Beauty pageant titleholder | |
Born |
Mónica Spear Mootz 1 October 1984 Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela |
---|---|
Died | 6 January 2014 Near Puerto Cabello, Carabobo State, Venezuela |
(aged 29)
Alma mater | University of Central Florida |
Height |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Hips: 90 cm (35.4 in) |
Hair color | Black |
Eye color | Brown |
Title(s) | Miss Venezuela 2004 Mother Agency Mariela Centeno |
Major competition(s) |
Miss Venezuela 2004 (winner) Miss Universe 2005 (4th runner-up) |
Spouse | Thomas Henry Berry (m. 2008; div. 2012) |
Children | Maya Berry Spear |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Mónica Spear Mootz (1 October 1984 – 6 January 2014) was a Venezuelan actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Venezuela 2004. She also represented Venezuela at Miss Universe 2005 where she finished as 4th runner-up.
During the Miss Venezuela 2004 pageant, Spear won the national crown and represented Venezuela at Miss Universe 2005.
Spear made the top 15 after Ana Karina Áñez (Miss Venezuela 2003) failed to make the top 15 in Miss Universe 2004, which was the first time in 22 years that Venezuela failed to place. Spear went on to place in the Top 5 after the evening gown and swimsuit competitions. During the final question round, she stumbled while answering the question given by Miss Mexico, Laura Elizondo, and eventually finished as 4th runner-up.
Mónica Spear Mootz was born to Rafael Spear Tudares and Ingeborg Mootz Gotera. Her maternal family emigrated from Germany, and her paternal family has English ancestry.
The Spear–Mootz family moved to Orlando, Florida in 2000 after her mother, Ingeborg, retired from her job with an oil company in Venezuela. Her father, Rafael, is a project engineer at Siemens Westinghouse. Prior to being named the "fifth most beautiful woman in the universe," Spear completed a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Central Florida before returning to Venezuela to compete in the national pageant. Her participation in Miss Venezuela garnered notoriety when she was asked during the traditional "breakfast with press" the day after the pageant, because of her degree, which Venezuelan playwright she liked the most, to which she answered, "Gabriel García Márquez", a Colombian writer. She crowned her Miss Venezuela successor, Jictzad Viña, on 15 September 2005.