Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned

Miss Universe 2001 Miss Universe 2001 was the 50th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, held at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico on May 11, 2001. At the conclusion of the event, Lara Dutta of India crowned Denise Quiñones of Puer ...

. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, 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 ama ...

in the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2001 pageant.

Career

Quiñones won the

pageant in Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 2001. She was crowned by

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta Bhupathi ( Dutta; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress. She won the Miss Universe 2000, and has since predominantly worked in Hindi films and series. Dutta is a recipient of a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award and established hers ...

, Miss Universe 2000 of

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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,

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 previously served as chairperson of ...

, and

Janelle Commissiong Janelle "Penny" Commissiong, T.C. (born, 15 June 1953) is a Trinidadian politician, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1977. Early life and education Janelle Commissiong was born on 15 June 1953 in Port of Spain, to Lucy M ...

. 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to a New York City film school, and traveling opportunities. Quiñones was the first winner to wear the reputed Mikimoto Crown 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 (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

), to Oxana Fedorova of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. After relinquishing the title, Quiñones attended the School for Film and Television'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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

's play ''

Doña Rosita la soltera The terms Don (in Spanish and Italian), Dom (in Portuguese), and Domn (in Romanian), are honorific prefixes derived from the Latin ''Dominus'', meaning "lord" or "owner". The honorific is commonly used in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, as well a ...

''. Quiñones guest-starred in a season 5 episode of the

WB Network The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on b ...

television series ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, 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 produce ...

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

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

(

Tom Welling Thomas John Patrick Welling (born April 26, 1977) is an American actor, director, producer, podcaster, and model. He is best known for his role as Clark Kent in The WB (now The CW) superhero drama ''Smallville'' (2001–2011). He also co-starr ...

) 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). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'', which was in development for the

CW Television Network The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial terrestrial television, broadcast television television network, network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. Th ...

. 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 tha ...

cast of ''Zanahorias'' (or ''Carrots'' in English), a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

comedy by

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 ''I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell'' is a book of autobiographical short stories about sex and drinking adventures written by Tucker Max. It was a ''New York Times'' #1 bestseller and made the New York Times Best Seller List, Best Seller List each ...

'', based on the book of the same name. On July 24, 2008, producer

Tucker Max Tucker Max (born September 27, 1975) is an American author and public speaker. He chronicles his drinking and sexual encounters in the form of short story, short stories on his website ''TuckerMax.com'', which has received millions of visitors ...

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 terrestrial television, 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 L ...

'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. As national director, Quiñones assisted in preparing the island's delegates for the Miss Universe pageant. Her most successful delegate was Madison Anderson who finished as 1st Runner-Up in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. Other successful delegates under her directorship were Kiara Ortega who finished in the Top 5 in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and Estefanía Soto who finished in the Top 10 in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, respectively. In 2021, Quiñones stepped down as national director and Yizette Cifredo was designated as her successor.

Personal life

Quiñones was born in Ponce,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. She dated rapper 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 List of people from the Dominican Republic, Dominican actor, assistant director and producer. and also he had a relationship with Denise Quiñones Miss Universe 2001 from Puerto Rico. Filmography References

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 action comedy film directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and the sequel to the 1995 film '' Bad Boys'', in addition to the second film in the ''Bad Boys'' film series. Martin Lawrence, ...

'' (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'' (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