Rita Verreos
| Rita Verreos | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 19, 1968 San Antonio, Texas |
Rita Rosina Verreos (occasionally Verreos Kennedy) (born July 19, 1968 in Caracas, Venezuela) is an Hispanic American beauty pageant contestant, image consultant, model, actress, and reality television contestant.
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[edit] Personal life
A native of Venezuela, Verreos moved to San Francisco with her family when she was 8 years old. She attended UC Berkeley[1] before graduating from the University of California at Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in Italian and French Literature. After college, she lived in Mexico City with her husband and children for 11 years before moving to San Antonio in 2003. She and her husband divorced in 2004.[2]
Verreos dated singer Peter Gabriel in 1993.[3] She currently lives on the north side of San Antonio with her son and daughter, ages 14 and 11.
[edit] Pageants
Verreos was a contestant in the Miss Venezuela 1988 pageant while representing Estado Vargas, and competed in the 1988 "Reinado Mundial de Banano" pageant in Machala, Ecuador, placing second to Ximena Correa of Ecuador.[3][4] Verreos has also judged Miss Oklahoma USA and Miss Kansas USA pageants. She currently works as an image consultant, coaching young women for the Miss Texas, Miss California and Miss USA pageants.[2]
[edit] Television appearances
Verreos competed in San Antonio magazine Conexión's 2005 "Hottest Latina" contest, placing as second runner-up,[citation needed] and in the CMT reality television program The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search.[5]
Rita was recruited by Survivor casting director Lynne Spillman at a beauty pageant, and became a contestant on Survivor: Fiji, the 14th season of the series.[6] Her strategy was to draw on her sex appeal to win the show's million dollar prize.[2] She lost 15 pounds during filming, and suffered broken cartilage in her nose. Rita was the sixth castaway to leave the island, and was voted off because the other castaways thought she talked too much.[7]
On the May 29th, 2009, episode of The Price is Right, Verreos was a contestant. She managed to make it up on stage by becoming the closest bidder and won her pricing game.[8] At the wheel, Verreos came 35 cents shy of winning the first showcase showdown.[9]
Verreos is also a spokesperson for H-E-B, a San Antonio-based supermarket chain.[10]
Verreos has gone on to Host "En Nuestro Hogar," which aired on Telemundo and Azteca America in San Antonio (June, 2007). Was also a Fill-In for the Kens 5 (cbs) morning news Traffic Anchor (2008), a Guest Host on HSN (Jan 2009-Jan. 2010). She also appears as the TV Spokesperson in the World Car TV commercials (UNIVISION, 2008–present) as well as their infommercials on WOAI(San Antonio). She currently appears in the TV commercial spot for BEDOYECTA Vitamins, running nationwide on several Spanish language networks. Verreos is currently the In-Arena Host for the San Antonio Silver Stars basketball team during all the home games at the AT & T Center.
[edit] Other
Verreos is a former professional ballerina,[11] and has modeled in Venezuela, Mexico, and Los Angeles,[2] for designers such as Oscar de la Renta and Victor Alfaro. She also appeared in the 1990 film Marked for Death.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Goodman, Tim (2007-02-07). "'Lost Finds Its Way. 'Survivor,' Sadly, Does Not.". San Francisco Chronicle (Hearst Communications): p. E1. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/07/DDGGQNV9JE1.DTL. Retrieved 2007-05-18. "Another contestant, Rita Verreos, 42, grew up in San Francisco and went to UC Berkeley for 2 years."
- ^ a b c d Arispe, Rudy (2007-01-18). "Fiji Feels the Heat" (Fee required). Conexión (Hearst Corporation): p. 4A. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20070516203057/http://www2.mysanantonio.com/aboutus/expressnews/archive/. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ a b Rodriguez, Julio (2005-02-05). "Noticias de Febrero 5, 2005" (in Spanish). Belleza Venezolana.net. http://www.bellezavenezolana.net/news/2005/febrero/20050205.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-18. "Rita Rosina Verreos (Municipio Vargas) fue enviada a dos eventos. Primero al "Reinado Mundial de Banano 1988", en Machala (Ecuador). Clasificó como virreina. Ganó Ximena Correa (Ecuador). Posteriormente fue al "Reina Internacional del Café 1989", en Manizales (Colombia). No figuró. Se regresó a Los Ángeles, California (USA), donde vivía. En 1993 apareció en Venezuela, como novia del cantante inglés Peter Gabriel. Más nunca."
- ^ "International Titles and Crowns". Miss Venezuela Organization. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927044956/http://www.missvenezuela.com/2006/ing/titulos_int/contenido.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ Rentería, Melisa (2007-02-15). "Hot Latinas, Your Time to Shine is Now" (Fee required). Conexión (Hearst Corporation): p. 7A. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20070516203057/http://www2.mysanantonio.com/aboutus/expressnews/archive/. Retrieved 2007-05-18. "A finalist in the 2005 Hottest Latina contest, Verreos is a contestant on the reality show 'Survivor: Fiji,' currently airing on CBS. She also has competed in CMT's competitive reality show, 'The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search.'"
- ^ Jakle, Jeanne (2007-02-07). "Survival Skills" (Fee required). San Antonio Express News (Hearst Corporation): p. 1G. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20070516203057/http://www2.mysanantonio.com/aboutus/expressnews/archive/. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ Jakle, Jeanne (2007-03-28). "'Survivor' Has Advice for Possible Contestants" (Fee required). San Antonio Express News (Hearst Corporation): p. 1G. Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20070516203057/http://www2.mysanantonio.com/aboutus/expressnews/archive/. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgVVOpzygOI
- ^ http://www.realityexploits.com/2009/06/01/survivor-fijis-rita-verreos-on-price-is-right/
- ^ KENS5 Eyewitness News at 5. CBS. KENS-TV, San Antonio, Texas. 2007-02-08. Transcript.
- ^ "San Antonio woman selected for Survivor: Fiji". Dayton Daily News (Cox Enterprises). 2007-01-12. http://www.daytondailynews.com/e/content/oh/story/entertainment/2007/01/12/ddn011207survivor.html. Retrieved 2007-05-18. "Rita Verreos, 42, a former professional ballerina, is also among the castaways on the South Pacific island. She is the younger sister of Project Runway fashion designer Nick Verreos, so maybe she and Yi discussed haute couture to pass the time."
- ^ Scott, A. O.. "Rita Verreos - Filmography - Movies - New York Times". New York Times (All Media Guide, LLC). http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=73393. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
