Cecilia Bolocco – Miss Chile and Miss Universe
Chile – more than twice the size of Arizona – is home to beautiful girls: Daniela Benavente, Marianne Muller, Margot Montt, Lucia Santa Cruz, Kenita Larrain, Jenny Purtho Arap, Daniela Campos and Cecilia Bolocco. Already a popular heroine in Chile, Cecilia Bolocco
she became a legend when she won the Miss Universe pageant in 1987. Since 1990, Cecilia has been called “the most famous Miss Universe in the world.” She has won the hearts of pageant fans from Mexico to Santiago. Who is she really?
Together with the writer Gabriela Mistral (Nobel Prize for Literature 1945), she is one of the most admired women in Chile. The second of four children in a working-class family of European descent, Cecilia Carolina Bolocco Fonck was born on May 19, 1965 to Enzo and Rose Marie Fonck of Bolocco. She studied civil engineering at the University of Santiago and then studied costume design at the INCA-CEA Institute.
Renowned for her diplomatic skills and culture, Cecilia developed a passion for dance from an early age and became a professional dancer, winning many titles. She never lost her love for dancing. Her colleagues found her energetic and cooperative.
In the mid-1980s, she also worked as a professional model for magazines. Cecilia was one of the most popular fashion models in Chile. A Chilean journalist approached her and advised her to dedicate herself to modeling. During this period of time, she suffered a tragedy when her brother Rodrigo died suddenly. This was a terrible experience for her, which marked her forever.
On April 20, 1987, Cecilia was elected Miss Chile Universe in Santiago, replacing Mariana Villasante, one of the most beautiful girls in South America. Like Bárbara Palacios Teyde (Miss Venezuela and Miss South America-Universe), Christy Fichtner (Miss USA and Miss Texas) and Susanna Huckstep (Miss Italy and Miss Photogenic), Mariana was one of the favorites to win the Miss Universe title in City of Panama. .
Unlike Claudia van Sint Jan (Miss Chile 1985) and Mariana, Miss Chile 1987 competed in Miss South America. Many of the delegates at each pageant attended their year’s Miss Universe pageant. Before winning the Miss Universe pageant, Bárbara Palacios, Miss Venezuela, won the Miss South America title in 1986. Unfortunately, Cecilia did not qualify for the semifinals at the 1987 Miss South America in Cartagena, Colombia. Strangely, she didn’t either. she win any prize. Patricia Arce Rocabado (Miss Bolivia) was Miss Photogenic and María Victoria Zangaro (Miss Uruguay) was Miss Congeniality, then immediately traveled to the city of Singapore to participate in the Miss Universe pageant.
On May 26, 1987, Cecilia was crowned Miss Universe in the city of Singapore. There were celebrations for Chile -from Arica to Chiloé-, after Cecilia Bolocco won the title. The 35th Miss Universe began with a spectacular opening ceremony at the World Trade Center in front of thousands of spectators from Asia and other countries. Singapore is the smallest country to ever host the Miss Universe pageant, with a size of 270 square miles and a population of 4.5 million people. Egypt made its first appearance as a participating country in Miss Universe. Miss Honduras, France Tatiana Reyes, had won the Miss Amity award and Miss Brazil, Jacqueline Ribeiro Meirelles, won the title of Best National Costume.
For many reasons, Miss Colombia, María Patricia López Ruiz, was considered to have a good chance of winning the title. Patricia had won two international awards: Miss South America and Miss Photogenic.
There were 12 judges: Deborah Carthy-Deu (former Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Universe), Neil Hickey (American journalist), Jose Greco (Spanish dancer), David Niven Jr (American actor), Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (American actress and singer), Chu San Goh (Asian choreographer), Peter Graves (American film and television actor), Paul-Louis Orrier (French fashion designer), Arnold Kopelson (American film producer), Nancy Dussault (American singer and actress), Yue -Sai Kan (Chinese-American businessman), Isabel Sanford (American actress).
Unlike other Miss Universes from Latin America -Norma Beatriz Nolan, Bárbara Palacios, Dayanara Torres, Amelia Vega-, Miss Chile 1987 did not have the support of judges from Latin America. Deborah Carthy-Deu had given her support to Laurie Tamara Simpson Rivera (Miss Puerto Rico 1987). Some countries have benefited from having many judges. In the last century; Venezuela has had many judges in Miss Universe: Carolina Herrera (fashion designer/ 1984 and 1997), Irene Saez Conde (Miss Universe/ 1983 and 1995), María Conchita Alonso Bustillo (singer and actress/ 1993 and 1998), Lupita Ferrer ( actress /1986), José Luis Rodríguez (singer/ 1991) and Bárbara Palacios (Miss Universe/ 1988).
Certainly, Cecilia had earned the title and the special admiration of the Asian public. The public had all eyes on the Chilean Cecilia. It was Chile’s first appearance in the final. She wore a spectacular white dress designed by Rubén Campos.
From 1990 to 2005, she was an internationally renowned Latin American entertainer. Cecilia is a two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and producer. In 1993, Cecilia Bolocco was one of the stars of Miss Universe in Mexico City. She said, “It really gives me a lot of pride to be here…” Three years later, she was one of the members of the judging panel for Miss Universe in Las Vegas, USA.
Until their separation in April 2007, Bolocco lived with her husband, Carlos Menem -former president of Argentina-, whom she married in 2001, and their son, Máximo Saúl Menem Bolocco, born in 2003, in Santiago (Chile). She met Menem in 1999 when she was a successful journalist. After the marriage broke up, Cecilia became a fashion designer.
Cecilia Bolocco has emerged as a popular youth icon and Chile’s sweetheart, with her every move followed by millions across Chile. She currently resides in Santiago.