Ali Landry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ali Landry
Landry in 2008
Born
Ali Germaine Landry

Cecilia, Louisiana, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[citation needed]
Spouses
​
​
(m. 2004; ann. 2004)​
​
​
(m. 2006)​
Children3
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title
Years active1997–present
Hair colorBrown[citation needed]
Eye colorBrown[citation needed]
Major
competition(s)

Ali Germaine Landry[1] (born July 21, 1973) is an American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1996. She played Rita Lefleur on the UPN sitcom Eve and was the Doritos Girl in a 1998 Super Bowl commercial. In 1998, she was named by People magazine as one of 50 most beautiful people in the world.[2]

Early life[edit]

Landry was named after Ali MacGraw after her mother had seen the 1970 film Love Story. Landry grew up in Cecilia, Louisiana, the daughter of Renella (Ray) and Gene Allen Landry.[3] Landry is of French (Cajun) descent.[4][5] She attended Cecilia High School, graduating in 1991. In high school, she was captain of the cheerleaders. She attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and majored in mass communication. She is a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Pageantry[edit]

Her first foray into pageantry came in 1990 when she was crowned Miss Louisiana Teen USA. She represented Louisiana in the 1990 Miss Teen USA pageant held in Biloxi, Mississippi in July 1990, where she placed first in the preliminary swimsuit and evening gown competitions, but was ranked seventh during the final competition.

In 1995, Landry won the 1996 Miss Louisiana USA title, becoming the first former Miss Louisiana Teen USA to win the Miss USA crown. She went on to compete in the 1996 Miss USA pageant, which was broadcast live from South Padre Island, Texas in February 1996 – she placed third highest after the preliminary competition and second highest on average during the final Top 10 competition. She was the highest placed of the Top 6 finalists and eventually went on to win the 1996 title.

She is the first former Miss Teen USA delegate to win the Miss USA crown outright (her predecessor Shanna Moakler, previously Miss Rhode Island Teen USA, Miss New York USA and first runner-up to Miss USA Chelsi Smith, only inherited the title after Smith became Miss Universe).

Landry competed in the 1996 Miss Universe pageant held in Las Vegas in May that year. She placed first in the preliminary competition and was ranked second in the evening gown and interview events during the final competition. She was second going into the next round of six delegates, but she was eliminated after the judges' questions.

Until 1999, Landry was the only former Miss Teen USA delegate to compete at Miss Universe. Her record at all three pageants was not surpassed until 2000 when Miss USA 2000, Lynnette Cole made the top 5 at all three pageants.

Post-pageants[edit]

Landry has done much modeling for photographers and magazines. As a spokeswoman for the Doritos chips brand, she appeared in celebrated TV commercials airing during the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Super Bowl football games. She was named by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1998.[6] Her house was featured on E!'s celebrity homes and on MTV's Cribs. She has been listed as one of FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women in the World numerous times. She was twice named on Stuff Magazine's 100 Sexiest Women list. Askmen.com has named her one of the 50 Most Beautiful Women and 99 Most Desirable Women in the World.

In 2002, she hosted the second season of the hidden-camera series Spy TV. From 2003 to 2006, she was a regular cast member of the UPN sitcom Eve.

Landry has participated in the show Fear Factor and was runner-up. She is an avid athlete and also participated in the Boston Marathon.

She has hosted the English and Spanish-language versions of Spotlight to Nightlight, an interview show on Yahoo! where she talks with celebrity mothers about parenting issues. She also launched a lifestyle line, Belle Parish in 2009. Belle Parish launched with a children's clothing line in September 2009, to be in stores spring 2010. The line is inspired by her Southern upbringing and the keepsake items her mother saved from her childhood.

Landry starred in (and was the executive producer of) TV Guide Network's show, Hollywood Moms' Club, in November 2011.[7] For the year 2012 she was the new face and spokesmodel of Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula, following in the footsteps of celeb moms Samantha Harris and Laila Ali who previously posed for Palmer's.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Landry met actor and TV personality Mario Lopez when he presented the Miss Teen USA 1998 pageant and she was a commentator. They were engaged during the summer of 2003 and married on April 24, 2004, in a Roman Catholic ceremony in front of 50 guests at the exclusive Las Alamandas resort outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.[9] Two weeks later, she had the marriage annulled after learning that Lopez was unfaithful during his bachelor party before the wedding.[9][10]

She married film director Alejandro Gómez Monteverde on April 8, 2006, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.[11][12] They have three children: a daughter born in July 2007,[13] and sons born in October 2011[14] and July 2013.[15] Their son Valentin's middle name was inspired by Pope Francis, as Landry and Monteverde met him while she was pregnant and he blessed the baby.[15]

Her father-in-law, Juan Manuel Gómez Fernández, and brother-in-law, Juan Manuel Gómez Monteverde, were found dead with fatal head wounds in Pueblo Viejo, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, on September 19, 2015, approximately two weeks after they were kidnapped from their home in nearby Tamaulipas.[16] On November 9, 2015, six people were arrested for the kidnapping and murder of Gómez Fernández and Gómez Monteverde. The suspects were allegedly holding six Central American nationals hostage at the time of their arrest, according to the Chief of the Mexican Federal Police.[17]

Filmography[edit]

Landry at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival

Landry and her husband Alejandro Monteverde made the film Bella together. Bella was directed by Monteverde and was produced by their business partners Sean Wolfington, Eduardo Verástegui, Leo Severino, and Denise Pinckley.[18] Monteverde and the filmmakers received honors for Bella from the Toronto Film Festival, the Smithsonian and the White House. The Smithsonian Latino Center honored Monteverde with their "Legacy Award".[19] Monteverde was also given the "Outstanding American by Choice" award for Bella's positive contribution to Latino art and culture in the U.S.[20]

US President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush saw the film and invited Monteverde to sit with Laura Bush in her private box during the annual State of the Union speech in 2007.[21]

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Beautiful Belindy Lindbrook
2001 Soulkeeper Red Head
2002 Repli-Kate Kate / Repli-Kate
2002 Outta Time Bella
2002 Who's Your Daddy? Elissa Bauer Video
2006 Bella Celia
2011 Me Again April
2011 Crescendo I Teacher Short film
2015 Little Boy Ava
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1997 Clueless Masseuse #1 - Tiffany Episode: "Sharing Cher"
1997 Sunset Beach Kenzie (uncredited) 3 episodes
1997 Conan the Adventurer Raina Episode: "The Ruby Fruit Forest"
1998 Prime Time Comedy Host TV movie
1998 The Bold and the Beautiful Amur Episode: "1.2730"
1998 Significant Others Gorgeous Woman Episode: "Pilot"
1998 America’s Greatest Pets Co-host 2 episodes
1998-2000 Pensacola: Wings of Gold Teri 9 episodes
1999 Popular Heather Episode: "Mo' Menace, Mo' Problems"
1999 Malcolm & Eddie Kellie Bradford Episode: "Won't Power"
1999 Miss Universe 1999 Host/Color Commentator
2000 Two Guys and a Girl Girl at Laundromat Episode: "Bridesmaid Revisited"
2000 Felicity Natalie 4 episodes
2001 Farmclub.com Host TV series
2001 Inside Schwartz Anne Episode: "Event Night"
2002 Spy TV Herself / Hostess 8 episodes
2003 Fastlane Hillary Episode: "Dosed"
Episode: "Iced"
2003–2006 Eve Rita Lefleur 66 episodes
2008 Criminal Minds Kaylee Robinson Episode: "Masterpiece"
2008 TruTV Presents World's Dumbest Herself, panelist Episode: "World's Dumbest Drivers 4"
2011, 2020–22 The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Herself 4 episodes
2016 Miss USA 2016 Herself Telecast Judge
2016–17 Hollywood Today Live Various / Co-Hostess 150 episodes
2018 Kevin Can Wait Lisa Episode: "Flight or Fight"
2019 Chic Mama Drama Ali Episode: "Behind-The-Scenes"

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ali Landry – Biography". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  2. ^ "Ali Landry," People, May 11, 1998.
  3. ^ "Two to represent Louisiana at national pageants in '96". August 28, 1995. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "Origin of Ali Landry". Archived from the original on March 15, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
  5. ^ Christine Fontana (March 1, 2006). "Ali Landry". neworleanscitybusiness.com. Retrieved November 21, 2009. Born in Cecilia, Landry is a Cajun girl at heart [dead link]
  6. ^ "AliLandry.info – The Official Website of Ali Landry". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  7. ^ "Inside Allison Sweeney and Ali Landry's Hollywood Moms' Club!". US Weekly. August 6, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  8. ^ "See Ali Landry's Bare Baby Bump". September 12, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Mark Armstrong, Ulrica Wihlborg (May 12, 2004). "Landry, Lopez Split After 2-Week Marriage". People. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "Annulment Information". AskMen.com. 2007. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  11. ^ "In Style: Celebrity Weddings". ABC. February 5, 2007. Archived from the original on March 17, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2007.
  12. ^ Borzillo-Vrenna, Carrie (April 9, 2006). "Ali Landry Weds in Mexico". People Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2007.
  13. ^ Dyball, Rennie (July 12, 2007). "Former Doritos Girl Ali Landry Has a Daughter". People. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  14. ^ Raferty, Liz; Garcia, Jennifer (October 10, 2011). "Ali Landry and Alejandro Monteverde Have a Baby Boy". People. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Ali Landry Welcomes Son Valentin Francesco". People. July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  16. ^ Miller, Michael (September 24, 2015). "Ali Landry's Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law Found Dead in Mexico 16 Days After Kidnapping". People. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Hecht, John (November 9, 2015). "Police Arrest Six People Over Murder of Director Alejandro Monteverde's Father, Brother". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "'Bella' producer says THR put film on radar". The Hollywood Reporter. September 27, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  19. ^ Aaron Glickman (March 13, 2007). "SmithsonianHonorsBella". SocialMiami.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
  20. ^ Aaron Glickman (March 1, 2007). "Bella Producer Sean Wolfington". SocialMiami.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
  21. ^ Tomas C. (January 25, 2007). "PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH INVITED MEXICAN FILM DIRECTOR ALEJANDRO MONTEVERDE TO SIT IN THE FIRST LADY'S BOX DURING HIS STATE OF UNION ADDRESS, AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICAN SOCIETY". HispanicTips.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2007.

External links[edit]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Elizabeth Coxe
 Miss Louisiana USA
1996 		Succeeded by
Nikole Viola
Preceded by Miss USA
1996 		Succeeded by
Media offices
Preceded by Miss USA host
(with Deion Sanders)
2002 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss Universe color commentator
(with Julie Moran)
1998–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss USA color commentator
(with Julie Moran)
1998–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss Teen USA color commentator
(with Julie Moran)
1998–2000 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Spy TV host
Season 2 (2002) 		Succeeded by
series cancelled
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ali_Landry&oldid=1217764166"