In 2003, Puerto Rican and Dominican, Susie Castillo, became the third Latina ever to win the Miss USA Pageant, prompting People en Español to name her one of the 25 Most Beautiful, and launching her career in entertainment. With a strong presence and personality, Susie quickly emerged as one of television’s most recognizable faces, being named to Maxim’s Hot 100 List and Complex Magazine's 50 Hottest Dominican Women.

As an actress, Susie portrayed Mercedes Hernandez throughout Season 5 of Tyler Perry’s hit sitcom, House of Payne. She also guest-starred on several TV shows, including the hit ABC shows Castle and My Wife and Kids, as well as UPN’s Half and Half. Susie co-starred in Hallmark Channel's A Holiday Engagement, and recently wrapped on the independent film More Than Stars. She made her feature film debut in Disney's Underdog, playing the role of News Reporter Diana Flores and starred in the recent Lifetime movie, Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story.

Susie's poise in front of the camera has led to many high-profile hosting gigs, most notably as daily host of MTV's TRL (Total Request Live) where she interviewed the biggest names in entertainment. MTV called upon her to host a number of shows, including Big Ten, TRL’s New Year's Eve, The VMAs on Overdrive, The Hills After Show, and multiple Real World Reunion specials. Fluent in Spanish, MTV Radio even developed TRLatino for Susie to host. The radio show was syndicated across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Inspired by her young MTV fans and the many speaking engagements she had as Miss USA, in 2007, Susie accomplished one of her biggest dreams when her first book Confidence is Queen: The Four Keys to Ultimate Beauty through Positive Thinking was published by Penguin.

Susie was also Oxygen Network's on-air personality, providing coverage of all things fashion, lifestyle and pop culture. A recent special correspondent on The Insider, Entertainment Tonight and EXTRA, Susie also co-hosted the NBC series, School Pride, where she used her Interior Architecture and Design degree to give neglected public schools a much-needed facelift and empower communities across the country to help change America's broken public education system.

Susie’s other hosting credits include CBS Sports’ Arthur Ashe Kids Day, NBC’s Superstars of Dance, produced by Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller from American Idol, guest host on Live! With Regis and Kelly, and the live telecast of the Miss USA Pageant, to name a few.

Susie currently resides in Los Angeles where she spends much of her spare time supporting her favorite non-profit organizations that support young children and animals, like The Humane Society and The Art of Elysium and is passionate about animal welfare, health and nutrition.

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