Amelia Vega Biography

Amelia Vega Polanco (born November 7, 1984), known simply as Amelia Vega, is a Dominican woman who won the Miss Universe contest held in Panama City, Panama on June 3, 2003, becoming the first Dominican woman ever to win the Miss Universe title. She had been mentioned by various media outlets as one of the favorite candidates to win the crown before the contest took place. Vega proved herself to be one of the contest's loudest candidates, when she went and screamed in front of a camera during a filming of a contest practice. Several press agencies and websites covering the pageant, particularly GlobalBeauties.com, reported that Amelia was not very well-liked and that her attitude was quite controversial, and her victory was met with apparent indifference among the other delegates who seemed to favor eventual 1st runner-up Mariángel Ruiz of Venezuela over her. Despite backstage controversy, her victory was a clear-cut one and she has since become one of the most marketed faces to come out of the Miss Universe pageant.

Amelia Vega Trivia

• Lived in New York City for a while. Her father still resides there where he works as a doctor.
• Niece of singer Juan Luis Guerra
• Her mother, Patricia Polanco, was a former beauty pageant contestant for the Dominican Republic in the 1980 Miss World pageant.
• Speaks Spanish and English