Dayanara Torres

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Dayanara Torres
Torres in 2011
Born
Dayanara Torres Delgado

(1974-10-28) October 28, 1974 (age 49)
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, model, writer
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Spouse
(m. 2000; div. 2004)
Children2
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title
Hair colorDark Brown
Eye colorBlue
Major
competition(s)

Dayanara Torres Delgado (born October 28, 1974) is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, model, writer and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 1993.[1]

Torres was discovered at age 17 while walking through the Plaza de Toa Alta in her hometown, and was invited to represent Toa Alta in the annual Miss Puerto Rico pageant. She won the pageant and the right to represent Puerto Rico in the 1993 Miss Universe pageant.[2] In 1992, she participated in the Miss International pageant and became a semi-finalist. The same year, she earned second place at the Queen of the World contest.

Torres won the crown in the Miss Universe pageant held in Mexico in May 1993. Torres' victory in the pageant caused some controversy because of the claim that she was still a minor;[3][4] however, Torres had turned 18 several months before the contest. Her victory also raised some eyebrows,[citation needed] as she did not top any of the pageant's segments. When Torres returned home to Puerto Rico, she was received with a parade.

During and after her reign as Miss Universe, she became an ambassador for UNICEF, traveling through Asia and Latin America in support of the organization. She created the Dayanara Torres Foundation which has provided scholarships to poor students in Puerto Rico and the Philippines.[5] In 1994, she went to Manila to crown the new Miss Universe and during the ceremony, she sang "A Whole New World" as a duet with Peabo Bryson.[6]

Career[edit]

Torres in the Philippines[edit]

After the 1994 Miss Universe pageant, Torres landed several movie roles, made television appearances, and received offers to endorse products. She became a celebrity in the Philippines and lived in the country for five years.[6] During her time in the Philippines, Torres learned to speak Tagalog, the national language of the country.[7] Torres endorsed Pantene Shampoo in 1998-1999.[8]

She appeared in more than 10 movies, including Hataw Na, a film with Filipino actor and singer Gary Valenciano[6] (who is half-Puerto Rican). During that time, she also filmed Linda Sara (1994), a Puerto Rican film directed by Jacobo Morales in which she was paired with fellow Puerto Rican singer, Chayanne. She also became a staple figure on Philippine television every Sunday on the show ASAP Mania, where her dancing skills gained her the informal title "Dancing Queen."

Return to Puerto Rico[edit]

Torres returned to Puerto Rico in 1998 and as a singer released her only album called Antifaz. It reached the top of Billboard charts in Latin America and the Philippines. She also starred in several theater productions on the island. That same year, a "Dayanara" doll was released and sold out in both Puerto Rico and the Philippines.[citation needed]

On September 1, 2005, Torres debuted in an American soap opera, playing a small role in The Young and the Restless. The program's producers expressed an interest in future appearances.[citation needed] To date, Torres has not made any other appearances on the show.[citation needed] Torres later starred in Watch Over Me, a MyNetworkTV primetime drama.

In 2008, Torres was included in People magazine's "Most Beautiful People" list. During the celebration ceremony, Torres stated she authored the self-help book Married to Me when she failed to find a book to help her with her 2003 separation from Marc Anthony in bookstores.[9]

Return to the Philippines[edit]

In 2017, Torres made a return to the country as a judge for Miss Universe 2016, along with various guest appearances on Philippine television.[10]

In February 2017, Torres was asked whether or not she would be willing to do a romantic TV series with her former boyfriend and leading man Aga Muhlach; she said she was more than willing to do so.[11]

Personal life[edit]

Torres has two older brothers, José and Joey, and a younger sister, Jeannette.[12] Upon completion of her high school studies at Colegio Santa Rosa,[13] in Bayamón, Torres had expressed interest in going to dentistry college to become an orthodontist.[2][14]

While she was living in the Philippines, Torres had a four-year relationship with Filipino actor Aga Muhlach (who is now married to Charlene Gonzalez, a Miss Universe 1994 top six finalist); Torres and Muhlach first met on the set of her first Philippine movie, Basta't Kasama Kita ("As Long As I'm with You").[14]

Torres married singer Marc Anthony on May 9, 2000, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The marriage resulted in two sons, Cristian Anthony Muñiz (b. February 5, 2001) and Ryan Anthony Muñiz (b. August 16, 2003). Their marriage was allegedly "rocky",[15] and the two separated, after just two years of marriage, in the summer of 2002. They later reconciled and renewed their vows in a ceremony, held in Puerto Rico, in December 2002.[16]

The couple's final separation was one year later, in October 2003, with Torres filing for divorce in January 2004. The divorce[17] was finalized June 1, 2004.[18]

In June of 2014, a judge ruled in Torres' favor when they approved a two-fold increase in Marc Anthony's monthly child support payments (from $13,400 to $26,800); Torres had initially sought to receive monthly payments totaling $123,426 when it was alleged that Anthony had spent only 35 days with their children in 2012, but the Court discovered that he had spent 71 days.[19]

On February 4, 2019, Torres announced she was diagnosed with skin cancer.[20]

Accolades[edit]

Discography[edit]

Album

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role
1994 Linda Sara Young Sara
1995 Basta’t Kasama Kita Princess Marinella of Bavaria / Ella
Hataw Na / Dance Now / Groove Anna Alvarado
1999 Type Kita Walang Kokontra Sabel
2009 The Nail: The Story of Joey Nardone Amelia
2013 200 Cartas Yolanda
TBA Solo Para Mujeres: The Movie Diana

Television[edit]

Year Title Role
1995–1998, 1999, 2017 ASAP Host
1996–1997 Easy Dancing Host/Dancer
1996 Access Hollywood Herself
1999 La Cenicienta Cenicienta
2005 The Young and the Restless Elise Tomkins
2006–2007 Watch Over Me Julia Rivera
2017 Ang Probinsyano Mariana Dela Vega
Miss Universe 2017 Judge
Mira quién baila Season 5 Winner
2018 Mira quién baila Season 6 Judge
2022-present Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Puerto Rico Host

Books[edit]

  • 2006 – Sonrisas Sanas y Hermosas de Ricky y Andrea (co-author with Steven Fink)
  • 2008 – Married To Me: How Committing To Myself Led to Triumph After Divorce (co-author with her sister Jeannette Torres-Álvarez)
  • 2009 – Casada Conmigo Misma: Como Triunfé Despues Del Divorcio (Spanish translation of her book "Married To Me:...")

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Mitchell, Barbara. "Dayanara Torres, Miss Universe 1993 – The Latinx Almanac". Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  2. ^ a b Torres, Dayanara; Torres-Alvarez, Jeannette (2008-06-03). Married to Me: How Committing to Myself Led to Triumph After Divorce. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 75–. ISBN 9781440633263. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Dayanara Torres". Bellazon. 9 November 2005. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  4. ^ "The Reliable Source". The Washington Post. 1993-05-26. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  5. ^ "Dayanara Torres | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  6. ^ a b c "Former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres Reveals She Beat Cancer". When In Manila. 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  7. ^ "Dayanara Torres - TV Celebrities - ShareTV". sharetv.com. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  8. ^ "Pantene Pro-V Relaunch | 45'sec | Philippines | 1998". YouTube.
  9. ^ Hanson, Lena (15 May 2008). "VIP Access: Inside People en Español's 50 Most Beautiful Party". People En Espanol. New York. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Dayanara Torres to make PH comeback". ABS-CBNnews.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Second Time Around for Aga and Yari". Social Patrol. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Lee, Tionah (3 March 2020). "Dayanara Torres' lookalike sister Jeanette will shock you". Hola! Magazine. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Academia Santa Rosa de Lima". Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  14. ^ a b Abanilla, Clarizel. "Dayanara wanted to be an orthodontist before becoming a beauty queen". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  15. ^ Lo, Ricky. "Dayanara, Marc: What went wrong?". philstar.com. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  16. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. (9 December 2002). "Marc Anthony and Wife 'I Do' It Again". People Magazine.
  17. ^ "Marc Anthony Says Adios". www.cbsnews.com. 2 June 2004. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  18. ^ "Judge OKs Marc Anthony, Torres divorce". USA Today. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2014. A judge approved a divorce Tuesday...
  19. ^ Juez ordena a Marc Anthony pagar $26,800 mensual a Dayanara Torres. (in Spanish) Primera Hora. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  20. ^ "Former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres Reveals Skin Cancer Diagnosis". DermSkin.com. February 12, 2019. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "Leading Ladies of Entertainment". Latin Recording Academy. Retrieved September 11, 2022.

External links[edit]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Mira quién baila winner
2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss Universe
1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Bayamón Daisy García
Miss Puerto Rico
1993
Succeeded by
Isabela Brenda Robles
Preceded by
Lizaura Quiñones
Miss International Puerto Rico
1992
Succeeded by
Brenda Robles