Latina beauty queen-turned-actress Maribel Guardia won the title of Miss Costa Rica in 1978 at the age of 17. She competed unsuccessfully in the Miss Universe beauty contest that year in Acapulco, Mexico. Her runner-up status did nothing to deflect the offers that started coming in from modeling and talent agencies and television producers. The dark-haired, statuesque beauty chose to remain in Mexico, however, and became a citizen and made her life and career there. She quickly emerged as a star on the small screen and jumped into feature films in 1979, making her debut in the feature Como Mexico No Hay Dos. In the late '80s, she also became a recording artist and appeared on the covers of every fashion and beauty magazine in Latin America. This turned her into a popular cultural institution. She has made more than two dozen movies and starred in several soap operas, and made extensive goodwill appearances for charitable causes. As with many models-turned-actresses, Guardia's appearance tends to overshadow any acting skills she may posses, though she has achieved considerable respect as a performer. Now in her forties, she has matured gracefully and is regarded as a beauty icon in much of Latin America, a status made more significant in tandem with her choice to be a single mother, growing out of her relationship with Joan Sebastian, her leading man from the mid-'90s series Tu y Yo. Known in the popular press as "La Bella" ("the Beauty"), her appearances on Mexican television are treated as events of similar significance to Raquel Welch's guest-starring spots on American television.
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