Alicia Machado

Alicia Machado Biography

Yoseph Alicia Machado Fajardo (born December 6, 1976), commonly known as Alicia Machado, was the fourth woman from Venezuela to win the Miss Universe crown. Machado was born in Maracay in the state of Aragua. She is the daughter of a Cuban father and Spanish mother.

Machado won Venezuela's 1995 pageant representing Yaracuy and then the Miss Universe 1996 crown in Las Vegas. The runner-up, Jacqueline Aguilera, also won the Miss World 1995 crown, marking the second time that Venezuela had held the two world titles simultaneously. Machado's reign came as Donald Trump took ownership of the Miss Universe pageant.

During her reign as Miss Universe, Machado made headlines when it was reported that she gained too much weight and the Miss Universe Organization was considering replacing her with her runner-up, Taryn Mansell of Aruba. In the end, Machado managed to shed some of the weight off and retained her title. Donald Trump, however, was less magnanimous. While calling in live on the Howard Stern radio show to promote the 1997 Miss Universe pageant, he called her an "eating machine".

During 2004–2005, she pursued a career as a TV commercial model with particular success in promoting a dieting product. She also became engaged to Venezuelan baseball player Bobby Abreu, then with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2005, Machado appeared on a Spanish reality show called La Granja ("The Farm") and caused scandal when she was filmed having sex with another show participant. After the film and photos became public, Abreu broke off their engagement.

On February 19, 2006, Machado debuted on a Mexican reality show named Cantando Por Un Sueño ("Singing For A Dream") a program in the line of the previous Bailando Por Un Sueño ("Dancing For A Dream") in which the winner has the chance for a dream to come true. The show is very similar to Dancing with the Stars (U.S.) and Mira Quién Baila ("Look Who's Dancing") (Spain).

Machado appeared in (and on the cover of) the February 2006 issue of Playboy magazine's Mexican edition, thus becoming the first and only Miss Universe to pose nude for Playboy. She dedicated her photographs to Donald Trump. Later she posed nude for the American edition as well, appearing in its October 2007 issue (though not on the cover this time).