Amelia Vega

{{short description|Dominican model, actress, singer, author and beauty queen}}

{{Infobox pageant titleholder

| name = Amelia Patricia Vega Polanco

| image=Amelia Vega6.jpg

| caption = Vega in 2010

| title = Miss Santiago 2002
Miss Dominican Republic 2002
Miss Universe 2003

| nationalcompetition={{nowrap|Miss Dominican Republic 2002}}
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2003
(Winner)

| birth_place = Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

| birth_name = Amelia Patricia Vega Polanco

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1984|11|7}}

| height = 188cm{{Cite web|title=From the oldest to the tallest winners and backstage sabotage: 11 winning facts about Miss Universe|url=https://www.news24.com/channel/the-juice/news/from-the-oldest-to-the-tallest-winners-and-backstage-sabotage-11-winning-facts-about-miss-universe-20200220|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-31|website=Channel 24|date=16 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201145545/https://www.news24.com/channel/the-juice/news/from-the-oldest-to-the-tallest-winners-and-backstage-sabotage-11-winning-facts-about-miss-universe-20200220 |archive-date=1 February 2021 }}

| eye_color = Brown

| hair_color = Brown

| spouse = {{marriage|Al Horford|2011}}

| children = 5

| occupation = {{hlist|Model|actress|author|singer}}

| homepage = {{url|www.ameliavega.com}}

}}

Amelia Vega Polanco{{cite web|title=Amelia Vega Horford (@ameliavega) • Fotos y vídeos de Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/ameliavega/ |website=Instagram |access-date=3 February 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170203212348/https://www.instagram.com/ameliavega/ |archive-date=3 February 2017 |quote=Amelia Vega Horford: My life is imperfectly perfect! Thank you GOD for today! 🙌🏼Ean + Alia's mom Singer – Miss Universe 03. Married to @al_horford |url-status=dead }} ({{IPA|es|aˈmelja ˈβeɣa}}; born 7 November 1984) is a Dominican actress, model, author, singer and beauty queen. At the age of 18, she won the Miss Universe 2003 pageant, becoming the first ever Miss Universe from the Dominican Republic, as well as the youngest winner since 1994.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120224035118/http://www.pageant.com/universe2003/ Miss Dominican Republic was crowned Miss Universe 2003]. pageant.com (3 June 2003)

Early life

Amelia Vega was born in Santiago de los Caballeros on November 7, 1984. Her father Otto Miguel Vega Rasuk is a general physician with offices in New York and Miami. Her mother, Patricia Amelia Polanco Álvarez, is one of the first women to graduate as a pilot in the Dominican Republic and represented the country in the 1980 Miss World pageant. Both of her parents have origins in Santiago de los Caballeros.

Miss Universe

File:Amelia Vega.jpg

After winning the Miss Dominican Republic title, Vega represented the Dominican Republic in the Miss Universe 2003 pageant held in Panama City on 3 June 2003. She became the first delegate from this country to win the title.[http://www.biggeststars.com/a/amelia-vega-home.html Amelia Vega Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802101541/http://www.biggeststars.com/a/amelia-vega-home.html |date=2 August 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://especiales.eluniverso.com/especiales/2004/missuniverso2004/amelia_vega.asp |title=EL UNIVERSO : Noticias del Ecuador y del mundo |publisher=Especiales.eluniverso.com |access-date=15 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830022656/http://especiales.eluniverso.com/especiales/2004/missuniverso2004/amelia_vega.asp |archive-date=30 August 2011 }} At the time she was the youngest woman since 1994 to win Miss Universe and, as of 2024, is the tallest winner, standing at 6'2".

Music

After recording her first demo at 15 years old and starting her artistic career in musicals in her hometown at the same age, Amelia's first single "Pasa Un Segundito" was released by iTunes on 26 April 2010.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} It became a top Latin song in just two days. A couple of months later, she released an environmental song, "Smog". She announced on her Twitter account that her complete album Agua Dulce would be released on 30 August 2011, first on iTunes. She began promoting her music in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, Dominican Republic "where she opened the concert for Marc Anthony and Chayanne in front of a crowd of 50,000 people".{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/pasa-un-segundito-single/367460212 |title=iTunes Music – Pasa un Segundito – Single by Amelia Vega |publisher=iTunes Store |date=23 April 2010 |access-date=2 September 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/smog-single/419151508 |title=iTunes Music – Smog – Single by Amelia Vega |publisher=iTunes Store |date=9 February 2011 |access-date=2 September 2012}}

Personal life

On 24 December 2011, Vega married Dominican NBA player Al Horford in Santo Domingo, after two years of dating.{{cite web|url=http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2011/12/23/407266/Amelia-Vega-se-casa-con-Al-Horford |title=Amelia Vega se casa con Al Horford – Hoy Digital |publisher=Hoy.com.do |access-date=2 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605095720/http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2011/12/23/407266/Amelia-Vega-se-casa-con-Al-Horford |archive-date=5 June 2012 }} They have five children together: Ean, Alía, Ava, Nova and Mila.{{Cite news

|url= https://www.telemundo.com/entretenimiento/latinx-now-english/amelia-vega-and-ai-horford-announce-fifth-baby-rcna36002

|title= Amelia Vega and Ai [sic] Horford Announce Fifth Baby |publisher= Telemundo |date= 2022-07-01 |access-date=2022-07-06 }}

Vega is niece-in-law of the Grammy Award–winning Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra. She attended and graduated from Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Santo Domingo.{{cite web|title=Barbizon Modeling and Acting School Alumni|url=http://www.barbizonmodeling.com/alumni|website=barbizonmodeling.com}}

Vega is the sixth generation of women in her family who bears Amelia either as their first name or middle name.{{cite book|last1=Larrazábal Blanco|first1=Carlos|title=Familias Dominicanas|publisher=Academia Dominicana de la Historia|location=Santo Domingo|language=Spanish}}

Filmography

Capitán Avispa (2024) .... Amelia Vega as (Polibya Néctar)
Homie Spumoni (2006) .... Amelia Vega as (Chanice)
The Lost City (2005) .... Minerva Eros

Books

In 2019, Amelia Vega published her first children's book, titled Un día en la vida de Pichín, in support of children with cancer.{{Cite web |last=Libre |first=Diario |date=2019-10-31 |title=Amelia Vega firmará su primer libro infantil: "Un día en la vida de Pichín" a favor de los niños con cáncer |url=https://www.diariolibre.com/revista/cultura/amelia-vega-firmara-su-primer-libro-infantil-un-dia-en-la-vida-de-pichin-a-favor-de-los-ninos-con-cancer-HB15055570 |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=Diario Libre |language=es}}

References

External links

[http://www.AMELIAVEGA.net/ Official website]
{{IMDb name|1392123}}
{{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070126232636/http://www.missesmodels.bitacoras.com/missuniverso2003.htm Miss Universe 2003-related Website]
{{Fashionmodel}}

{{S-bef|before={{flagicon|Panama}} Justine Pasek}}

{{S-ttl|title=Miss Universe

|years=2003}}

{{S-aft|after={{flagicon|Australia}} Jennifer Hawkins}}

{{S-ttl|title=Miss Dominican Republic

|years=2003}}

{{S-ttl|title=Miss Santiago

|years=2003}}

{{Miss Universe Organization titleholders

|Year = 2003

|Miss Universe= {{flagicon|Dominican Republic}} Amelia Vega

|Miss USA= {{flagicon|Massachusetts}} Susie Castillo