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Veronica Portillo (born November 27, 1977) is an American reality television personality and the co-creator of the 2000s ''College Dropout'' T-shirt line.


''Road Rules''


''Semester at Sea''

She was a student at
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
when she made her first appearance on MTV on ''
Road Rules ''Road Rules'' is an MTV reality show that was a sister show of the network's flagship reality show, '' The Real World''. The series debuted on July 19, 1995, and ended on May 9, 2007. This allowed ''Road Rules'' a total of 14 seasons and 12 yea ...
'' on its ''Semester at Sea'' season, Portillo gained notoriety for her conflicts and friendships with her fellow roadies as they traveled around the world as part of
Semester at Sea Semester at Sea (SaS) is a study-abroad program which was founded in 1963 and managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State University is the current academic sponsor and the program is condu ...
. In 2018, part of the cast attended a 20-year reunion cruise, but Portillo did not attend.


''Viewers' Revenge''

In 2007 Portillo was invited back to participate in '' Road Rules: Viewers' Revenge''. She was the first castmember nominated to the elimination pit, and subsequently, the first to be sent back to the Pit Crew. On the third week, she was nominated back to the pit, where she lost the challenge "Shuttle Puzzle" to
Tori Hall Victoria Marie Hall (born December 20, 1986) is an American beauty queen and reality television personality from Midlothian, Virginia who competed in Miss Teen USA 2005, placing in the Top 10, and Miss USA 2008. She is also known for being part o ...
, causing her to go back to the Pit Crew. She had another chance on the eleventh week but ended up losing for a third time.


''Real World/Road Rules Challenge''


''Challenge 2000''

Portillo was a member of team ''Road Rules''. On this season she landed on the bullseye in a solo skydiving mission that helped her team secure the final mission prize.


''Battle of the Seasons''

Veronica was once again a member of team ''Road Rules'', alongside castmate Yes Duffy. However their good performance scared the Inner Circle that voted them out first.


''Battle of the Sexes''

Veronica improved her performance on this season and conquered a spot in the Inner Circle twice. Despite not having the lowest score, she was voted out in episode ten by the Inner Circle led by
Emily Bailey Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...
.


''The Gauntlet''

In this Challenge, Portillo was very close with teammates Rachel Robinson and
Tina Barta ''Road Rules: South Pacific'' is the twelfth season of the MTV reality television series ''Road Rules.'' Taking place in the South Pacific, it was filmed during February and March 2003. A casting special aired on May 19, 2003, and the season prem ...
. Her team considered sending her in elimination, but she managed to win the Lifeshield twice, securing a spot in the final and ultimately winning her second season.


''The Inferno''

Portillo became more of a team leader during this season, winning the LifeSaver four times and being the only girl from the ''Road Rules'' team not to face elimination. Tension arose between her and Katie Doyle, since Portillo saw Doyle as the weak link and tried to get rid of her, but in the end they both competed in the final and won.


''Battle of the Sexes 2''

Portillo was part of the women team. She stepped up once for the role of team captain and was part of the Inner Circle that voted out Cynthia Roberts before being voted off in episode 10.


''The Inferno II''

She was part of ''The Bad Asses'' team, alongside her allies Rachel Robinson and Tina Barta, and rivals
Beth Stolarczyk ''The Real World: California'' (retrospectively referred to as ''The Real World: Los Angeles'', to distinguish it from subsequent installments of the series) is the second season of MTV's reality television series ''The Real World'', which focus ...
and
Tonya Cooley Tonya Cooley (born January 7, 1980, in Visalia, California) is an American actress and television personality. She is a former cast member on MTV's reality television series, '' The Real World: Chicago'', the 11th season of '' The Real World'', w ...
. Despite making it to the end and winning her first elimination round, her team lost to their opponents, ''The Good Guys''.


''The Ruins''

After taking a break from the show, Portillo returned as part of the ''Champions'' Team. In the fourth episode after a long verbal battle with teammate
Tonya Cooley Tonya Cooley (born January 7, 1980, in Visalia, California) is an American actress and television personality. She is a former cast member on MTV's reality television series, '' The Real World: Chicago'', the 11th season of '' The Real World'', w ...
, Veronica was struck by Cooley, who was struggling with alcoholism and had anger towards Portillo due to Portillo's treatment of Cooley during past seasons including her crafty, cliquish, and antagonistic methods of game play during the show's early seasons. This resulted in Tonya's disqualification from ''The Ruins''. Not experiencing her previous success on the show, Portillo was later eliminated in the sixth episode by KellyAnne Judd from '' The Real World: Sydney''. Her attempts at forming an alliance with Evan Starkman were rejected.


''Champs vs. Pros''

Portillo competed on the 2017 miniseries '' The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros'' for the charity Planned Parenthood, for which she raised 1.000 $. However she was quickly sent in elimination and lost against Ashley Mitchell from '' Real World: Ex-Plosion''.


''XXX: Dirty 30''

Portillo returned to the main show eight years after her prior season to compete in the thirtieth season of ''The Challenge'', where she became friend with Jemmye Carroll. Despite her long break she won an elimination against fellow veteran Aneesa Ferreira and orchestrated Leroy Garrett's elimination before being voted out in episode 14.


''Vendettas''

Portillo participated in the next installment of ''The Challenge'', but had to face "mercenary" and former rival Aneesa Ferreira. During their elimination Veronica dislocated her pinky finger and couldn't continue.


''Final Reckoning''

She was partnered with CT, who called her weak on '' XXX: Dirty 30''. Despite the two veterans' legendary legacy, they couldn't work together and were eliminated in episode 5.


''The Challenge + Universal''

In 2019, Portillo appeared on a special mini Challenge advertisement for
Universal Orlando Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort Building#Complex, complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operate ...
alongside other champions and hosted by Devyn Simone from '' The Real World: Brooklyn''. She was paired with Darrell Taylor from '' Road Rules: Campus Crawl'' and competed against Derrick Kosinski from '' Road Rules: X-Treme'' and Emily Schroom from '' The Real World: D.C.'', as well as
Tori Hall Victoria Marie Hall (born December 20, 1986) is an American beauty queen and reality television personality from Midlothian, Virginia who competed in Miss Teen USA 2005, placing in the Top 10, and Miss USA 2008. She is also known for being part o ...
from '' Road Rules 2007: Viewers' Revenge'' and Alton Williams from '' The Real World: Las Vegas''. The special aired on May 22, 2019, during the season finale of ''
War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
''.


''All Stars''

In April 2022, it was announced that Portillo would appear on the third season of '' The Challenge: All Stars''.


Personal life

Portillo grew up in
Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...
and is of Cuban descent. In 2012 Portillo announced her pregnancy on social media, but it ended in a stillbirth of her daughter in 2013. On '' XXX: Dirty 30'', Aneesa Ferreira ('' The Real World: Chicago'' alumna) revealed that Portillo and Rachel Robinson ('' Road Rules: Campus Crawl'' alumna and co-creator of the ''College Dropout'' T-shirt line) dated for three years after Ferreira and Robinson broke up. The two first met on '' Battle of the Sexes.''


Modeling

Portillo appeared in the May 2002 issue of ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'', ''Real Nude in the Real World'' alongside Beth Stolarczyk from '' The Real World: Los Angeles'', Flora Alekseyeun from '' The Real World: Miami'', and Jisela Delgado from '' Road Rules: The Quest''.


Filmography


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portillo, Veronica Living people 1977 births American people of Cuban descent Road Rules cast members People from Los Angeles LGBT models LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people The Challenge (TV series) contestants