Biography

Denny Mendez was born on July 20, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She is an actress, known for Global Harmony (2024), Red Roses Never Die (2021) and Ocean's Twelve (2004).

John Travolta is the godfather of her daughter.

Moved from th Dominican Republic to Montecatini, Italy when she was 5.

Her election as Miss Italy 1996 caused a great scandal in Italy. It was the first time that a woman of non-Italian ancestry was elected to represent the country in an international beauty pageant (Miss Italy Universe 1997), and many xenophobic Italian citizens saw it as a wake-up call for Italy to close its borders to further immigration. Two members of the judging panel were suspended for saying that a black woman could not represent Italian beauty. Surprisingly with all the scandal surrounding her election, Denny was selected as one of the 10 semifinalists in the 1997 Miss Universe contests.

Has one daughter, India Nayara (b. September 12, 2016). Father is Oscar Generale.

Miss Italia 1996.