Denise Quiñones

Born on Sept. 9, 1980 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, actress Denise Marie Quiñones burst onto the scene in 2001 when she became the fourth woman from the unincorporated territory to become Miss Universe - and one of the few to do so on her native soil. After touring the world for a year as a goodwill ambassador in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Quiñones relinquished her crown and began to study acting at The School for Film and Acting in New York City. Two years later, she appeared in a few commercials in Puerto Rico, before landing guest spots on American series television, appearing in episodes of "Love Monkey" (CBS, 2005-06), "Freddie" (ABC, 2005-06) and "The Bedford Diaries" (WB, 2005-06). She did nab a starring role in the pilot for the highly-anticipated "Aquaman" (CW, 2006), but the series was never picked up for production. Meanwhile, Quiñones took to the stage in an off-Broadway productions of "Anna in the Tropics" and "Hermanas," honing her acting skills. She was next seen as Andrea Rojas, the superhuman crime-fighting Mexican national, on "Smallville" (CW, 2001-11), a role she revived in early 2007 for an episode that saw several past superheroes reunite to form the famed Justice League.