Myrka Bárbara Dellanos (born 27 May 1965) is an American television and radio host,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and socialite.

Education and career

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, on 27 May 1965, Dellanos graduated from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism in 1986. Myrka got her first break in 1992 when she co-hosted the popular

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

news program ''

Primer Impacto ''Primer Impacto'' (''First Impact'') is a Spanish-language television news program broadcast by Univision weekdays at 5pm ET//4pm CT. A later program at 11pm ET/PT (''Primer Impacto Extra'') airs on Univision affiliates without a local news dep ...

'' (First Impact). Dellanos would continue to serve as co-host of ''Primer Impacto'' until 2004 when she was chosen as the "Star of the Year" by readers of the magazine

People en Español ''People en Español'' is a Spanish-language American magazine published by Dotdash Meredith that debuted in 1996, originally as the Spanish-language edition of its publication ''People''. As of 2009, it is the Spanish-language magazine with the l ...

. Dellanos also served as the host of the celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

in Washington, DC., and she was appointed by U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

as a member of the Freedom Corps, a group consisting of 25 people who work together to promote charitable giving. Later, Dellanos turned towards social service and other humanitarian causes, such as providing help for orphaned children and for victims of domestic abuse. She was named in 2013 spokesperson for "I Am Second", a movement meant to provide spiritual inspiration and hope to individuals dealing with various life issues, such as abortion, divorce, and child abuse. Myrka has won the Hispanic Leadership Award by the Hispanic Heritage Council: she was named in 2003 as "Person of the Year" by the Organization of Ibero-American Journalists; Myrka was named in 2001 as the Hispanic of the Year by Direct Marketing Association of America: she was also chosen as a Goodwill Ambassador for the International Rescue Committee, which is part of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and helps rescuing refugees; Dellanos, after an 8-year absence from broadcast journalism, returned in 2013 to television as host and contributor for American-based Hispanic network

Estrella TV Estrella TV () is an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the Estrella Media subsidiary of HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The network primarily features programs, the vast majority of which are produced by the network ...

and its news-magazine ''En la Mira'' with

Enrique Gratas Enrique O. Gratas (born Gratás; November 25, 1944 – October 8, 2015) was an Argentinian journalist and television personality known for being the original host of '' Ocurrio Asi'' on Telemundo, and the former anchor of Univision's ''Última Hor ...

. Dellanos has authored several books, including ''Succeed and Be Happy: Things I Learned Thanks to God, My Mom, and Life''.

Personal life

In 1991, Dellanos married Dr. Alejandro Loynáz: on 30 December 1993, she gave birth to the couple's only daughter, Alexa. When their daughter was four years old, Dellanos and Loynáz divorced in 1998. She married David Matthews in 2000, but they were divorced in 2002; Dellanos started in 2003 a highly publicized relationship with the Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer Luis Miguel, whom Myrka was previously engaged to before ending their relationship in June 2005. Dellanos on 8 April 2008 married a Cuban-born pharmaceutical representative, Ulyses Daniel Alonso, at a private ceremony in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

: this couple later appeared on the 2 July 2008 cover of the magazine

. On 25 August 2008, Alonso was arrested and charged with domestic battery. The following day a police report was released that detailed the events leading to his arrest. On 29 August 2008, the CGPD (Coral Gables police department) released audio of the 9-1-1 call made by Dellanos. On 18 March 2009, Dellanos and Alonso filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dellanos, Myrka Living people American television personalities American women television personalities American radio personalities American journalists American writers American entertainers of Cuban descent 1965 births