miss Universe

Bolocco was selected

Miss Chile The Miss Universo Chile or Miss Chile is a national beauty pageant that selects Chile's representative to the Miss Universe pageant. History Chile is one of the few countries that has participated in Miss Universe since 1952, has sent 53 represe ...

for

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

on April 20, 1987. On May 26, 1987, she beat 67 contestants to become the first Chilean to win the Miss Universe

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

that was held at the World Trade Centre in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

that year. During her year-long reign, she settled in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

After the crown

Bolocco began a television career in Chile with the show ''Porque hoy es sábado'' ("Because it's Saturday") on

Televisión Nacional de Chile Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) is a Chilean public service broadcaster. It was founded by order of President Eduardo Frei Montalva and it was launched nationwide on 18 September 1969. Since then, the company has been reorganized on sever ...

. She then co-hosted ''Martes 13'' ("Tuesday the 13th") on Channel 13. The program name is a play on the English idiomatic expression about Friday the 13th, where in Chile the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th. In March 1990 Bolocco married

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television producer Michael Young in Santiago. The local media covered the event as if it were a royal wedding. Bolocco moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to work as an anchorwoman for the Spanish section at

produced for Telemundo Network, on June, 1990. Then, she became a full-fledged member of the

family where she hosted the afternoon lifestyles program ''

La Buena Vida La Buena Vida (The Good Life) is a Spanish indie pop group from San Sebastián, Spain. The band was formed in 1988 and continues to make music as of today. They have recorded 7 albums and 14 EPs. Their music is a form of pop also known as th ...

'' ("The Good Life"), The show was merged with another newsmagazine titled ''

Ocurrió así ''Ocurrió así'' (Spanish: ''It Happened Like So'') is Spanish-language network Telemundo's first original investigative news magazine that launched on October 8, 1990 to April 26, 2002. The show was originally hosted by Enrique Gratas from 1990 u ...

'' ("It Happened This Way") and ''Esta noche con Cecilia Bolocco'' ("Tonight With Cecilia Bolocco") followed for which she won two Emmy awards. She then took a starring role as the evil ''Karina Lafontaine de Montero'' in the Mexican

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

's hit

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, which was aired to more than 70 countries throughout the Americas, including

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, and Europe. Around the mid-1990s Bolocco ended her relationship with husband Michael Young. The marriage was annulled, because no

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

law existed in Chile at the time. In 1993 Bolocco co-hosted the 1993 Miss Universe pageant in The Auditorio Nacional in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. In 1995 Bolocco co-hosted the closing night of the 36th

Viña del Mar International Song Festival , image = , caption =Overture to the closing night of LI Viña del Mar International Song Festival (2010) , location =Viña del Mar, Chile , years_active =1960-present , founders = , dates =3rd week of February , ...

, held every year in Viña del Mar, Chile. In October 1996, already separated, Bolocco took the job as co-host in one of the shows with the highest ratings in Chilean television history, ''Viva el lunes'' ("Long Live Monday"), alongside Kike Morandé and comedian Álvaro Salas. At the same time, she had a radio show and appeared in her own television show, ''La noche de Cecilia'' ("The Night of Cecilia"). Also in 1996 Bolocco was a judge in the 1996 Miss Universe pageant 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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. In February, 2000, Bolocco became an established hostess for the Viña del Mar Song Festival, with partner and longtime host

Antonio Vodanovic Antonio Vodanovic (born March 2, 1949, Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean television presenter known for being the presenter of Viña del Mar International Song Festival from 1976 to 2004. From the late 1970s to 1982 he was programming director of Tel ...

. In August 2001 Bolocco's marriage to Young was annulled. On 26 May 2001, Bolocco married former Argentine president

La Rioja, Argentina La Rioja () is the capital and largest city of La Rioja Province, Argentina, located in the east of the province. La Rioja is located on the foot of the Velasco Sierras, from Buenos Aires, and from Córdoba. History It was founded in 159 ...

,"Cecilia Bolocco, El casamiento del año"
, ''La Cuarta'' whom she met while interviewing him at the

Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (, eng, Pink House) is the office of the president of Argentina. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the president lives at the Quinta de ...

presidential house in Argentina. On November 19, 2003, their first son, Máximo Saúl Menem Bolocco, was born in Santiago, Chile. They separated in April 2007 and officially divorced in May 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolocco, Cecilia 1965 births Chilean beauty pageant winners Chilean emigrants to the United States Chilean people of Arbëreshë descent Chilean people of German descent Chilean television personalities Chilean television presenters Chilean women television presenters Living people Menem family Miss Universe 1987 contestants Miss Universe winners Miss Universo Chile winners People from Santiago Spouses of politicians Chilean television talk show hosts University of Santiago, Chile alumni

Early life

Miss Universe

After the crown

See also

References

External links