Ruth Ocumárez is a former beauty queen, actress and model.

Born and raised in Santo Domingo, Ocumárez became a celebrity in her nation by becoming the first woman of predominantly African heritage to represent the Dominican Republic in the Miss Universe

Miss Universe

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....

 pageant

Beauty contest

A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...

. Due to her dark complexion and personality, she was given the nickname la diosa de ébano (the Ebony Goddess) by the Dominican public and press.

At the 2002 Miss Universe pageant, held in 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...

, Ocumárez was predicted by many to be chosen as one of the semifinalists.