Charla Baklayan Faddoul
Encyclopedia
Charla Baklayan Faddoul along with teammate Mirna Hindoyan were known as "The Cousins" and "Mirna & Schmirna" on The Amazing Race 5
and The Amazing Race: All-Stars television shows. Charla was born with achondroplasia
, the most common form of dwarfism, and is 4' (1.22 m) tall.
Charla Baklayan was born on July 23, 1976 in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian parents, Garbis and Rosine Baklayan. Her family immigrated to America in 1978. Charla is a graduate of Dulaney High School
and Towson University
with a degree in Business Management.
At the time, Little People of America
spokesman Dan Okenfuss said that "What Charla is doing on the show is great, introducing little people to the mainstream world, doing an activity average-sized people are doing."
.
: Season 10, Charla and her cousin Mirna appeared in a skit called "The Amazing Presidential Race". Connie Chung (portrayed by Bobby Lee) narrated the Amazing Race parody featuring a cross country race between presidential nominees: Bush & Cheney, Kerry & Edwards and Charla & Mirna. Charla & Mirna's presidential teammate Ralph Nader (played by Ike Barinholtz) was "eliminated" from the race when Charla ran over him with a golf cart.
On the "Valerie Demands Dignity" episode of The Comeback (TV series)
, Charla receives her own reality show called "The Littlest Assistant" and is made the aide to a one-time sitcom star played by Lisa Kudrow.
Battle of the Network Reality Stars
was a revised version of the Battle of the Network Stars television program. Charla & Mirna competed against men and women from sixteen reality TV shows including Richard Hatch (Survivor contestant), Evan Marriott from "Joe Millionaire
", and Brittany Brower from "America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4
".
Celebrity Poker Showdown
: Tournament 6, Game 1 featured reality television all-stars playing for charity. Charla played for the American University of Armenia
against Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
from The Apprentice, Andrew Firestone
of The Bachelor, Trishelle Cannatella
of The Real World: Las Vegas
, and Jonny Fairplay of Survivor: Micronesia
.
The Amazing Race 5
The Amazing Race 5 is the fifth installment of the American reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 5 featured 11 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world....
and The Amazing Race: All-Stars television shows. Charla was born with achondroplasia
Achondroplasia
Achondroplasia dwarfism occurs as a sporadic mutation in approximately 85% of cases or may be inherited in an autosomal dominant genetic disorder that is a common cause of dwarfism...
, the most common form of dwarfism, and is 4' (1.22 m) tall.
Charla Baklayan was born on July 23, 1976 in Aleppo, Syria to Armenian parents, Garbis and Rosine Baklayan. Her family immigrated to America in 1978. Charla is a graduate of Dulaney High School
Dulaney High School
Dulaney High School is a secondary school in Timonium, Baltimore County, Maryland. The school serves a generally middle- to upper-middle class suburban community, with students from Timonium and surrounding areas in Baltimore County. Dulaney is a Blue Ribbon School and ranked #259 nationwide in...
and Towson University
Towson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
with a degree in Business Management.
The Amazing Race 5
On the audition tape for The Amazing Race, Charla lifted weights and even carried her teammate on her shoulders to prove her physical strength. During the actual show, Charla carried a 55-pound side of beef, blocked five slap shots by a professional hockey player, ate one kilogram (2.2 lb) of caviar, and ate a portion of an ostrich egg which was the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs.At the time, Little People of America
Little People of America
Little People of America is a non-profit organization which provides support, resources and information to individuals with dwarfism and their families...
spokesman Dan Okenfuss said that "What Charla is doing on the show is great, introducing little people to the mainstream world, doing an activity average-sized people are doing."
The Amazing Race: All-Stars
Charla & Mirna competed against ten other teams from previous seasons for a second chance at winning $1 million dollars. This time, Charla helped a cowboy lasso, tie down, and groom a wild horse, ate two feet of kielbasa sausage, donned a suit of armor to lead a horse a half-mile, climbed up an 11-story bamboo scaffold and sky jumped 233 meters (764 feet) from the observation deck of the Macau Tower. And in one of the greatest television surprises, Charla and Mirna defeated reality show regulars Rob and AmberRob and Amber
Rob and Amber refers to:* Amber Brkich, reality show contestant* Rob Mariano, reality show contestant...
.
Other TV appearances
On the first episode of MADtvMADtv
MADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
: Season 10, Charla and her cousin Mirna appeared in a skit called "The Amazing Presidential Race". Connie Chung (portrayed by Bobby Lee) narrated the Amazing Race parody featuring a cross country race between presidential nominees: Bush & Cheney, Kerry & Edwards and Charla & Mirna. Charla & Mirna's presidential teammate Ralph Nader (played by Ike Barinholtz) was "eliminated" from the race when Charla ran over him with a golf cart.
On the "Valerie Demands Dignity" episode of The Comeback (TV series)
The Comeback (TV series)
The Comeback is a television series produced by HBO that stars actress Lisa Kudrow as sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern-day Los Angeles, California. It was created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, a former executive producer of Sex and the City...
, Charla receives her own reality show called "The Littlest Assistant" and is made the aide to a one-time sitcom star played by Lisa Kudrow.
Battle of the Network Reality Stars
Battle of the Network Reality Stars
Battle of the Network Reality Stars is a television series that aired on the Bravo channel in the US in August and September 2005. Based on the popular 1970s and 1980s television competition Battle of the Network Stars, the show consisted of thirty-three competitors from several different reality...
was a revised version of the Battle of the Network Stars television program. Charla & Mirna competed against men and women from sixteen reality TV shows including Richard Hatch (Survivor contestant), Evan Marriott from "Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire
Joe Millionaire is an American reality television show that was broadcast on Fox beginning in January 2003. It was broadcast in the UK that same year...
", and Brittany Brower from "America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4 aired in spring 2005, with the shooting location being moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The catch-phrase of the season was "Dive In."...
".
Celebrity Poker Showdown
Celebrity Poker Showdown
Celebrity Poker Showdown was a celebrity game show on the cable network Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, and ran eight tournaments during its five-season run....
: Tournament 6, Game 1 featured reality television all-stars playing for charity. Charla played for the American University of Armenia
American University of Armenia
The American University of Armenia is a private, nonsectarian, independent university founded in 1991 in Yerevan, Armenia. Its creation inspired in the aftermath of the 1988 Leninakan Earthquake, the university is the first Armenian institution modeled on Western-style higher education, committed...
against Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth
Omaroseonee Manigault-Stallworth , usually known simply as Omarosa, is a two-time participant on Donald Trump's television reality show The Apprentice.-Early life:Manigault-Stallworth was born in Youngstown, Ohio...
from The Apprentice, Andrew Firestone
Andrew Firestone
Andrew Boulton Firestone is an American TV reality show personality. He is the son of Brooks Firestone, a grandson of Leonard Firestone, and a great-grandson of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith....
of The Bachelor, Trishelle Cannatella
Trishelle Cannatella
Trishelle Cannatella is an American reality TV contestant, Playboy model, and actress.-Early life:Cannatella was born on November 4, 1979, and raised in Cut Off, Louisiana. She is of French and Italian ancestry...
of The Real World: Las Vegas
The Real World: Las Vegas
The Real World: Las Vegas is the twelfth season of MTV's reality television series The Real World, which focuses on a group of diverse strangers living together for several months in a different city each season, as cameras follow their lives and interpersonal relationships...
, and Jonny Fairplay of Survivor: Micronesia
Survivor: Micronesia
Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Guatemala in which...
.