Venezuelan Beauties
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miss Venezuela Alexandra Federica Guzmán Diamante during a welcoming gala for the Miss World pageant in Warsaw, Poland. (AP)
Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza is crowned the winner of Miss Universe 2008 at the Crown Convention Centre in Nha Trang, Vietnam. (2008 Miss Universe Organization)
Claudia Paola Suárez Fernández, Miss Venezuela 2007, in a TV studio in Beijing, China. She was among a number contestants in Beijing for a promotional tour prior to the 57th Miss World Pageant in Sanya of Hainan province, China. (2007 Getty Images)
Claudia Cristina Moreno González was the official representative of Venezuela in the Miss Universe 2000 pageant held in Nicosia, Cyprus. She won the title of 1st runner-up. (AP)
Carolina Indriago, Miss Venezuela 1999, tapes her "beauty shot" at The Holiday Inn in Trinidad for the Miss Universe pageant. (Getty Images)
Stefanía Fernández Krupij won the Miss Venezuela title in 2008, then went on to become Miss Universe the following year. (AP)
Monica Spear, Miss Venezuela 2005, poses for photographs at the Dusit Thani in Bangkok, Thailand. (2005 Miss Universe)
Mariángel Ruiz Torrealba, a Venezuelan show hostess, actress and fashion model, became Miss Venezuela in 2002. She was 1st runner-up in the Miss Universe 2003 pageant. (AP)
Miss Venezuela 2000 Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson, a TV hostess, was a finalist in the Miss Universe 2001 contest. Eva has a degree in communications from Universidad Santa María in Caracas. A Buddhist, she is the first non-Christian to win the title of Miss Venezuela. (AP)
Cynthia Cristina Lander Zamora became Miss Venezuela in 2001. (AP)
Miss Venezuela Alicia Machado won the Miss Universe title in 1996, the year Donald Trump took over the competition. She made headlines when she gained weight after winning the title. (Grosby Group)
Miss Venezuela Irene Saez was the 1981 Miss Universe. Saez stayed in the headlines in her homeland, becoming a force in local politics. She was mayor of a Caracas suburb, governor of the state of Nueva Esparta, and a presidential candidate. (AP)