Cecilia Bolocco Biography

Cecilia Bolocco (born Cecilia Carolina Bolocco Fonck on May 19, 1965) is a Chilean actress, TV Host and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universo Chile 1987 and Miss Universe 1987.

She has worked as a journalist on the Spanish language edition of CNN, on Telemundo and on various programs for Chilean Television and she acted on the soap opera Morelia.

Between 2001 and 2011 she was married to former Argentine president Carlos Menem.

Early life

Bolocco was born in Santiago, Chile to Enzo Bolocco Cintolesi, a businessman, and Rose Marie Fonck Assler. She attended primary and secondary school at Santiago College. She then took a year of Civil Engineering at the University of Santiago, Chile, before dropping out to pursue Costume Design at INCA-CEA Institute.

Miss Universe

Bolocco was selected Miss Chile for Miss Universe on April 20, 1987. On May 26, 1987 she beat 67 contestants to become the first Chilean to win the Miss Universe beauty pageant that was held in Singapore that year. During her year-long reign, she settled in Los Angeles, California.

After the crown

Bolocco began a television career in Chile with the show Porque hoy es sbado ("Because it's Saturday") on TVN (Chile) Televisin Nacional de Chile. She then co-hosted Martes 13 ("Tuesday the 13th") on Channel 13.

In March 1990 Bolocco married American television producer Michael Young in Santiago. The local media covered the event as if it were a royal wedding.

Bolocco moved to Atlanta, Georgia to work as an anchorwoman for the Spanish section at CNN produced for Telemundo Network, on June, 1990. Then, she became a full-fledged member of the Telemundo family where she hosted the afternoon lifestyles program La Buena Vida ("The Good Life"), The show was merged with another newsmagazine titled Ocurri as ("It Happened This Way") and Esta noche con Cecilia Bolocco ("Tonight With Cecilia Bolocco") followed for which she won two Emmy awards.

She then took a starring role as the evil Karina Lafontaine de Montero in the Mexican Televisa's hit soap opera Morelia, which was aired to more than 70 countries throughout the Americas, including Chile, and Europe.

Around the mid-1990s Bolocco ended her relationship with husband Michael Young. The marriage was annulled, because no divorce law existed in Chile at the time.

In 1993 Bolocco co-hosted the 1993 Miss Universe pageant in The Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City.

In 1995 Bolocco co-hosted the closing night of the 36th Via del Mar International Song Festival, held every year in Via del Mar, Chile.

In October 1996, already separated, Bolocco took the job as co-host in one of the shows with the highest ratings in Chilean television history, Viva el lunes ("Long Live Monday"), alongside Kike Morand and comedian lvaro Salas. At the same time, she had a radio show and appeared in her own television show, La noche de Cecilia ("The Night of Cecilia").

Also in 1996 Bolocco was a judge in the 1996 Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In February, 2000, Bolocco became an established hostess for the Via del Mar Song Festival, with partner and longtime host Antonio Vodanovic.

In August 2001 Bolocco's marriage to Young was annulled. On 26 May 2001, Bolocco married former Argentine president Carlos Menem in La Rioja, Argentina, whom she met while interviewing him at the Casa Rosada presidential house in Argentina. On November 19, 2003, their first son, Mximo Sal Menem Bolocco, was born in Santiago, Chile. They separated in April 2007 and officially divorced in May 2011.

See also

• List of television presenters/Chile