Cynthia Olavarría
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Enid Olavarría Rivera (born January 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican actress, television host, fashion model, and former Miss Puerto Rico
who competed in the Miss Universe 2005
beauty pageant.
, a district of San Juan
, Puerto Rico
, Olavarría was an expressive and eloquent child. Those qualities made her embark in the world of beauty pageants, TV hosting and modeling since she was a teenager. At age 11 she won her first beauty pageant, "Miss Reina Infantil" and became the host of the famous Puerto Rican child game show Contra el Reloj con Pacheco.
, Puerto Rico
, where she was an honor student and member of many school organizations, including the National Honor Society
and the Student Council
. After graduating high school, she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
, where she managed to combine her studies with her modeling career. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications, with a concentration in Journalism
and Public Relations
.
Puerto Rico, where she placed third. This served as springboard to develop a long modeling career where she has enjoyed success, achieving over 20 magazine covers and publications in Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Miami, New York, and Puerto Rico.
Many awards have been given to her for her trajectory, including two awards for “Best Female Model” and a recognition as a Puerto Rican “Top Model”. She also received the “International Model Ambassador Award” at the Chicago Latino Fashion Week in 2007, and another recognition as “Outstanding Model of the Year” in the Latin Pride National Awards.
Puerto Rico.
After graduating from college, Olavarría was headed towards a master's degree in International Relations
as well as a career with Elite Model Management
when she decided to temporarily change her path in order to participate in the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2005
pageant, where she won the crown representing the municipality of Salinas
in October 2004.
She represented Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe 2005
pageant held in Bangkok
, Thailand
in May 2005, and became the first Puerto Rican candidate in Miss Universe history to place first runner-up. The winner was Natalie Glebova
of Canada
. When Glebova was unable to attend the Miss Indonesia 2007 pageant on behalf of the Miss Universe Organization
because of Canada's travel ban on Indonesia, Olavarría officially attended in her place.
During the course of her reign, she made many appearances on such television programs such as Don Francisco Presenta, El Gordo y La Flaca
, Despierta America
, Cotorreando
, Primer Impacto
, Objetivo Fama
, Premios Juventud
, and Premios Lo Nuestro.
Given her success in beauty pageants she has been invited to be a judge in several international beauty pageants, along with hosting some of them.
In the United States, she has been a presenter at Premios Juventud
, Premios Lo Nuestro, and the Billboard Latin Music Awards
. She has also served as guest host in Despierta América, Escandalo TV, and Al Rojo Vivo.
In 2007, Univision
recruited her to become the official Runway Coach of the hit reality show Nuestra Belleza Latina
which airs on the Univision network. There she held an active role in this position for three years total (2007–2010) while also doing work for other Univision sister networks. In February 2010 she moved on to work for Galavision
as a news correspondent and co-host of Acceso Maximo.
Cynthia also worked for Univision's rival network Telemundo
as the host of Decisiones Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican adaptation of the Telemundo's series Decisiones
. In 2008, she also hosted a Miss Universe special titled “Intimamente con Miss Universo” for Telemundo. The one-hour show follows the steps of Miss Universe 2008
, Dayana Mendoza
, after winning the title.
Also, in both 2007 and 2008, she joined Mexican singer/actor Fernando Allende
to host the Miss World Puerto Rico pageant.
Recently she was also the temporary host of Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo
in November 2010 while she filmed the telenovela Alguien Te Mira (2010)
. [(2011) Mi Corazón Insiste en Lola Volcán, Telemundo with Carmen Villalobos, Jencarlos Canela, Carlos Ferro, and Ana Layesksa. She is Sofia Palacio
in hopes of also becoming an actress. Her television debut was as the protagonist of a mini-series called “Cuando el Universo Conspira” in 2005. Later she made her theater debut by playing a major role as a princess in the child-oriented play “La Princesa de los Ojos Tristes”. In 2006, she appeared in Victor Manuelle
and Sin Bandera
’s musical video entitled “Maldita Suerte”. In 2007, she landed the protagonist role in the first-ever online telenovela for the Hispanic market, "Mi Adorada Malena", which was produced by Univision and broadcasted on its website. Due to its success, it was later broadcasted nationally on the network. In July 2010 she landed the role of Lucy Saldana in Telemundo's telenovela-thriller Alguien Te Mira (2010)
. She plays a crazy massage therapist that is obsessed with one of her coworkers and will stop at nothing to destroy his marriage so she can have him. In December 2010 she also played the main role in the music video of Jencarlos Canela
's new single, titled "Mi Corazon Insiste".
Miss Puerto Rico
Miss Puerto Rico is the common name or sash used to identify a Puerto Rican representative in an international pageant. Currently, Miss Universe Puerto Rico, Miss Mundo de Puerto Rico and Miss Earth Puerto Rico are the official national preliminaries to the Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Earth...
who competed in the Miss Universe 2005
Miss Universe 2005
Miss Universe 2005, the 54th Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand on May 31, 2005.At the conclusion of the final telecast, Miss Universe Canada, Natalie Glebova was crowned Miss Universe 2005 by outgoing titleholder Jennifer Hawkins of Australia...
beauty pageant.
Early years
Born in SanturceSanturce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Summary:Santurce is one of the top ten most populated areas of the island holding Miramar, Loíza, Isla Grande, Barrio Obrero, and Condado as main cultural hot spots for art, music, cuisine, fashion, hotels, technology, multimedia, film, textile and...
, a district of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Olavarría was an expressive and eloquent child. Those qualities made her embark in the world of beauty pageants, TV hosting and modeling since she was a teenager. At age 11 she won her first beauty pageant, "Miss Reina Infantil" and became the host of the famous Puerto Rican child game show Contra el Reloj con Pacheco.
Studies
Cynthia Olavarria attended La Piedad High School in Isla VerdeIsla Verde, Puerto Rico
Isla Verde is a District of Carolina located east of Santurce next to the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport above the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, where she was an honor student and member of many school organizations, including the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
and the Student Council
Student council
Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
. After graduating high school, she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras , also referred to as UPR-RP, is a public research university located on a campus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico...
, where she managed to combine her studies with her modeling career. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications, with a concentration in Journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and Public Relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
.
Modeling career
At age 16, she started out as a model by competing in Elite Model LookElite Model Look
Elite Model Look is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is the premiere and most prestigious modeling contest used to discover and launch fashion models in the international fashion marketplace...
Puerto Rico, where she placed third. This served as springboard to develop a long modeling career where she has enjoyed success, achieving over 20 magazine covers and publications in Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Miami, New York, and Puerto Rico.
Many awards have been given to her for her trajectory, including two awards for “Best Female Model” and a recognition as a Puerto Rican “Top Model”. She also received the “International Model Ambassador Award” at the Chicago Latino Fashion Week in 2007, and another recognition as “Outstanding Model of the Year” in the Latin Pride National Awards.
Beauty pageants
Olavarria's history with pageants started at age 11 when she won her first beauty pageant, "Miss Reina Infantil". When she became 16, she competed in Elite Model LookElite Model Look
Elite Model Look is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is the premiere and most prestigious modeling contest used to discover and launch fashion models in the international fashion marketplace...
Puerto Rico.
After graduating from college, Olavarría was headed towards a master's degree in International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
as well as a career with Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management
Elite Model Management is a large modeling agency based in New York and Paris. It is a subsidiary of Elite World S.A.-History:Founded in France in 1972 by John Casablancas and Alain Kittler, it was rebought in 1990 by Nicholas Farrae. Elite World S.A. is the parent company of Elite Model...
when she decided to temporarily change her path in order to participate in the Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2005
Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2005
The annual Miss Puerto Rico Universe competition was held in the fall of 2004 in Puerto Rico. Cynthia Olavarria won the pageant and represented Puerto Rico at the Miss Universe 2005 pageant were she placed 1st Runner-up.-Placements:-NOTES:...
pageant, where she won the crown representing the municipality of Salinas
Salinas, Puerto Rico
Salinas is a small municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Aibonito and Cayey; southeast of Coamo, east of Santa Isabel; and west of Guayama...
in October 2004.
She represented Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe 2005
Miss Universe 2005
Miss Universe 2005, the 54th Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand on May 31, 2005.At the conclusion of the final telecast, Miss Universe Canada, Natalie Glebova was crowned Miss Universe 2005 by outgoing titleholder Jennifer Hawkins of Australia...
pageant held in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in May 2005, and became the first Puerto Rican candidate in Miss Universe history to place first runner-up. The winner was Natalie Glebova
Natalie Glebova
Natalie Glebova is a Russian Canadian beauty queen, the 2005 Miss Universe title holder.-Personal life:Glebova was born in Tuapse, Russia. She studied classical piano and graduated from a professional musical school at age of 12. She also has won various regional rhythmic gymnastics championships...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. When Glebova was unable to attend the Miss Indonesia 2007 pageant on behalf of the Miss Universe Organization
Miss Universe Organization
The Miss Universe Organization is the organization that currently owns and runs the Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty contests. Based in New York, it is owned jointly by NBC Universal and Donald Trump. The current president is Paula Shugart...
because of Canada's travel ban on Indonesia, Olavarría officially attended in her place.
During the course of her reign, she made many appearances on such television programs such as Don Francisco Presenta, El Gordo y La Flaca
El Gordo y la Flaca
El Gordo y la Flaca is a Spanish-language entertainment news show...
, Despierta America
Despierta América
¡Despierta América! is a popular Spanish language morning show which has aired on the Univision television network since 1997. It is broadcast from the network's studios in Miami, Florida, and is hosted by Chiquinquirá Delgado, Poncho de Anda, Raúl González, and Karla Martínez. Satcha Pretto and...
, Cotorreando
Cotorreando
Cotorreando was a daily Spanish language gossip television show that ran on the U.S. Spanish network, Telemundo from 2000 to 2007 .-Show:...
, Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto is a Spanish language television news program broadcast by Univision in the USA weekdays at 5pm ET. A later program at 11pm ET/PT airs on Univision affiliates without a local news department , leading into the network's 11:30pm newscast, Noticiero Univision Edicion Nocturna.The...
, Objetivo Fama
Objetivo Fama
Objetivo Fama is a Puerto Rican singing talent contest that has been on air for over five years on WLII, the Univision outlet in Puerto Rico; and on Telefutura in the mainland United States...
, Premios Juventud
Premios Juventud
Premios Juventud is an awards show for Spanish-speaking celebrities in the areas of film, music, sports, fashion, and pop culture, presented by the television network Univision...
, and Premios Lo Nuestro.
Given her success in beauty pageants she has been invited to be a judge in several international beauty pageants, along with hosting some of them.
Television
Her hosting career started at an early age when she became the host of Contra el Reloj con Pacheco. After this, she made multiple appearances as a guest host for various television networks in Puerto Rico and many international events, mainly beauty pageants.In the United States, she has been a presenter at Premios Juventud
Premios Juventud
Premios Juventud is an awards show for Spanish-speaking celebrities in the areas of film, music, sports, fashion, and pop culture, presented by the television network Univision...
, Premios Lo Nuestro, and the Billboard Latin Music Awards
Billboard Latin Music Awards
The Billboard Latin Music Awards grew out of the Billboard Music Awards program from Billboard Magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The awards began in 1990...
. She has also served as guest host in Despierta América, Escandalo TV, and Al Rojo Vivo.
In 2007, Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
recruited her to become the official Runway Coach of the hit reality show Nuestra Belleza Latina
Nuestra Belleza Latina
Nuestra Belleza Latina is a reality TV show revolving around 12 young women competing title of Nuestra Belleza Latina also win a cash price and become a personality for the Spanish television network Univision....
which airs on the Univision network. There she held an active role in this position for three years total (2007–2010) while also doing work for other Univision sister networks. In February 2010 she moved on to work for Galavision
Galavisión
Galavisión is a Miami, Florida based Spanish language cable network owned by Univision Communications, Inc. The station is unrelated to the Mexican channel of the same name, other than sharing the Televisa-produced programming.-History:...
as a news correspondent and co-host of Acceso Maximo.
Cynthia also worked for Univision's rival network Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
as the host of Decisiones Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican adaptation of the Telemundo's series Decisiones
Decisiones
Decisiones is a Telemundo-produced Spanish-language television anthology of steamy melodramas about passion and sex in the modern world. The hour-long series features impassioned people thrust into amorous adventures and pushed to their breaking points...
. In 2008, she also hosted a Miss Universe special titled “Intimamente con Miss Universo” for Telemundo. The one-hour show follows the steps of Miss Universe 2008
Miss Universe 2008
Miss Universe 2008, the 57th Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Crown Convention Center in the Diamond Bay Resort, Nha Trang, Vietnam on July 14, 2008...
, Dayana Mendoza
Dayana Mendoza
Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada is a model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the titles of Miss Venezuela 2007 and Miss Universe 2008.-Personal life:...
, after winning the title.
Also, in both 2007 and 2008, she joined Mexican singer/actor Fernando Allende
Fernando Allende
Fernando Allende is a Mexican singer, actor, painter, film producer, and film director. Allende began singing in 1959, at the age of seven.-Private life:...
to host the Miss World Puerto Rico pageant.
Recently she was also the temporary host of Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo
Al Rojo Vivo
Al Rojo Vivo is a Spanish language news program on the American television network Telemundo. It is shown daily from 5 to 6 P.M. EST. Anchors are Maria Celeste Arraras and Candela Ferro.- External links :* Telemundo Website* Official "Al Rojo Vivo" Website...
in November 2010 while she filmed the telenovela Alguien Te Mira (2010)
Alguien Te Mira (2010)
Alguien Te Mira is a Spanish-language telenovela to be produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo...
. [(2011) Mi Corazón Insiste en Lola Volcán, Telemundo with Carmen Villalobos, Jencarlos Canela, Carlos Ferro, and Ana Layesksa. She is Sofia Palacio
Acting career
After finishing her undergraduate studies and returning from Miss Universe, Olavarria began taking acting lessons with actresses Elia Enid Cadilla, Flor Nunez and Sebastian LigardeSebastián Ligarde
Sebastián Ligarde is an award-winning Mexican-American actor best known for his work in telenovelas and the big screen...
in hopes of also becoming an actress. Her television debut was as the protagonist of a mini-series called “Cuando el Universo Conspira” in 2005. Later she made her theater debut by playing a major role as a princess in the child-oriented play “La Princesa de los Ojos Tristes”. In 2006, she appeared in Victor Manuelle
Victor Manuelle
Víctor Manuelle, born Víctor Manuel Ruiz on November 4, 1968 in Bronx, New York, is a successful Latin Grammy nominated Puerto Rican American salsa singer, songwriter, and improvisational sonero, known to his fans as El Sonero de la Juventud...
and Sin Bandera
Sin Bandera
Sin Bandera was a Latin pop duo based in Mexico that consisted of Leonel García, and Noel Schajris. They became one of the most popular artists after their debut album "Sin Bandera" was released in 2001.-Biography:...
’s musical video entitled “Maldita Suerte”. In 2007, she landed the protagonist role in the first-ever online telenovela for the Hispanic market, "Mi Adorada Malena", which was produced by Univision and broadcasted on its website. Due to its success, it was later broadcasted nationally on the network. In July 2010 she landed the role of Lucy Saldana in Telemundo's telenovela-thriller Alguien Te Mira (2010)
Alguien Te Mira (2010)
Alguien Te Mira is a Spanish-language telenovela to be produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo...
. She plays a crazy massage therapist that is obsessed with one of her coworkers and will stop at nothing to destroy his marriage so she can have him. In December 2010 she also played the main role in the music video of Jencarlos Canela
Jencarlos Canela
Jencarlos Canela is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing the leading roles in the telenovelas Más Sabe el Diablo and Mi Corazón Insiste.-Biography:...
's new single, titled "Mi Corazon Insiste".
External links
Official website- An Interview with Cynthia Olavarría
- Cynthia Olavarría in the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...