Charlotte Ayanna

Charlotte Ayanna (born Charlotte Lopez; September 25, 1976) is a Puerto Rican-American actress, author and beauty queen who won Miss Teen USA. Early life Ayanna was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but moved to Vermont at an early age. She had a troubled childhood, spending sixteen years in foster homes after her mother, Emma, was judged to be mentally unfit to look after her children. In 1994, at age 17, she was adopted into a foster home. She has since become a spokeswoman for foster children. Education Attended the University of California, Irvine. Career Her first national exposure was in 1993, when she became Miss Teen USA. Charlotte co-authored a book titled Lost in the System, published in 1996, detailing her childhood and subsequent rise to Miss Teen USA. She later changed her last name to "Ayanna", meaning "blessed" in Cherokee.