Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2001. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these. Lare ...

in the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 pageant.

Career

Quiñones won the Miss Universe 2001 pageant in Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 2001. She was crowned by Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000 of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and also won the awards of Miss Photogenic, Bluepoint Swimsuit, and Clairol Best Style. She is only the fourth Miss Universe winner to also win Miss Photogenic after

Margareta Arvidsson Margareta Arvidsson (born 12 October 1947) is a Swedish actress, fashion model and beauty queen who was crowned as the 1966 Miss Universe at age 18. She represented Vänersborg in the 1966 Miss Sweden Pageant. She was the second Swedish to win t ...

Margarita Moran Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo (born 15 September 1953), professionally known as Margie Moran (), is a Filipino beauty queen, actress and peace advocate who was the president of Ballet Philippines and is the chairperson of the Cultura ...

, and Janelle Commissiong. Her win came on the Miss Universe pageant's 50th anniversary. As Miss Universe, Quiñones resided in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for a year, enjoying the benefits that all winners of the pageant receive, including complimentary make-up and haircare, a car, complete wardrobe, professional representation by the Miss Universe Organization, a $60,000

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

to a New York City film school, and traveling opportunities. Quiñones was the first winner to wear the reputed

Mikimoto Crown The Phoenix Mikimoto Crown, (Kanji: 御木本不死鳥王冠) also informally known as the Mikimoto Crown, was a pageant crown worn by Miss Universe titleholders. The crown was made by the Mikimoto Pearl company in Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan ...

during its official press presentation by Mikimoto's former brand director, Mr. Toyohiko Miyamoto. On the night of the Miss Universe 2002 contest, she passed on her crown, once again in Puerto Rico (this time the event was held in the city of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

), to

Oxana Fedorova Oksana Gennadyevna Borodina (russian: Оксана Геннадьевна Бородина, Oksana Gennad'yevna Borodina; née Fedorova, russian: Фёдорова, Fyodorova; born 17 December 1977), known professionally as Oxana Fedorova, is a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Since relinquishing the title, Quiñones attended the

School for Film and Television The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (NYCDA) is a private acting college in New York City. Originally conceived for the purpose of training actors for film and television acting, in 2009 the conservatory gained accreditation to offer Asso ...

's two-year conservatory acting program. Presently an actress, Quiñones has starred in the Spanish version of Nilo Cruz's play ''Ana en el trópico'' ('' Anna in the Tropics'') and continues to hone her talent in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. For her role in ''Anna in the Tropics'', she was nominated and awarded an HOLA Award (from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors) and an ACE Award. In October 2005, she was selected for the role of Doña Rosita, in a production of

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

's play '' Doña Rosita la soltera''. Quiñones guest-starred in a season 5 episode of the

WB Network The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

television series ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/G ...

''. She played Andrea, a masked avenger who fought crime in Metropolis and invited

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

( Tom Welling) to join her in her adventures. On the heels of her ''Smallville'' role, she was also cast in the role of "Rachel", a young fighter pilot in the pilot for the TV series ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a ...

'', which was in development for the

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. The pilot did not make the fall 2006 lineup. In November 2006, Quiñones led the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

cast of ''Zanahorias'' (or ''Carrots'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

), a Spanish comedy by Spanish playwright Antonio Zancada. For her role in ''Zanahorias'', she won an ACE Award in 2007. In July 2008, it was announced that Quiñones would play the part of Lara in the upcoming film '' I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell'', based on the book of the same name. On July 24, 2008, producer Tucker Max announced on the film's official production blog that Quiñones had dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.We have a new cast member...
, ''IHTSBIH'' Official Website. In February 2014, Quiñones joined the eighth season of

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 include ...

's beauty pageant reality show Nuestra Belleza Latina 2014 as a team mentor where she coaches a team of young women on modeling industry success techniques. On February 15, 2018, Quiñones was named as the new pageant director for Miss Universe Puerto Rico, taking over responsibilities previously held by former director Desiree Lowry.

Personal life

Quiñones was born in Ponce,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. She dated René Pérez, from the band Calle 13, from 2006 to 2009. From 2010 to 2011, Quiñones was in a relationship with Dominican actor

Frank Perozo Francisco Ernesto Perozo is a Dominican film actor, assistant director and producer. and also he had a relationship with Denise Quiñones Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty quee ...

Filmography

Films

* ''Elite'' (2010) - Special agent Sandra Torres * '' La Soga'' aka ''The Butcher’s Wife'' (2009) - Jenny * ''Party Time'' * ''

Bad Boys II ''Bad Boys II'' is a 2003 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. The sequel to the 1995 film '' Bad Boys'' and the second film in the ''Bad Bo ...

'' (2003) (uncredited) - Street walker in Cuba

Television

* ''Elena Santos'' - Yarelis (serie de TV de PR) * ''

'' (2006) TV series - Rachel * ''

'' - "Vengeance Chronicles” (2006) Webisode - Andrea Rojas (Angel of Vengeance) * ''Smallville'' - "Vengeance" (2006) TV episode - Andrea Rojas (Angel of Vengeance) * ''

The Bedford Diaries ''The Bedford Diaries'' is an American drama television series that premiered on March 29, 2006, on The WB and concluded its first season on May 10, 2006. The series was created by Tom Fontana and Julie Martin. This series was canceled on May 18, ...

'' (2006) TV series - Mia Thorne (post-production) * ''Freddie'' - "The Two That Got Away" (2006) TV episode - Denise * ''Freddie'' - "The Mixer" (2006) TV episode - Denise * ''Love Monkey'' - Pilot (2006) TV episode - Gorgeous Woman

Theater

* ''Pantaleón y las visitadoras'' * ''Ana en el Tropico'' * ''Doña Rosita la Soltera'' * ''Doña Flor Y Sus Dos Maridos'' * ''Zanahorias'' (Primera edicion)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinones, Denise 1980 births Actresses from Ponce, Puerto Rico People from Lares, Puerto Rico Living people Miss Puerto Rico winners Miss Universe 2001 contestants Miss Universe winners 21st-century Puerto Rican actresses Puerto Rican beauty pageant winners