Cindy Taylor was born in Asunción, Paraguay, on April 18, 1977.
The daughter of a Paraguayan mother of Italian and Portuguese
descent, and an American father, Cindy grew up in Clarksburg,
West Virginia. When she was eight, Cindy's parents divorced,
and she moved back to Asunción with her mother, where she
resided for 10 years.

Cindy grew up in two worlds, learning English as her native
language but speaking Spanish exclusively while in Paraguay.
As a teenager, she was skinny, which was awkward in Paraguay,
where sexiness is equated more with voluptuousness. "I wasn't
one of those little girls who always wanted to model," Cindy
admits. In fact, she dreamed of being an architect, but there
was little opportunity for that in Paraguay.

a model for success

In 1997, Taylor moved back to America. Settling in Miami, she
resolved to relearn English, a language she had not spoken in
over a decade. Soon she was approached by people asking if she
was a model, and the interest encouraged Cindy to look into the
business. She assembled a portfolio and before she knew it, was
working in Milan as an Irene Marie model.

Taylor's career snowballed from there. She appeared on the cover
of magazines like Shape, Ocean Drive, Ocean Drive's Spanish
edition, and Men's Journal. Modeling was balanced with Cindy's
work on many high-profile advertising campaigns for companies
such as Guess?, Van Heusen, Matrix, Pantene, and Perry Ellis.

Lately, Cindy became a spokeswoman for Frito-Lay's Tostitos Gold,
munching the snacks with fellow spokesmen Jay Leno, Little
Richard and Steve Harwell of Smash Mouth. Cindy insists that the
chips are great too, "and I'm not just saying that because I'm the spokesperson."

getting wild

In the summer of 2002, Cindy answered an open call to replace
Brooke Burke, host of E!'s travel show Wild On. Casting directors
had scouted Australia, South Africa, Europe, Australia, and the
Philippines, and had to choose from almost 10,000 applicants.
Cindy, who had stopped by after a shoot at the Versace mansion
in Miami, was asked to come back despite the fact that she was
disheveled and tired. More auditions narrowed the competition;
in the end, Cindy was selected. "She was my number one pick,"
Brooke Burke confessed.

Now Taylor gets paid to travel exotic locales and explore
their nightlife. In her first five months on the job, she
has visited 25 cities in a dozen countries. "It's pure
adrenaline," Cindy explains, as Wild On has opened her up
to all sorts of new experiences, from eating fried worms
in Thailand and swimming with sharks to skydiving -- even
though, irony of ironies, Cindy is afraid of flying. (She
refused to admit it when trying out for Wild On because she
was afraid she wouldn't get the job.)

When Taylor isn't globetrotting, she divides her time between
New York and Miami with her new husband, wine importer
Guillermo Barrail, whom Cindy met in Asunción over Christmas
2000. Meanwhile, Cindy loves to dance to Latin music and eat
her favorite Paraguayan dishes. She takes life's developments
in stride; "I'm just learning as I go."