María de Guadalupe "Lupita" Jones Garay (Spanish pronunciation: [luˈpita ˈʝowns], [ʝons]; born 6 September 1967) is a Mexican actress, model, producer and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1991. She was the first Mexican contestant to win a major international beauty pageant, though two more Mexican women have been crowned Miss Universe since Jones' win.
Lupita Jones | |
|---|---|
Jones in 2008 | |
| Born | María de Guadalupe Jones Garay 6 September 1967 Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Spouse |
Simón Charaf Medina
(m. 1993; div. 2000) |
| Children | 1 |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Major competition(s) | Señorita México 1990 (Winner) Miss Universe 1991 (Winner) |
Since 1994, Jones has been the national director of the Mexican division of the Mexicana Universal franchise. To date, she has produced the 59th and 69th Miss Universe titleholders.
Jones was a candidate for the governorship of Baja California in the 2021 Mexican gubernatorial elections.[1]
Education
editLupita Jones got her business administration degree before becoming Miss Universe and also did postgraduate studies in industrial administration at the Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior in her native city of Mexicali, Baja California.[citation needed]
Pageantry
editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (May 2023) |
Señorita Mexico
editIn September 1990, Jones won the title of Señorita México representing the state of Baja California.
Miss Universe
editOn 17 May 1991, Jones competed against 72 contestants for the title of Miss Universe 1991 at Las Vegas, Nevada representing Mexico. She advanced to the semifinals of the event as first place.
Jones was the only contestant with an average score above 9. During the final stage, Jones won every single round of competition: swimsuit, interview, and evening gown. She dominated the next two rounds of competition (the Top 6 judges' questions and the Top 3 final questions) and won the crown, the prizes, and the Miss Universe title for her country.
TV producer
editAfter ending her reign in 1992, she started the company Promocertamen in 1994 with Televisa to produce Nuestra Belleza México, Mexico's official pageant responsible for choosing Mexico's delegates for Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss International.[2] This new pageant was created when Señorita México was moved to another TV network, TV Azteca.
In 1997, she attempted to launch the first male-only beauty contest, El Modelo México, but the show got little attention from the public.[2]
In 2001, for the Nuestra Belleza México show, Lupita Jones launched the Report Her campaign, which invited the public to report beautiful women in their state. Critics attacked the campaign on discrimination charges.[2] She produced a winner at one of the 3 most well-known beauty pageants on the planet since 1960: Priscila Perales, Miss International 2007 and another one in 2009 with Anagabriela Espinoza, Miss International 2009. In 2010, a Mexican woman was crowned as Miss Universe 2010, Ximena Navarrete. Accordingly, Jones promised she would vacate the direction of Nuestra Belleza México once a new Mexican Miss Universe would be entitled, but did not follow through after Navarrete won the title.[2]
From 2008 to 2014, Lupita Jones and longtime pageant director-rival Osmel Sousa were brought together to judge Nuestra Belleza Latina, a beauty pageant-related reality television series created by the US Hispanic network Univision, which searches for young women of Latin American descent across the United States.[3]
In 2015, in response to negative comments on Mexicans by Donald Trump, part-owner of the Miss Universe organization, as head of Nuestra Belleza México, Jones endorsed withdrawal of the 2015 contestant from Mexico and urged a boycott of products associated with the 2015 pageant.[4]
Humanitarian causes
editIn 1999, Lupita Jones decided that the contest would support an important program for ill-treated girls in the country through the Integral Family Development project.
In 2000, Jones accepted an appointment as UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Campaign Spokesperson for Mexico.[2]
Political career
editIn 2021, Jones ran as a candidate of the Va por México electoral alliance for governor of Baja California,[5] coming in third place with 13% behind Jorge Hank Rhon of the Encuentro Solidario Party, with 28%, and the winner Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, of the Juntos Hacemos Historia coalition, who won 45% of the votes.[6] Regarding the results, Jones said that she was typecast as a beauty queen and that she was not allowed to prove that she could work in another area.[7]
Filmography
editTelenovelas
edit| Year | Project | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-present | El señor de los cielos | Amaranta Reyes | |
| 2017 | Enamorándome de Ramón | Katy Fernández de Medina | Special participation |
| 2015 | Como dice el dicho | Rocío / Ana Regina | 2 Episodes |
| 2014 | La malquerida (telenovela) | Carmen Gallardo de Torres | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Por siempre mi amor | ||
| 2013 | Rosario | Fabiana Silva |
Reality TV
edit| Year | Project | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-2014 | Nuestra Belleza Latina | Jury member | |
| 2012 | Se vale | Dancer | |
| 2008 | Me quiero enamorar | Adviser | |
| 100 mexicanos dijeron | |||
| La Hora Pico | Guest Star |
Books
edit- Palabra de reina (in Spanish). Grupo Editorial Planeta. 1993. ISBN 978-9684063037.
- Bella y en forma, 15 anos despues (in Spanish). Planeta. 2006. ISBN 978-9703705634.
- Deten el tiempo (in Spanish). Urano. 2011. ISBN 978-8479537852.
- ABC para rejuvenecer (in Spanish). Urano. 2012. ISBN 978-6077835462.
References
edit- ^ "Former Miss Universe could be Mexican border state's next governor". ABC. Jan 31, 2021. Retrieved Jan 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "10 claves para entender el poder de Lupita Jones" (in Spanish). 6 August 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Lupita Jones renuncia a Nuestra Belleza Latina". Elnuevodia.com (in Spanish). 9 September 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Mexico Pulls out of Miss Universe After Donald Trump's Anti-Immigration Speech". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ Carrillo, Emmanuel (2021-12-25). "Selección 2021 | Lupita Jones, el perfil que posicionó Gustavo de Hoyos". Forbes México (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Resultados Electorales: Marina del Pilar, de Morena, gana 'cascareando' en Baja California". El Financiero (in Spanish). 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ "Lupita Jones advirtió que perdió elecciones en México por discriminación". diariolasamericas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-05.