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Charla Baklayan Faddoul (born July 23, 1976) is an Armenian-American reality television personality who appeared on ''
The Amazing Race 5 ''The Amazing Race 5'' is the fifth season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on July 6, 2004, and concluded on September 21, 2004 ...
'' and '' The Amazing Race: All-Stars'' television shows. Charla was born with
achondroplasia Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. In those with the condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. Those affected ha ...
, the most common form of dwarfism, and is 4' (1.22 m) tall. Her partner on ''The Amazing Race'' was her cousin Mirna Hindoyan.


Early life and career

Charla Baklayan was born on July 23, 1976, in
Aleppo, Syria )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
to
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
parents, Garbis and Rosine Baklayan. Her family then immigrated to the United States in 1978. Charla is a graduate of
Dulaney High School Dulaney High School is a secondary school in Timonium, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The school serves a generally upper-middle class suburban community, with students from Timonium and surrounding areas in Baltimore County. Dula ...
and
Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...
with a degree in Business Management.


''The Amazing Race''


The Amazing Race 5

On the audition tape for The Amazing Race, Charla lifted weights and even carried her teammate on her shoulders to prove her physical strength. During the actual show, Charla carried a 55-pound side of beef, blocked five slap shots by a professional hockey player, ate one kilogram (2.2 lb) of caviar, and ate a portion of an ostrich egg which was the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs. At the time,
Little People of America Little People of America (LPA) is a non-profit organization which provides support, resources, and information to individuals with dwarfism and their families. Founding LPA was founded in 1957 by actor Billy Barty when he informally called upon p ...
spokesman Dan Okenfuss said that "What Charla is doing on the show is great, introducing little people to the mainstream world, doing an activity average-sized people are doing." In January 2004, Faddoul competed on the fifth season of the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
adventure reality show ''
The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'' with her cousin, Mirna Hindoyan. The two were eliminated in the seventh leg of the race, finishing in 6th place.


The Amazing Race 5 finishes

*A placement with a dagger () indicates that Charla and Mirna were eliminated. ''Roadblocks performed by Faddoul are bolded ''


''The Amazing Race: All-Stars''

Charla & Mirna competed against ten other teams from previous seasons for a second chance at winning $1 million. This time, Charla helped a cowboy lasso, tie down, and groom a wild horse, ate two feet of kielbasa sausage, donned a suit of armor to lead a horse a half-mile, climbed up an 11-story bamboo scaffold and sky jumped 233 meters (764 feet) from the observation deck of the Macau Tower.


Other TV appearances

On the first episode of
MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...
: Season 10, Charla and her cousin Mirna appeared in a skit called "The Amazing Presidential Race". Connie Chung (portrayed by Bobby Lee) narrated the Amazing Race parody featuring a cross-country race between presidential nominees: Bush & Cheney, Kerry & Edwards and Charla & Mirna. Charla & Mirna's presidential teammate Ralph Nader (played by Ike Barinholtz) was "eliminated" from the race when Charla ran over him with a golf cart. On the "Valerie Demands Dignity" episode of '' The Comeback'', Charla receives her own reality show called "The Littlest Assistant" and is made the aide to a one-time sitcom star played by Lisa Kudrow. ''
Battle of the Network Reality Stars ''Battle of the Network Reality Stars'' is an American television series that aired on the Bravo cable network from August 17 until September 21, 2005. Based on the popular 1970s and 1980s television competition ''Battle of the Network Stars'', t ...
'' was a revised version of the ''Battle of the Network Stars'' television program. Charla & Mirna competed against men and women from sixteen reality TV shows including Richard Hatch, Evan Marriott from '' Joe Millionaire'', and Brittany Brower from ''
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4 The fourth season of ''America's Next Top Model'' aired in spring 2005, with the shooting location being moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The catchphrase of the season was "Dive In." These were the last appearances of Janice Dickinson and ...
''. ''
Celebrity Poker Showdown ''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' is an American celebrity game show that aired on the cable network Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, with eight tournaments during its five-season run. In each show, five celebrit ...
'': Tournament 6, Game 1 featured reality television all-stars playing for charity. Charla played for the
American University of Armenia The American University of Armenia (AUA) ( hy, Հայաստանի ամերիկյան համալսարան, ՀԱՀ; ''Hayastani amerikyan hamalsaran'', ''HAH'') is a private, independent university in Yerevan, Armenia that is accredited by the Wes ...
against
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth Omarosa Onee Manigault Newman () ( Manigault; born 1974), often known as Omarosa, is an American reality television show participant, writer, and former political aide to former US President Donald Trump. She became widely known as a contestant ...
from ''
The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...
'',
Andrew Firestone Andrew Boulton Firestone (born July 10, 1975) is an American television personality and businessman. He is the son of Brooks Firestone, a grandson of Leonard Firestone, and a great-grandson of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey F ...
of '' The Bachelor'',
Trishelle Cannatella Trishelle Cannatella (born November 4, 1979) is an American reality television contestant, ''Playboy'' model, and actress, known for her appearances on the MTV reality television series '' The Real World: Las Vegas'', and the ''Real World'' spin ...
of '' The Real World: Las Vegas'', and
Jonny Fairplay Jonny Fairplay (born Jon Dalton, March 11, 1974) is an American former art consultant, professional wrestler, and reality television personality. He has twice competed on the reality competition TV show '' Survivor'', coming in third place on the ...
of '' Survivor: Micronesia''.


Personal life

Faddoul is married to David Faddoul.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baklayan Faddoul, Charla 1976 births Actors with dwarfism American actors with disabilities American actresses Syrian people of Armenian descent American people of Armenian descent Entertainers with dwarfism Armenian people with disabilities American people with disabilities Living people People from Aleppo Syrian emigrants to the United States Towson University alumni Middle Eastern Christians Syrian Christians Participants in American reality television series