Ever since Donald Trump announced he was planning on running for president of the United States, many people have come forward and voiced their dislike of the business mogul based on personal experiences.
One such person, was Alicia Machado. Latinos may remember her as the Miss Venezela who was crowned Miss Universe in 1996, the year Trump took over the pageant.
Since her reign as the most beautiful woman in the universe ended, Machado has become a Latin American sensation, working as an actress and later a singer and entrepreneur.
Most recently, she’s been in the spotlight for revealing the horrible treatment she received from Trump when she was crowned Miss Universe.
Late last year, Machado made her opinion on Trump very clear. “I want to vomit,” she said after seeing a photo of the mogul up on screen. In May this year, she spoke to The New York Times to contribute to an in-depth article about Trump’s behavior towards women titled “Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private.”
Machado told the publication that after winning the Miss Universe title in 1996, she gained some weight and promptly asked the president of Miss Universe for help to rest, recuperate and eat right, and even asked for a doctor to see her, to which they agreed. “The next day, they took me to the gym, and I’m exposed to 90 media outlets.” Machado also says Trump was there, so he clearly knew what was going to happen.
“I was about to cry in that moment with all the cameras there,” she said of the humiliating moment. “I said, ‘I don’t want to do this, Mr. Trump.’ He said, ‘I don’t care.’” Machado told “Inside Edition” that the incident made her feel publicly body-shamed and added that Trump called her names.
“He called me Miss Piggy,” she revealed, saying it made her feel “so fat.” “I was very depressed in that moment,” she said. The former beauty queen says that Trump also mocked her English-speaking skills calling her “Miss Housekeeping.”
It was an incident Hillary Clinton refered to during the first presidential debate, Monday night, bringing Machado back into the spotlight and giving her voice more resonence than ever.
People are asking, "Who is Alicia Machado?" Here are 14 things to know about her.
1) Alicia Machado was born in Maracay, Venezuela on December 6, 1976 from a Spanish immigrant father and a mom with Cuban roots.
2) She’s an actress, singer, model and entrepreneur.
3) Machado won Miss Venezuela in 1995 representing the Estado Yaracuy and then became Reina Mundial del Café (World’s Coffee Queen) in 1996. She competed in Miss Universe that year and won, becoming the 4th Venezuelan to win the pageant.
4) Her reign was filled with controversy after her weight gain and Trump’s reaction to it, making her exercise in front of reporters in New York. When Trump was asked if he had ever pushed Machado to lose weight, he nonchalantly admitted to it, “To that, I will plead guilty.”
5) Machado described the humiliation as unbearable and said she became sick with anorexia and bulimia after the horrible incident; something she has been struggling with and seeing psychologists to treat for the past 20 years.
6) In 1998, after the whole Miss Universe controversy, she made her acting debut on the popular Venezuelan soap opera “Samantha ” in the leading role. She won the MIDIA Award in Spain and the ACE award in New York City, as the new Actress of the Year. Following the success of “Samantha” she was called to star in “Infierno en el Paraíso,” another successful soap opera.
7) Machado continued to appear on “Estamos Unidos,” “Mambo y Canela,” “El Pantera,” “Simuladores,” “Hasta que el Dinero nos Separe,” “Una Familia con Suerte,” “La Madame,” “Atrévete a Soñar,” “Amor sin Maquillaje,” and most recently, “Lo Imperdonable.”
8) As a television personality, Alicia has participated in numerous international shows as a host, jury, and even as a contestant, especially on the highest rated shows of the Univision Network: “Premios Juventud,” “Premios Lo Nuestro,” “Latin Grammy Awards,” “Nuestra Belleza Latina,” “Cantando Por Un Sueño,” and the popular “Mira Quien Baila,” in which Alicia was named “sentimental winner” by the audience.
9) As a musician, Alicia was nominated for a Grammy and a Billboard Award for her first album, Alicia Machado (2004).
10) Machado appeared on the cover of the February 2006 issue of “Playboy ” magazine's Mexican edition, becoming the only Miss Universe to pose nude for Playboy . She repeated her stint with the magazine in 2010, posing naked again.
11) On June 25, 2008, Machado became a mother do her daughter Dinora.
12) As a model and Latino celebrity, Alicia’s image has appeared in more than 35 international ad campaigns, as Budweiser, Danone Light, Kellogs, McDonalds, Pantene, and Snapple.
13) She has also appeared on more than 100 international magazine covers, including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Elle, Hola, People, and Cosmopolitan.
14) In August 2016, Machado became a U.S. Citizen and promised to vote against Trump. “Today is a very important day for me. Now I’m a U.S. citizen and I feel so proud,” Machado told Inside Edition, before she waved a miniature American flag that she was holding and said, “Mr. Trump, haha.”
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