I must be very clear in one thing... Being a pageant girl is not who I am or what defines me.

Pageants were a platform for me, and they helped me get to where I am today. You suddenly stop being just another girl, and people want to listen to what you have to say.

I was very skinny and very lanky and kind of awkward. In Puerto Rico everybody is a little more voluptuous, with these beautiful bodies and there I was the skinny lanky girl.

I wasn't the typical pageant girl - I was a little more nerdy, and they gave me a voice. I created the Queen of the Universe pageant, which is charity-based, to benefit UNESCO. For me, the most important thing is that contestants have a charity-based platform or charity ambition.

I am an actress, a producer, a philanthropist, a wife, and above all a mommy to my beautiful babies, Leonardo and Valentino.

I am the lead on NBC's 'Siberia,' and I loved that experience.

My one main secret I did right after my pageants days, is I only wash my hair once a week. I tell everyone, 'You have to stop washing your hair so much!'