Influential in Their Own Right- WAGs of Famous International Athletes
You’ve heard of superstar athletes with the MVP, Olympics, and World Championship accolades. You’ve seen them score goals, shoot hoops and make touchdowns that have gone down in history. You’ve seen them walk the carpet with their significant others by their side. But many of these wives and girlfriends of athletes are actually more than just that. They are influencers, businesswomen, supermodels, authors, and even athletes as well. While we give their boyfriends and husbands a lot of attention, these women deserve the spotlight as well. Some of them were even established in their industries far before their husbands were. That being said, here’s an eye-opening list of 45 of the most powerful partners of some of the world’s most loved sports stars.
Gisele Bündchen
Who hasn’t heard of Gisele Bündchen? She’s one of the most famous supermodels, with a seven-year run as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, which she started when she was only 19. Forbes has even named her the highest-paid supermodel for fifteen years in a row. But this bombshell isn’t just a model. She is also an author, with her 2018 memoir Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life. Being the wife of NFL quarterback Tom Brady is just one in her list of epithets.
Gisele married Tom Brady in 2009 and have since had two kids together. Brady has current ties as quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This was a job he recently took on to make more time for family, which playing for the esteemed New England Patriots didn’t allow. There have been recent rumors of a split, but in an interview with Howard Stern this year, Brady revealed they are trying to make it work.
Ciara
This Grammy-award winning singer is responsible for those hits we used to jam to back in the day, possibly before we even heard of her husband, Russell Wilson. The 1, 2 Step singer married the Seattle Seahawks quarterback in 2016. Like Gisele Bündchen, Ciara also started at 19 when her first album Goodies went 3x platinum. Her freshman and sophomore albums together sold 6.3 million copies.
In addition to a successful music career, Ciara has also forayed into acting with her role in Adam Sandler’s That’s My Boy and her recurring role in the TV series The Game. Meanwhile, after bringing his team to victory in the 2013 Super Bowl, her husband Russell Wilson is now the highest-paid player in NFL history.
Ayesha Curry
Ayesha Curry is more than just the wife of Golden States Warrior shooter Steph Curry. She is a lifestyle influencer, sharing her delicious recipes with the world on her YouTube channel and her own TV show Ayesha’s Home Kitchen. The Instagram-famous personality is loved for her family content and her cookbooks, The Full Plate and The Seasoned Life.
Ayesha married Steph Curry in 2011. They now have three adorable children together. Curry was NBA’S Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016, and his team won the 2015, 2017, and 2018 NBA Championships. He has stated his plans to write an autobiography one day as well. so there will be two authors in the family.
Shawn Johnson East
At just 28 years old, Shawn Johnson East is an accomplished athlete. She is an American gymnast who won a gold medal and three silvers at the 2008 Olympics. This was before she tied the knot with NFL Washington Redskins long snapper Andrew East in 2016. Since then, she has become a New York Times bestselling author who graced the chart with her book Winning Balance: What I’ve Learned So Far about Love, Faith, and Living Your Dreams.
Shawn and Andrew East met on the TV show Dancing With the Stars. They now have a baby girl named Drew, and they run their YouTube channel, The East Family, which has 1.13 million subscribers at the time of writing. The Easts share content of family life with Drew and their golden retriever Nash.
Julie Ertz
Julie Ertz is a player for the Chicago Red Stars, a famed US National Women’s Soccer team. She helped win the United States the World Cup in both 2015 and 2016, and this was before marrying her college sweetheart in 2017. This college sweetheart just happens to be football star Zach Ertz, making these two a sports power couple.
The pair met in 2012 when Julie, who was then a player for Santa Clara University’s women’s soccer team, went to Stanford to watch a baseball game. Unbeknown to her, Zach was on the football team at Stanford. Today, Zach Ertz is a tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Noureen DeWulf
You may recognize Noureen DeWulf from films like Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and West Bank Story. If not, you definitely won’t miss her in the long-running TV series Anger Management, in which she plays Lacey across 100 episodes. Noureen has been established in the film industry for over a decade.
Her husband, Ryan Miller, is a hockey goaltender for the NHL Anaheim Ducks. This year, he is starting his 18th season, which is an impressive run for hockey players. Noureen and Ryan said their “I do”s in 2011 and have been making waves in their respective industries ever since.
Elisha Cuthbert
If you’re familiar with the TV series 24 or the Richard Curtis Christmas essential Love Actually, then you’ll recognize Elisha Cuthbert. The actress has racked up many roles in her career, most recently on the Netflix series The Ranch. Films that Cuthbert has starred in have reached a box office gross of around $436 million. She has also won multiple awards, including the Online Film Critics Society Best Cast winner in 2003.
In addition to all this success, she is also married to NHL star defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who won the World Championships gold medal for hockey back in 2007. Cuthbert and Phaneuf got married in 2013, and welcomed their first child to the family in 2017/
Ann-Kathrin Götze
Taking this list all the way across the ocean to Germany, we have social media influencer Ann-Kathrin Götze. She started out as a contestant on the 2012 edition of Germany’s Next Top Model, and is now a digital fashion entrepreneur. Ann-Kathrin runs her own fashion and lifestyle YouTube channel with 60.3 thousand subscribers at the time of writing.
The influencer married soccer sensation Mario Götze in 2018. The athlete scored Germany’s winning goal in the 2014 World Cup finals against Argentina at just 22 years old, making him the youngest person to score the winning goal in a World Cup final since 1966. Mario and Ann-Kathrin are now parents to their little baby Rome.
Dr. Ashley Hogan
Ashley Hogan is truly a renaissance woman. She is a practicing podiatrist who finished up her residency in 2017 while pregnant… with twins. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, she also dabbled in sports before pursuing her qualification, playing lacrosse for Penn State.
She met her husband, Chris Hogan, at Penn State. Chris went on to become NFL wide receiver, currently playing for the New York Jets. Hogan was Super Bowl champion in 2016 and 2018 with the New England Patriots. The couple wed in New Jersey in 2017.
Jonelle Price
Bringing it over to New Zealand sports, this horse riding duo has been winning medals and trophies before they even got together. Jonelle Price and her husband Tim Price are both winners of the Luhmuhlen Horse Trials, Tim winning one in 2014 while Jonelle won one in 2018.
As horse riding doesn’t distinguish between genders, Jonelle and Tim have often competed against each other in the same category. How they keep their work and home life separate is beyond us. Jonelle won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics, scoring one before her husband, who was supposed to compete in 2020 before the event was postponed.
Pilar Rubio
Meanwhile, in Spain, we have TV personality, Pilar Rubio. Her career began as host of various Spanish TV shows and slowly developed into starring roles in scripted dramas. Rubio has been on the show El Hormiguero since 2014 and was already established in the Spanish television scene before meeting her husband, Spanish soccer star Sergio Ramos.
Ramos won the World Cup champion in 2010 and was named UEFA Defender of the Year in both 2017 and 2018. The couple got married in 2019, where Ramos pulled out all the stops by booking his wife’s favorite band, AC/DC to perform at their wedding.
Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor is not a stranger to the music scene. The American singer/songwriter’s career skyrocketed in 2016 after she choreographed a music video for Beyonce and signed a record deal with GOOD Music soon after. Her contemporary R&B albums include the most recent K.T.S.E.
Teyana announced her most recent pregnancy in the music video for her single Wake Up Love, which featured her husband, basketball star Iman Shumpert, whom she married in 2016. The two welcomed the baby in September. Shumpert is a basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets. He won the NBA Championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Kate Upton
She has been on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue thrice. She was named People Magazine’s 2014 Sexiest Woman Alive. She has also forayed into acting with the 2014 move The Other Woman and 2017 comedy The Layover. She is model and actress Kate Upton. But that’s not all of the accolades that she has on her belt.
Before modeling, and before she even married a Major League Baseball player, Upton had an athlete past. She was a four-time equestrian champion at the age of 18. Now, she is married to Justin Verlander, pitcher for the Houston Astros.
Allison Stokke
Allison Stokke is more than just the viral photos circulating in 2007. The image of her at a high school track meet may have started the conversation about the sexualization of young women, but she didn’t dwell on that too much. Stokke went on to become a professional track and field athlete, who is also a Division I All-American pole vaulter.
She turned the 2007 catastrophe into a series of brand deals with big names like GoPro, Nike, Uniqlo, and Athleta. In 2015, Stokke won third in the National Pole Vault Summit. She began dating golfer Rickie Fowler and the two wed in 2019. Fowler was the Ryder Cup champion in 2010, 2014, and 2016.
Lisa Trede
Here is another pair of athlete sweethearts in Germany. Lisa Trede is a horseback rider with multiple accolades on her belt. She participated in the Piaff-Forderpreis National Series in 2014 and was crowned Bavarian Grand Prix champion of 2015. Her specific sport is dressage, where horses perform a very exact routine of maneuvers. Trede has built her sporting career to the point where she has brand deals with Land Rover and Jaguar.
Lisa Trede dated renowned soccer player Thomas Müller when they were just teenagers. The lovebugs said “I do” in 2009 when they were both in their early 20’s. Müller has won the World Cup Golden Boot in 2010 and helped win Germany the World Cup in 2014.
Nina Westbrook
Before she became one half of a basketball power couple, Nina Westbrook was playing ball for UCLA. The 6-foot-1 athlete had a lot more experience to show for than her husband Russell Westbrook did at the time. Nina had played for the Bruins as California High School Player of the Year twice.
Nina met Russell at UCLA, where he was also playing basketball, just before he left the university and got drafted for the NBA. Among other awards, Nina was named CIF Player of the Year for two years in a row in 2016 and 2017. Russell Westbrook was NBA MVP of 2017. The couple has three kids together.
Anushka Sharma
Let’s switch gears to a whole other sport, cricket—a beloved sport in India. Before Anushka Sharma became wife to India’s national cricket team caption, Virat Kohli, she had already been gracing the Bollywood big screens for a decade. Unlike most Bollywood stars, Anushka would boldly speak up about societal issues and take on unconventional roles. She has been listed as one of Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 from 2012 until the present day, and was also listed in Forbes Asia’s 2018 30 Under 30.
Anushka married her cricket player husband in 2017. Virat Kohli is just as influential as his wife, even being named Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2018. His sports accolades include back-to-back wins of ICC Cricketer of the Year.
Ashley Nicole Roberts
Now here’s a woman who wears many hats. Ashley Nicole Roberts was living a fruitful life even before she met her husband, NFL linebacker Philip Wheeler. Roberts was a model signed with the esteemed Ford Modeling Agency. She also served as a captain in the US Army Reserve. She graduated with a degree in animal science from Tuskegee University.
As if that wasn’t enough, Roberts is also an influencer with 500k followers on Instagram. She became more of a hit when she starred in the reality TV show WAGS Miami on E!. In 2017, she married Philip Wheeler, the 2015 NFC champion.
Kealia Ohai
Kealia Ohai is an American soccer star who started off her promising career in high school when she was named National High School Player of the Year. Since then, she has won a 2012 National Soccer Championship at the University of North Carolina and is currently a player for the Chicago Red Stars. She originally played for the Houston Dynamo in the National Women’s Soccer League in 2014.
In 2016, Ohai began dating NFL defensive end J.J. Watts, who plays for the Houston Texans. The two got married in February 2020 in a secret Bahamas ceremony and are now easily one of the elite power couples in sports.
Stephanie McMahon
You can’t mention powerful wives of athletes without naming the boss lady that is Stephanie McMahon. She is the Chief Brand Officer of WWE, of which her father Vince McMahon is founder and CEO. Stephanie has worked for WWE from a very young age and even wrestles on Raw and SmackDown occasionally.
Stephanie now owns around $77 million’s worth of WWE stock. When she met 14-time heavyweight champion Triple H, it was the start of a highly-publicized relationship. The romance rumors began in 2000 as scripted TV, but now the two are married with three daughters, making them the undefeated WWE power couple.
Lauren Holiday
Lauren Holiday was a student-athlete at UCLA when she met her husband, Jrue Holiday. She’s been playing soccer and hasn’t stopped since. Holiday is a legendary icon in soccer. She was the first person in the history of the National Women’s Soccer League who got her jersey retired. She won two Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012 playing for the United States. She also competed in the 2015 Women’s World Cup championship.
Lauren’s husband, Jrue Holiday is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans. He was an NBA All-Star in 2013 and was named Gatorade’s National Player of the Year in 2008. The athlete couple tied the knot in 2013 and have since become parents.
LaLa Anthony
Before she married her husband and took on his last name, LaLa Anthony was a household name known by the mononym LaLa. She is best known for hosting the highly popular MTV show Total Request Live in the early 2000s, and for hosting the VH1 reality series Flavor of Love.
In addition to hosting, LaLa also took on acting jobs, most notably with her role in Think Like a Man. The television personality married ten-time NBA All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist Carmelo Anthony in 2010. They starred in their own reality show in 2011 called LaLa’s Full Court Life.
Jaime Edmondson
Jaime Edmondson is a badass with a BSc in Criminal Justice from Florida Atlantic University. After college, she spent some time working at the Boca Raton Police Department. Following that, she took a completely different turn by cheerleading for the Miami Dolphins and then becoming Playboy’s Playmate of the month in January 2010.
Edmondson also appeared in two seasons of the reality show The Amazing Race. In 2015, she married baseball third baseman, Evan Longoria. Longoria has won the Golden Glove thrice in 2009, 2010, and 2017, and was an MLB All-Star for two years.
Alex Morgan
This soccer icon has brought the United States two World Cup victories in 2015 and 2019. She was a finalist for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2012 and won an Olympic gold medal in the same year. Morgan also played college soccer at UC Berkeley.
Now, she has collaborated with and been endorsed by big-name brands for millions of dollars. Her husband, Servando Carrasco, is also a pro soccer player. The two met at Berkeley and got married in 2014. They welcomed their daughter Charlie in May of this year.
Sydney Leroux
She has been the face of brands like Beats by Dr. Dre and Nike. She was a cover subject for the ESPN The Magazine 2013 Body issue. She was the first female athlete to sign a deal with sports drink brand BODYARMOR. She is world-renowned soccer star, Sydney Leroux.
Leroux also won the Women’s World Cup championship in 2015, together with Julie Ertz, previously mentioned in this list. She racked up so many accomplishments before marrying MLS player and member of the US men’s soccer national team Dom Dwyer in 2015. The two now have two kids together.
Amelia Vega
This beauty started out as a big name in the Dominican Republic’s beauty pageant scene. She followed in the success of her mother, who was Miss Dominican Republic in 1980. Vega was crowned Miss Dominican Republic in 2002. In 2003, she was crowned Miss Universe – the first Miss Dominican Republic to win the prestigious pageant, and also the youngest to do so at age 19.
Vega married NBA player Al Horford, who is also of Dominican descent. His father Tito, was the first Dominican Republic player to make the NBA roster. The pair married in 2011 but had been dating since 2006 after they met at the Boston Latin Pride Awards.
Sania Mirza
Here’s another pair of sports royalty from India. She is Sania Mirza, India’s pride when it comes to tennis. She has won two Grand Slam doubles in both the US and Australian Open. Sania is the daughter of Imran Mirza, a big name in India’s sports journalism.
Sania Mirza is the first Indian tennis player to be named number one in the world in 2015 after pairing in doubles with Martina Hingis and winning the WTA women’s doubles. She got married to cricket superstar Shoaib Malik in 2010. Malik is a former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team.
Gabrielle Reece
This women’s volleyball icon played for Florida State University, even making it to their Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Reece won the Women’s Beach Volleyball League Offensive Player of the Year for two years running in 1994 and 1995.
Since her success in volleyball, she has gone on to build a successful career in modeling as well. She married surfer Laird Hamilton in 1995, and they have been going strong for 23 years now. The couple met when Reece had to interview Hamilton for the TV show The Extremists.
Anna Lewandowska
Over in Poland, we have a karate competitor and a soccer superstar. Anna Lewandowska is Poland’s finest female karate competitor. She won a bronze medal for the Karate World Cup in 2009 and has won the Polish Championships a jaw-dropping 29 times. She also won the European Championships in 2010.
Lewandowska has become a celebrity in Europe, even developing her nutrition blog and healthy food product brand Foods By Ann. She is married to Poland’s soccer superstar Robert Lewandowski, who plays for the team Bayern München at $12 million a year.
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is one of the three Miss Universe winners on this list. She won the pageant in 2017, having won Miss South Africa in the same year. Nel-Peters was the first Miss South Africa to be crowned Miss Universe since 1978.
The former Miss Universe is married to baseball star Tim Tebow, who is an NFL quarterback currently a prospect for the New York Mets. Tebow won the prestigious Heisman Trophy back in 2011. The two tied the knot in South Africa just last year.
Winnie Harlow
This Jamaican- Canadian fashion model from Mississauga was introduced to the world in the 21st cycle of America’s Next Top Model in 2014. She is now a model represented by The Society Management and has appeared in multiple magazine covers such as Elle Netherlands and Vogue India.
Harlow has a skin condition called vitiligo, which causes patches of skin to lose its pigment. Since ANTM, she has become a spokesperson for vitiligo, so much so that she is the first photo that turns up when you Google the word. She is currently in a relationship with LA Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, whose team just won the 2020 NBA Championship.
Shakira
More than just the voice behind all-time hit Hips Don’t Lie, Shakira is also a dancer and producer. She has signed with the biggest record labels in the industry over the years, such as Sony Music and Columbia. In 2010, Shakira had the honor of writing and performing the official FIFA World Cup song Waka Waka.
Shakira has been with Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué for ten years. The couple met while she was filming the music video for Waka Waka, the same year Piqué and Spain won the World Cup final. They began dating in 2011 and welcomed their son Milan in 2013. Shakira has revealed they have no plans to marry. They have since welcomed their second child Sasha.
Kendall Jenner
This reality star and model famous for her family’s drama has been rumored to be dating basketball players before. More recently, Jenner sparked romance rumors with Ben Simmonds, point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers. Sources close to Jenner says she is a casual dater who bears in mind the demands of her career.
Recently, Jenner has been seen hanging out with Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker. Other players Kendall Jenner has been involved with include Atlanta Hawks’ Chandler Parsons, Detroit Pistons’ Blake Griffin, and Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson.
Candace Cameron Bure
Candace Cameron has been working as a child actor since before she was even a teen. She grew up on the set of the beloved family sitcom Full House, on which she played Danny Tanner’s first daughter DJ. She now stars in Netflix’s Fuller House.
Bure was introduced to former hockey right winger Valeri “Val” Bure through their mutual Dave Coulier, who was also Candace’s Fulll House costar. They met when she was just 19. The two married in 1996 after a year of dating. They now have three grown kids – Natasha, Lev, and Maks.
Jennifer Lopez
She’s come a long way from being Jenny from the block. The singer, actress, dancer, and fashion designer has won multiple MTV Video Music Awards over the years, among countless other accolades. She has also been on the big screens, most recently in the 2019 female ensemble-led film Hustlers. There is no doubt that Lopez is one of Hollywood’s finest.
J-Lo was married to Marc Anthony for seven years before a painful split. She met MLB shortstop and third baseman Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez at a New York Yankees game while she was still with Marc Anthony. The couple got engaged last year.
Savannah Brinson
Savannah Brinson is not just another athlete’s wife. She is a philanthropist and businesswoman. She is very passionate about her philanthropic endeavors, a similarity she shares with her husband, NBA superstar LeBron James. The couple met in high school when LeBron was playing basketball, and Brinson was a cheerleader for one of the rival teams. The relationship blossomed since then, and LeBron proposed in 2011.
Brinson and LeBron got married in 2013. They now have three children together. LeBron, of course, needs no introduction. He is frequently pitted against Michael Jordan for the title of the best basketball player of all time – a hot debate among basketball fans.
Victoria Beckham
In 1996, the girl group Spice Girls debuted their first album Spice. It sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and the lives of all members of the group were never the same since. Victoria Beckham instantly became known as Posh Spice in every household. Her training as a dancer in Laine Arts Theatre College actually landed her the spot with the Spice Girls.
Posh carried on her music career for a while after the group split and soon found her affinity for fashion. She began by launching her jeans line VB Rocks in 2004 and has now become a fashion mogul in her own right. Victoria met former athlete David Beckham in 1997 when he was still playing for Manchester United. The relationship between Britain’s favorite pop star and most esteemed soccer player was highly publicized. The British media dubbed them Posh and Becks. The pair married in 1998 and have four kids together.
Anamaria Goltes
According to her Instagram bio, Anamaria Goltes is a fashion, fitness, and lifestyle influencer who also advocates for self-acceptance. The Slovenian model, who has 124,000 Instagram followers at the time of writing, was a self-starter. She began by posting her modeling photos on her Insta and went on to be represented by We Love Your Genes scouting and IMG Models.
Goltes is currently dating NBA newcomer Luka Doncic. He is the youngest NBA All-Star at just 21 years old. Doncic plays for the Dallas Mavericks and has won the title of Rookie of the Year. Both Goltes and Doncic are in their early 20’s. With so much more of their life and career to look forward to, they may very well be on their way to being the next hot power couple.
Olivia Culpo
This former Miss Universe is now a model, fashion influencer, and social media star. Olivia Culpo was crowned in 2012, but not before she won Miss Rhode Island and then Miss USA when she was just 20 years old. Her modeling career began a long time before her husband’s career did.
Culpo is currently in a relationship with NFL running back Christian McCaffrey, who plays for the Carolina Panthers. McCaffrey was also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Culpo’s latest venture is a partnership with eyewear brand Privé Revaux and non-profit organization RestoringVision. She has created a sunglasses collection. With each pair of sunnies purchased, they will donate one pair of glasses to communities in need.
Sue Bird
Sue Bird is a professional basketball player and WNBA star. She is currently a guard for the Seattle Storm. She has racked up multiple accomplishments in her field, having been WNBA Champion thrice in 2004, 2010, and 2018. Bird has also been a WNBA All-Star for an impressive 11 times.
Her partner is also an athlete, Team USA women’s soccer midfielder Megan Rapinoe. Just like her girlfriend, Rapinoe has her own set of accomplishments, including an Olympic gold medal and the gold medal at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Gabrielle Union
You may know Gabrielle Union as the actress and voice artist who has graced our television screens since the early 2000s. Union is best known for her iconic roles in the dance flick Bring It On and the rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You. Union is also an entrepreneur, starting a clothing line for plus-sized women called Love & Blessings in 2010.
In 2007, Union met former NBA player Dwayne Wade when they were both co-hosting a Super Bowl party. Their romance blossomed from there, and they eventually got married in 2014. Wade is an NBA superstar. In his 16 years with the NBA, he has played for esteemed teams Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Chicago Bulls.
Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka is a true force in women’s tennis. At only 22, she has won three Grand Slams and two US Open singles. Her latest Grand Slam victory was against long-time pro tennis player Victoria Azarenka. Possibly Osaka’s biggest win was against women’s tennis legend Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open, which was also her first Grand Slam win.
Osaka is dating rapper Cordae, and they have been together for a year. He was present as Osaka won her latest Grand Slam, and his reaction to the win elicited positive responses from the Internet. Cordae gained popularity for his remixes of well-known rap songs such as Eminem’s My Name.
Camille Kostek
Camille Kostek is a host, model, and actress. As a model, she is represented by the agency WME. Her accomplishments include appearing in the 2019 Swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated. In 2018, she also had a role in Amy Schumer’s comedy I Feel Pretty.
Kostek is in a relationship with NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski. The footballer, nicknamed Gronk, currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after coming out of retirement. He previously had a 9-season run with the New England Patriots. Camille and Gronk have been dating since 2015.
Viviana Ortiz
Though she did not win the 2011 Miss Universe, pageant queen, actress, and model Viviana Ortiz did make it to the Top 16 representing Puerto Rico. The 34-year old was crowned Miss Puerto Rico back in 2011 and is now married to basketball player J.J. Barea.
Barea, also a Puerto Rican, is currently point guard for the Dallas Mavericks. The power couple tied the knot in 2016. Their daughter Paulina is now 2 years old. Barea also had a son from his relationship with beauty queen Zuleyka Rivera.
Vanessa Bryant
Vanessa Bryant found love on the set of Snoop Dogg’s The Eastsidaz music video. She was a dancer who caught the eye of a then 20-year old Kobe Bryant. Young love blossomed and the two got married when Vanessa was just 18. Kobe went on to become an acclaimed basketball player, playing for the LA Lakers before the tragic helicopter accident that killed him and his daughter Gianna in early 2020.
The tragedy left Vanessa Bryant with their three remaining daughters. Recently, Vanessa celebrated the Lakers’ NBA Championship win by getting a tattoo of the names of all her family members – Kobe, Vanessa, Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri.