Ali Landry

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Ali Landry Beauty pageant titleholder
Birth name:	Ali Landry
Birthdate:	July 21, 1973 (age 33)
Birth location:	Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
Height:	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Eye color:	Brown
Hair color:	Brown
Title(s):	Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1990 (Top 6) Miss Louisiana USA 1996 Miss USA 1996
Major Competition(s):	Miss USA 1996 (winner) Miss Universe 1996 (Top 6)

Ali Landry (born July 21, 1973) is a former Miss USA (1996), model and actress. She is recognized as the Doritos Girl from her popular 1998 and 1998 Super Bowl commercials.

Landry grew up in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. This southwestern region of Louisiana is referred to as "Acadiana," the heart of Cajun country. Landry is of Cajun and Choctaw descent^{[citation needed]}.She graduated from Cecilia High School in 1991. She graduated from University of Louisiana-Lafayette with a degree in Mass Commuications. She is a sister member Kappa Delta Sorority.

In 1998 she was named by "People" magazine as one of 50 most beautiful people in the world.

1 Pageantry
2 Post pageants
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Pageantry

Her first foray into pageantry came in 1990 when she was crowned Miss Louisiana Teen USA, becoming the first representative from Louisiana directed by RPM Productions.^{[citation needed]} She represented Louisiana in the Miss Teen USA 1990 pageant held in Biloxi, Mississippi in July 1990, where she place seventh.

In 1995 Landry won the Miss Louisiana USA 1996 title, becoming the first former Miss Louisiana Teen USA to win the Miss title. She went on to compete in the Miss USA 1996 pageant broadcast live from South Padre Island, Texas in February 1996, where she placed third highest after the preliminary competition and second highest on average during the final event. She was the highest placed of the finalists and eventually went on to win the Miss USA 1996 title, the first former Miss Teen USA delegate to win the title (although her predecessor Shanna Moakler, previously Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 1992, had inherited the Miss USA title from Chelsi Smith the year before.

Landry went on to compete in the 1996 Miss Universe pageant held in Las Vegas in May that year. She placed highest on average after the presentation show, and was ranked second in the evening gown and interview events during the final competition, however only placed seventh in swimsuit. She was second going in to the final round of six delegates, but fell to last after the final question.

Landry was at this time the only former Miss Teen USA delegate to compete at Miss Universe, and until 2000 would have the highest overall score of any delegate to compete in all three competitions.

[edit] Post pageants

Landry has done much modeling for photographers and magazines, and she specializes in swimsuit and lingerie modeling. As a spokeswoman for the Doritos chips brand, she appeared in celebrated TV commercials airing during the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowl football games. She was named by "People" magazine as one of 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1998^{[citation needed]}.

A trained gymnast, she still required hours of takes^{[citation needed]}to get the seconds of footage of her doing acrobatic stunts right for the commercials. From 2003 to 2006, she was a regular cast member of the UPN sitcom Eve.

Landry has participated in the show Fear Factor, and was runner up. She is an avid athlete and also participated in the Boston Marathon.

[edit] Personal life

She met Mario López when he emceed the 1998 Miss Teen USA pageant and she was a commentator. Mario was instantly smitten. Landry was hesitant, but López persisted. They became engaged in summer 2003. Landry married longtime boyfriend Mario López on 24 April 2004, but two weeks later she had the marriage annulled. The marriage was annulled over alleged infidelities committed by Lopez during the relationship.^[1]

She became engaged to film director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde on Memorial Day, 2005. They were married on 8 April 2006 ]]^[2]in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.^[3]

Announced on 30 March 2007 that she and her husband are expecting their first child in July 2007[1]

[edit] Filmography

Landry and her second husband film Bella together.Bella was directed by her husband Alejandro Gomez Monteverde and was produced by their business partners Sean Wolfington, Eduardo Verastegui, Leo Severino, and Denise Pinckley.^[4]

Landry's husband, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde and Bella's filmmakers received honors from the Smithsonian and the Whitehouse for Bella. The Smithsonian Latino Center honored Monteverde with their "Legacy Award" at a private screening in Miami hosted by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and his wife Columba Bush, a native Mexican.^[5]

The director of the Department of Citizenship also gave her husband the "American by Choice" award for Bella's positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the U.S.^[6]

The president and first lady saw the film and invited Bella's director to sit with Laura Bush in her private box during the annual "State of the Union" speech in 2007.^[7]^[7]