You would think that it would be relatively easy to unravel the background of one of the most iconic composers of the 18th century. Ludwig Van Beethoven is one of the most synonymous figures with classical music and his music is some of the most performed in the world.

However, certain details about the German composer have been shrouded in mystery and uncertainty over the years, with numerous researchers particularly skeptical about key details – specifically, his race. But what is the truth behind Beethoven’s identity?

Over time, historians have developed an idea of what they believe Beethoven looked like, mainly through his many portraits. They often depict a man who was craggy-faced and sported long gray hair that was wild and flowed in every direction.

But are these paintings reliable? For a start, Beethoven didn’t look the same in all of them. Towards the end of his life, the composer was depicted with a long beard, which many suspected was a bi-product of his decline in mental health. But is there more to it?

The recent debates surrounding Beethoven’s identity remind us that history is a constantly evolving tapestry, layered with new discoveries that enhance our understanding of all sorts of events, societies, and even individuals. The subtlest of discoveries can completely shatter our preconceptions of the most important historical figures.

Details, theories, and widespread opinions can be altered if the right evidence is provided. Over the last century alone, a number of key developments have sparked intense debate about the iconic German composer and his origins.

Over the course of history, it is believed that word-of-mouth, unreliable narrations, and false portrayals have been passed from one generation to the next. They have worked to push the agendas of those who were once in power.

Time tends to turn those falsehoods into historical fact and all we have left is a distorted version of the past. This suggests that there might be key details about historical figures that we are yet to have learned about, and this could also apply to Beethoven.

One tool that people have previously used to alter the facts goes by a controversial term: whitewashing. Take into consideration that many people of power in Europe during the time of Beethoven were white and very conservative in their views.

So it would make sense that some may have whitewashed the most influential dark-skinned people of their time in order to convince future generations that only white people were at the forefront of all innovations. There are numerous examples of historical figures who are believed to have been whitewashed.

For thousands of years, historians believe certain important figures may have been whitewashed for superiority purposes. One figure whose racial background has been heavily debated is Jesus Christ. Many images of Christianity’s key figure portray him as a white man, despite many agreeing that he was of Middle Eastern origin.

Queen Nefertiti of the Ancient Egyptians is also speculated to have been whitewashed by western media. Beethoven is simply another example of a historical figure who researchers believe may have been whitewashed.

The concept of whitewashing is something that also appears in present-day media. For example, there have been numerous instances in the film that have seen characters that are of a specific ethnicity, only to end up getting portrayed by white actors anyway.

In the last couple of years alone, fans were outraged when white actress Scarlett Johansson portrayed a Japanese character in the film adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Exodus: Gods and Kings is another recent example of this kind of controversy.

The latest historical figure that many believe might have been whitewashed during his heyday is none other than Ludwig van Beethoven. There seems to be a lot of insights and discoveries from the last century that point to the possibility that the man responsible for iconic pieces such as “Moonlight” and “5th Symphony” actually wasn’t white.

On the contrary, many speculate that he may have been of partial African descent and that this aspect of his identity was purposefully hidden.

If the theory of Beethoven’s real identity is in fact, true, then that would change the way we look at the way he was portrayed in numerous movies about his life. Actors such as Gary Oldman and Ed Harris, who happen to be white, have played the German composer in movies such as Immortal Beloved and Copying Beethoven, respectively.

Hollywood wouldn’t necessarily be at fault for wrongfully portraying Beethoven as a white man, but it would be indicative of the secrets that were potentially hidden for so long.

Seeing that he was alive during the late 1700s and early 1800s, Ludwig Beethoven lived in a time where black people were looked down upon by many Europeans. It was unheard of for a black person to be an artist. This led researchers to theorize that Beethoven took extreme measures to conceal his true identity.

This included potentially using body doubles for his portraits, as well as even powdering his face. But signs of his identity can be traced even further back.

One key detail that points to the possibility that Beethoven was of mixed race is that his mother, Maria Magdalena Keverich, was possibly a Moor. For those who don’t know, the Moorish people were dark-skinned people from North Africa who eventually made their way to the Spanish Netherlands after crossing the Strait of Gibraltar.

Maria was born in an area controlled by the Moors, while Ludwig’s father Joann Van was from Belgium, which was also part of the same territory.

What you will learn about this story is that Beethoven was a very private person. Although there are a lot of details out there surrounding his love life, the composer wasn’t interested in hanging out his dirty laundry. Not only did he never marry, but he was apparently entangled in numerous love affairs during his time in Vienna.

One of his most iconic love secrets revolves around a mystery woman who he referred to in letters as “Immortal Beloved,” though historians speculate that it could have been Antonie Brentano.

Another member of the Brentano family who had fascinating things to say about Beethoven was Bettina von Armin, a famous writer of the time. She was a friend of the composer and claimed to be completely “hypnotized” by both his appearance and his talents.

Her following description of him is rather telling: “He is small, brown and carries the marks of the small pox […] dark hair, very long, that he throws back […] his clothes are torn, he looked completely tattered.”

Another aspect of Beethoven’s life that he was extremely protective of was his public image. The composer had close ties with the popular music journal the Allgemein Musikalische Zeitung and he would threaten the editor that he wouldn’t give him copies of his latest pieces if he wrote negatively about his music.

This was just another indicator that Beethoven liked to keep his cards close to his chest and that maybe, he was keeping his identity a secret too…

Whatever the case may be, Beethoven would have been aware of his identity. If the theories about the German composer were true, there is a good chance that he would have worked hard to conceal his African origins.

While plastic surgery wasn’t practiced back then, Beethoven may have applied white powder to his face. Also, he may have paid whoever painted his portraits to alter certain facial features in order to make him look more convincingly white.

You could say that that society has come full circle in that we are able to alter our appearance even through the power of photography. However, there is no denying that Beethoven’s identity would have been harder to conceal had he lived in a time where photography existed.

The main point of reference when observing Beethoven’s appearance is through portrait paintings. While the many available examples all have differences, most of them seem to have one thing in common: his white skin color.

There is also a theory that suggests not just that Beethoven was mixed race, but that he descended from a royal line. Some have speculated that his father may have been Frederick II of Prussia. As the theory goes, Frederick ended up having an affair with one of his room servants, who happened to be African.

However, numerous historians believe that the theory is just one of many that try to use rumored royal lineages to explain historic figures’ influence on society.

One detail concerning Beethoven’s rumored hidden identity that many have debated over is his Viennese residence, which was called Schwarzspanierhause. This translates loosely into “House of the Black Spaniard,” which by all intents and purposes, backs up the theory that he descended from Moorish settlers in the Spanish Netherlands.

However, some have pointed out that the title more likely translates into “The House of the Black-Robed Spaniards,” alluding to the likelihood that this was once a monastery.

One of the obvious places historians would turn to in order to explore Beethoven’s racial makeup would be his descendants. Although there is a huge community of people who are confirmed relatives of the composer, there hasn’t yet been a mass study to cross-examine the racial links that they have in common.

Most recently, the descendants came together to celebrate Beethoven’s 249th birthday. Most of the descendants live in Belgium but traveled to Bonn, Germany for the celebration.

Another detail that backs up the argument for Beethoven’s African heritage was the fact that he had black friends, which unfortunately would not have been all too common during this time. It is widely agreed upon that Beethoven was close to Afro-European violinist George Bridgetower.

Beethoven even composed the violin sonata “The Kreutzer” for Bridgetower. However, he ended up dedicating it to another violinist after the two friends fell out over a shared love interest. Nevertheless, the friendship adds to the theory.

In more recent times, musicians and musical historians alike have found loose links between Beethoven’s music and rhythms that can be traced back as far as Africa. One musician specifically claimed that the classical composer had detailed knowledge of “polyrhythmic systems and patterns from the Gulf of Guinea region, on the West African coast.”

With that said, historians are skeptical of such claims, finding it difficult to believe that a 19th century Beethoven based in Vienna would even have access to such rhythms.

One particular portrait of Beethoven seems to stand out from the rest, particularly due to the fact that the composer singled it out as his favorite one. The pencil sketch shows that “his face is broad, his hair is unruly, and his skin is very dark.”

According to historians, Beethoven had distributed many copies of the sketch to friends and family members as it is how he wanted to be remembered by his loved ones. This doesn’t exactly add up.

The unique sketch of Beethoven is something of an anomaly in all of the images that highlight his appearance. This is because practically all of the professional portraits he had painted of himself seem to tell a very different story.

Most of the paintings that casual fans are familiar with depict the composer as a thin-lipped white-skinned man, with flowing grey hair. The only difference that is often on display pertains to what he is wearing from painting to painting.

Throughout time, historians and researchers have unearthed a handful of accounts written by family members, lovers, and friends who were closest to Beethoven. These accounts reveal some telling details about the composer that those in power or not as close to him may have wanted to conceal.

One description goes as follows: “Wide, thick-lipped mouth, short, thick nose, and proudly arched forehead.” These words certainly fail to match what can be found in a lot of his paintings.

Despite his reputation as being one of the most recognizable names in all of German history, one sentence that one of Beethoven’s loved ones chose to describe him with suggests that he didn’t bear the traits of someone typically born in this part of the world.

“His face reveals no trace of the German,” the person wrote. “He was so dark that people dubbed him ‘The Spagnol’ [dark-skinned].” The term “Spagnol” certainly alludes to the theory that Beethoven descended from either Meditterarean or even North African heritage.

Other descriptions provided by loved ones seem to paint a similar picture that Beethoven’s appearance didn’t quite resemble what could be found in his most famous paintings. One person described him as being “short, stocky,” and having “broad shoulders, short neck, round nose, blackish-brown complexion.”

Another person claimed that he had “dark skin, flat, thick nose” and “coal-black hair [which] stood up around his head.” This provided indications of both his size and his facial features, amongst other details.

Some also commented on the color and even the texture of his hair, which by all accounts, didn’t quite line up with what we tend to associate with the stereotypical features of a German. According to one friend, his “complexion was brownish, his hair was thick, black, and bristly.”

Another person shared similar observations, commenting on “his somewhat flat, broad nose and rather wide mouth, his small, piercing eyes and swarthy [dark] complexion.” And there is also tangible evidence that supports these descriptions.

One important detail that also lends credence to the theory of Beethoven’s hidden identity is his “death mask,” which can be found at Beethovenhaus, his birthplace in Bonn, Germany. This was a cast that was made out of the shape of someone’s face after they passed away and was meant to remind people of what the person’s face looked like long after they were gone.

Beethoven had his very own and as you can see, his death mask clearly indicates that his facial features weren’t stereotypically European.

While the theory of Beethoven’s hidden identity has been heavily debated in historian circles for a while now, the subject has only recently gained traction on social media. The online debate began when a Twitter user called Alyssa wrote a pretty simple tweet.

“Beethoven was black?? L***o y’all aint gonna hear the last of this from me,” she wrote. The Tweet went viral pretty quickly, receiving 254,000 likes and 66.9k comments as of August 2020. The online debate was well and truly on.

The revelations surrounding Beethoven have sparked some pretty passionate reactions from people online, with many Twitter users expressing sadness and anger at the fact that the composer potentially had to conceal his true identity throughout his life.

When one person commented on the possibility that he had to powder his face, another suggested that he was probably ordered by others to do so. This opened up a wider discussion about the way that people of ethnic minorities have been treated throughout history.

One person wrote the following statement: “I’m gone start assuming famous historical figures are black the same way white people assume they’re white.”

While it’s a contentious statement that is bound to elicit some passionate responses, it seems like the point she is trying to make is that it’s difficult to be totally sure about the finer details about famous historical figures.

Beethoven isn’t the only historical figure whose identity has been heavily debated over the last 100 years and beyond. The following Twitter user also pointed out what she claims to be a valid theory that nearly all of the works of William Shakespeare can be credited to a black artist.

While we don’t have a stance on this opinion, it is widely accepted that many aspects of Shakespeare’s identity are shrouded in mystery, with some even believing that he didn’t exist at all.

One user wrote an interesting tweet highlighting the power that time has on our perceptions of historical figures. It is common knowledge now that Michael Jackson was an African-American whose skin color changed after suffering from the long term effects of vitiligo.

However, this user suggests that this information will become the subject of debate 200 years from now, the same way that people are disputing the identity of Beethoven now.

The following person wrote a tweet explaining that they had been well aware of this theory since they were a child and firmly believe that Beethoven was of African descent. While teachers are generally well-intentioned and strive to teach their students the truth in all subjects, not even teachers can be 100% sure about everything that is on the syllabus.

Maybe the way that teachers will handle the topic of Beethoven will change as time goes on as more information surfaces.

While many were excited by the theory and were heavily convinced by the information presented, others were more skeptical, including this person. They tried to remind people on the thread that Beethoven has been heavily researched and there is just as much evidence to disprove the theory as there is that proves it.

Whatever the case may be, the debate about Beethoven’s identity opens up a greater conversation about the finer details historians aren’t sure about and the truth about historical figures, in general.

You might want to have a water bottle ready because these gorgeous weather girls are forecasting a heat wave! We’ve found some of the most beautiful and talented meteorologists, weather anchors, and broadcast reporters from all over the world.

Elita Loresca is a Filipino-American newscaster currently working for KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas. Her broadcasting career began with a job as a news associate for KCBS in Los Angeles. From 2001 until 2002, Loresca served as the noon weather anchor and assignment editor for KGET-TV in Bakersfield, California before moving to KGPE-TV in Fresno, where she was the morning and noon weather anchor. Loresca made a name for herself covering some of the biggest hurricanes in modern history including Hurricane Frances, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

Mexican-American broadcast journalist and weather girl Janice Villagran was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. In college, she studied communications and began working on a show called En Vivo USA on Estrella TV, where she provided the weather in addition to occasionally presenting for shows and other live TV events. In 2017, she began working on a modern news show called I Testigo TV. Villagran enjoys playing chess in her free time and has been previously engaged. She’s been single since 2017.

As one of the youngest weather girls on our list, Bri Winkler was born on October 25, 1988. She started her broadcasting career on the NBC affiliate KAMR-TV in Amarillo, Texas, serving as morning meteorologist and co-host for Today in Amarillo. In 2011, Bri joined ABC as a meteorologist for Eyewitness News. At just 24 years old, Bri miraculously survived a stroke and made a complete recovery. In 2017, Winkler announced that she would be leaving Eyewitness News to pursue a Master’s Degree in environmental science.

In recent years, Mexican meteorologist Mayte Carranco has blown up on the international stage, and it’s not hard to see why. Carranco was born and raised in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Her career began with music at a very young age, when she had dreams of becoming a famous singer. The former beauty pageant winner began heating things up on News Televisa Monterrey back in 2007 and hasn’t slowed down since! In 2009, she even won the Miss Televisa Monterrey title.

Evelyn Taft was born on August 24th, 1984 in San Fransisco. The multitalented Taft is fluent in Russian, Hebrew, French, and English. She worked for a KCOY, a CBS affiliate, as a weather anchor and reporter before moving on to work for KRON 4, again as a weather reporter. She began working at KCAL-TV channel 9 of the Los Angeles station in August of 2010 as a weeknight meteorologist. Taft also works for KCAL as an anchor, news editor, director, and journalist.

Colombian model and actress Ximena Cordeba began her career on the reality show Protagonistas de Novela. Throughout her career, she’s acted on numerous telenovelas. She’s worked on TNT, Fox Deportes, and Fox Sports. Rain or Shine, she delivers the weather with her signature smile.

The Latvian Indra Petersons made a name for herself as a weather anchor for CNN’s New Day as well as CNN Newsroom. As a natural over-achiever, Petersons went to the University of Arizona where she received a degree in Atmospheric Physics while also minoring in business, math, and physics. After finishing school in 2002, Petersons went on to work as a meteorologist at KVIA in El Paso, KEYT in Santa Barbara, and KABC in Los Angeles before being hired by CNN.

35-year-old Alex Wilson began working at The Weather Channel in March of 2013, where you can still catch her to this day reporting during the afternoon news from 3-6 pm alongside Dave Shwartz. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and Marketing before moving on to study meteorology at Penn State University. Before ending up on The Weather Channel, Wilson worked as a meteorologist at WHNS-TV in South Carolina and at WOWK-TV and WVNS-TV in West Virginia.

As one of England’s biggest television and radio personalities, Sian Welby has made a name for herself with her animated and lively weather forecasts. In true British fashion, Welby is spot-on with her subtle and yet effective delivery of hilarious puns according to the given daily weather theme. Throughout her career, Welby has worked on Channel 5, BBC, ITV, and Channel 4. In 2016, she started operating her own national radio show on Heart from 7-10 pm every Monday through Thursday.

As a successful meteorologist, Kate Parker has used her platform on weather.com The Weather Channel app, and Good Morning America to voice her concerns about climate change and environmental pollution. In 2016, Parker created a mini-documentary called Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee which exposed Florida’s water management issues and cyanobacteria problem. She has worked in Missouri, Alabama, and Florida before being picked up by The Weather Channel. Parker left The Weather Channel in 2016 but continues in her environmental activism efforts.

Now a Ph.D. student at Central Michigan University, the talented Maria Timmer served as an on-air meteorologist for Fox News for six years starting in 2010. Maria was born in Nicaragua and grew up in South Florida. Her inspiration to become a meteorologist came from her experiences living in an area that faces hurricanes on a regular basis. Before working at Fox, Timmer was a meteorologist for AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania, where she gave weather forecasts in both English and Spanish.

Llarisa Abreu can deliver your daily forecast in both English and Spanish. The bilingual beauty works as an on-air broadcaster at AccuWeather. Throughout her extensive career, Abreu has worked at NBC News, Latino Vision TV, and Univision. She has been involved in work both in front of and behind the camera. Like many of the meteorologists on our list, Abreu found her passion for predicting the weather when she came to realize the importance of advanced warnings for hurricanes and other extreme weather events.

Raegan Medgie got her first taste of broadcasting at her alma mater, Temple University, as a reporter for Temple Update, the student-run TV station. Her career began at a local cable station in Allentown, Pennsylvania before moving on to NBC affiliate WETM in Elmira, New York. She has also worked at ABC affiliate WNEP in Scranton Pennsylvania before eventually ending up in New York City, where she moved from The Weather Channel, to WCBS, and finally to FOX5 in 2017, where she remains today.

Jennifer Delgado started her career in Richmond, Virginia, as a morning and noon meteorologist at WTVR-TV. After two years, Delgado moved on to a job with CNN International and CNN domestic. While at CNN, Delgado delivered news and updates for numerous natural disasters, including deadly typhoons in the Pacific, the 2013 tornado season, and 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Delgado now works at The Weather Channel. In 2016, Jennifer Delgado made headlines for false and insensitive statements claiming that Haitian children were eating deforested trees.

A Florida native, the beautiful Shay Ryan grew up in the Fort Lauderdale area and graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Telecommunication. She then moved on to Mississippi State University to pursue a Master’s degree in Geoscience. Shay’s successful career has taken her to New York, Michigan, Georgia, and Mississippi, where she has covered severe storms, heat waves, floodings, and hurricanes. Shay Ryan currently works at WFTS-TV as a meteorologist for the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas.

Lauren Sanchez grew up in New Mexico bus moved to Los Angeles after her high school graduation. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in communications. Working her way up from the bottom, Sanchez began her career as a desk assistant for KCOP-TV in Los Angeles. She also worked for Phoenix’s KTVK-TV as an anchor and reporter before being picked up as a reporter for Extra. Sanchez has also worked for Fox Sports Net, KTTV Fox-11, and The View.

Vera Jimenez was born in Mexico City, Mexico and moved to California at age three. She graduated from California State University but also studied meteorology at Mississippi State University. Now in her 50s, Jimenez boasts an impressive resume, having worked at KIK-FM, KFWB-AM, and KNX-AM. She currently works for KTLA 5 News at 6 and KTLA 5 News at 10 in LA. She’s covered both traffic and weather and has earned two Emmy Awards, three Golden Mikes Awards, and three Golden Pylons Awards.

Former Miss Miami and Miss Florida Lissette Gonzales received her degree in meteorology from Mississippi State University. She has also won runner-up in the the Miss America Contest and has had previous experience as a recording artist, off-Broadway actor, and television host. Gonzalez started reporting the weather for CBS4 News in Miami back in 2007. She has also worked in Los Angeles for KTLA’s Prime News. Gonzales is active in the South Florida community, frequently visiting schools to speak about the importance of education.

As an accomplished news anchor, former Miss Ohio, and country music artist, Robin Meade can do it all. Meade grew up in New London, Ohio and went to Ashland University, where she majored in radio and television broadcasting, programming and performance, and minored in political science. Meade has worked in Miami, Cleveland, Columbus, and Chicago. She is currently the lead news anchor for HLN, previously known as CNN Headline News. Her first day on-air with HLN was September 11, 2001.

As one of the go-to meteorologists for NBC News, Dylan Dreyer is no stranger to hard work. While she now works on MSNBC, the Orange Room on Weekend Today, NBC’s The Today Show, The Weather Channel, and NBC Nightly News, she wasn’t always on such a big stage. Dreyer climbed her way up from the bottom, working jobs at WICU in Erie, Pennsylvania, WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, and WHDH in Boston, Massachusetts, before getting her big break as a meteorologist.

Yet another Mexican beauty makes our list. This time it’s the lovely Susana Almeida. Almeida works as a presenter for a television news program in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Almeida nearly broke the internet and went viral for all the wrong reasons in 2016 following a very unfortunate wardrobe malfunction that happened while she was reporting the weather live on-air. While the attention she received for the mishap was certainly unwanted, Almeida seems to be taking everything in stride and not letting it phase her.

The young Naile Lopez became a model not long after graduating from high school. A Mexican native, Lopez has spent time living int Monterrey, Mexico City, and Miami. In 2012, Lopez decided it was time for a career change and became a weather anchor for Las Noticias Televisa Monterrey, a job she still holds to this day. A jack of all trades, Lopez has also taken the opportunity to try her hand at acting, working with the Televisa San Angel studio in Mexico City.

A California native, Sabrina Fein was born and raised in San Diego but chose to go to the University of Miami, majoring in Meteorology and Climatology. Her interest in meteorology was sparked by the coverage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Following graduation, Fein started working in broadcasting right away. Throughout her career, she has worked on television stations in Springfield Missouri, and Lubbock, Texas, before returning to her hometown and settling in at San Diego 6 News as an evening meteorologist.

Sheena Parveen was born in 1987 in India and is currently a successful meteorologist and television personality. She studied meteorology at Florida State University. Throughout her career, Parveen has worked as a weather reporter at WCTV in Tallahassee, and WTVT in Tampa for two years. Her career finally was taken to the next level in 2011 when Parveen started working at Philadelphia’s NBC 10 as a weather forecaster and meteorologist. She stayed there for two years before moving on to NBC 4 in Washington D.C.

Megan Glaros is currently a meteorologist and entertainment reporter for CBS affiliate WBBM-TV in Chicago. Glaros received a degree in atmospheric sciences and journalism from Indiana University, and in 2004, moved to South Florida to work as the Local 10 morning news meteorologist and SportsJam Live host. While in Florida, Glaros gained valuable experience covering Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, among others. Throughout her career, Glaros has worked in New York, West Virginia, and Maryland. She has also made frequent appearances on Good Morning America.

Jackie Johnson is currently a weather forecaster for KCBS-TV news at 5, 6, and 11:00 PM in Los Angeles, California. She also does radio broadcasts for CBS’s KNX1070. Her career began as a weekend weather anchor for WCTV-TV in Tallahassee, Florida. She would later move on to a job with WSVN-TV in Miami as a reporter and weathercaster. Before starting at KCBS-TV in 2010, Johnson worked at KCAL 9 News. She has appeared as a meteorologist or newscaster in several popular films.

Gabriela Grechi in an Italian news anchor and on-air meteorologist who knows how to bring the heat. Grechi got her start with some minor acting roles on Italian television. In 1999, Grechi worked on a magazine-style show called Orario Continuato for the Telelombardia network. Aside from weather-reporting, Grechi has also appeared on TV commercials, sports programs, and chat shows. Grechi’s beauty and personality has earned her international attention in recent years, as she continues to make a name for herself in the world of broadcasting.

With well over 5 million followers on Instagram, it’s no surprise to us how the gorgeous, young, and talented Yanet Garcia rose to popularity. The Mexican model and meteorologist first came onto the scene following the 2013 casting for Nuestra Belleza Nuevo Leon. Garcia became well-known and recognizable, especially among young people, after she began working as a meteorologist on Televisa Monterrey News. At just 27 years old, Garcia already owns and operates her own academy for young models called Yanet Garcia Models.

Sonya Hill is a bilingual weather anchor hailing out of the great state of Texas. Before she was a weather girl, Hill competed against 70 other girls from all over the world and finished in the top 10 at the Swimsuit USA International competition. Hill is currently employed by KZTV Action 10 News in Corpus Christi, Texas but has had lots of other experience in the field. Prior to working for KZTV, she spent nearly three years as a weather anchor and reporter for KRIS Communications.

Maria Quiban is currently a weather anchor on KTTV in Los Angeles. Born in the Philippines, Quiban moved with her family to Honolulu, Hawaii at age nine. She grew up in Hawaii and would later study journalism at the University of Hawaii. She began working at the NBC affiliate KHNL in Honolulu before leaving the island and moving on to a job in Los Angeles at the Orange County Newschannel in 1998. She stayed there for two years before moving to KTTV.

Blonde bombshell Chita Craft was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and attended school at Arizona State University and Mississippi State University. Today, Craft works on KHOU 11 News This Morning in Houston, delivering the weather as a meteorologist. One can only assume that Chita is a morning person, considering her coverage airs daily between 4:30 AM and 9:00 AM. Before moving to Houston in 2011, Craft worked in Redding, California for KRCR, where she won the title of Best Media Personality two years straight.

Erin Nicole grew up in Birmingham, Michigan and graduated from Mercy High School. She then moved to New York to pursue a career in the broadcast and entertainment industry. In 2002, she started her career as a reporter for UPN and CBS in Detroit. In 2004, Nicole served as the Detroit Pistons arena hostess for the team’s home games in addition to appearing on the Pistons weekly shows. In late 2013, Erin Nicole welcomed her daughter Lillian Marie into the world.

A bilingual blonde beauty, Cristina Blackwell was born in San Antonia to a Mexican mother and a father from Alabama. Blackwell spent many years of her childhood moving around and was consequently a victim of bullying. Blackwell graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2009 with a double major in speech and communications. Throughout her career, she has broadcasted in both Spanish and English for Univision Network as well as Kens-TV 5 Eyewitness News, where she is still located today.

Magda Palimariu is a weather girl hailing from Romania, where she works for Pro TV. She was born in 1979 in Sibiu, a small town in Transylvania. After getting her Master’s in journalism, she started working in Bucharest where she is still based today. Palimariu has quite the fanbase, with over 72,000 followers on Instagram. In addition to reporting on the weather, she swims and has landed modeling gigs as well, appearing in magazines like Pro TV Magazine and Playboy.

Angie Gonzalez was born in 1987 and currently presents the weather at Milenio TV, in Mexico. From a young age, she was selected to be Multimedia network’s weather presenter — so young, in fact, that she had to wait before joining. In the meantime, she concentrated on learning how to become a meteorologist. Gonzalez has a phenomenal figure, but she claims she hardly ever hits the gym and doesn’t diet. She is indeed lucky, as few people are able to keep such a figure while enjoying junk food.

Sugey Abrego from Mexico was born in 1978 and has made quite an mark on weather reporting in that country. She presents the weather for Canal 4, yet that’s hardly all that she’s known for. She studied acting and is known for her work on telenovelas for TV as well as in theater. Also a model, she has appeared on the cover of Playboy and Maxim Mexico. Abrego is quite a star, with over 620,000 followers on Instagram

Christina Loren took the job of news anchor and agricultural meteorologist at RFD-TV in greater Nashville back in 2015, and she’s made a name for herself in that role ever since. She has a Master’s in theology as well as meteorological certification, and before her current job she held other important positions at other stations. These include CBS Miami and for NBC in the San Francisco Bay area, which is much closer to her hometown of Palm Springs, California.

A teen athlete when she was in high school, Kristi Marie Capel still keeps herself in shape by running. After that, she transitioned to beauty pageants and was even named Miss Missouri. Capel competed in Miss USA 2006, though despite being Miss Missouri, she’s actually a Kentucky native. She worked for three years at KSPR-TV Springfield as a news and weather anchor after getting her broadcasting and communications degree. Capel then made a name for herself as the morning show weather anchor on WBRE-TV/WYOU-TV.

Patricia Jaggernauth is an Emmy and Canadian Award-winning TV host. Currently, she’s the weather specialist and remote reporter for CP24, Toronto’s Breaking News. Better known as just Patricia J, she’s been dubbed “The Next Tyra Banks” for starting her own successful online fashion boutique called PJ Glamgirl. She even hosted and produced her own TV talk show called Patricia J. From all of this exposure, she’s reached over 140,000 followers on Instagram. Not bad for a Torontonian weather girl!

Roxana Vancea is another Romanian weather girl who makes the temperature in the room just a bit hotter when she’s on TV. The fun presenter is known for dancing and doing jumping jacks on air, and she’s attracted attention for her good looks as well. Proudly showing off her tattoos in revealing outfits, she’s even been known to present the weather in a bikini or braless. She shows off how she stays in shape with workout clips she posts on Instagram, where she has close to 370,000 followers.

Liberté Chan is a meteorologist and reporter with KTLA 5 from Los Angeles, but some might recognize her from her previous career as a competitive figure skater who was ranked nationally. Not just a pretty face, she has a Master’s in public health. Currently, she stays fit by doing yoga and shares this with followers on social media. In addition, she maintains a fashion and beauty blog and owns an athleisure clothing line called Sweat with Soul, along with her partners.

The weather girl for TV Azteca, Alejandra Medina, used to be a beauty queen and model from Mexico before getting into meteorology. When you see how good looking she is, it’s no wonder she’s in such demand to cover such a broad area from Mexico City to Monterrey and all the way to Texas. She stays in shape by doing CrossFit, showcasing her difficult workouts on Instagram, where she has close to 27,000 followers, and other social media platforms.

Diana Alvarado presents the weather on Mexico’s Channel 44 for Juarez, she’s also known for being a former Miss America Internacional, which highlights the identity of Latina women. Even compared to the other beautiful winners than have won the competition, she stands out as one that’s remembered for her good looks. With over 14,000 followers on Instagram, she’s only going to accumulate more with her incredible grace and beauty. Alvarado is also a motivational speaker and a life coach.

Mexican journalist Lluvia Carrillo got her professional start as a host for Televisa Deportes, a Spanish sports program. She has since moved to Televisa Moneterrey, where she is the weather reporter replacement for Yanet Garcia on Monterrey al Dia. On top of her broadcasting career, Carillo is also an accomplished model, having placed second in Nuestra Belleza Nuevo Leon in 2014, and having been featured in TVyNovelas magazine. Carillo is currently romantically involved with Javier Aquino, the Mexican national team, and Tigres soccer player.

The Armenian-born Araksya Karapetyan currently works for KTTV out of Los Angeles on the morning news and entertainment show, Good Day L.A. Karapetyan grew up in Palos Verdes, California and graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in international relations and broadcast journalism. Her television career began in Los Angeles, where she interned at KABC-TV and KFI 640 AM radio out of Burbank, California. Outside of California, Karapetyan has also worked as an anchor and reporter for networks in Idaho, and Oregon.

Born and raised in Sacremento, California, Julia Durda can bring sunshine into even the dreariest of weather forecasts. Since her graduation from Mississippi State University, Durda has worked for KXTV in Sacremento, KPHO in Phoenix, WSVN in Miami, and WPLG in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Durda has appeared on the national stage on shows such as Good Morning America and ABC’s World News. She made headlines in 2012 with her controversial move from WSVN to WPLG before the end of her contract.

Jackie Guerrida was born and grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico before settling in Miami, where she accepted a job offer to work at WRMA. Guerrida worked hard and was eventually given her own music show on radio station WRTO, while at the same time working as a traffic reporter for WSCV. Univision picked up Guerrida and she worked as a meteorologist on Despierta America and Primer Impacto for several years. She now serves as a co-anchor of Primer Impacto.

Born in California to Mexican parents, Leticia Castro grew up in Las Vegas and became well-known following a distinguished beauty pageant competitor in both Mexico as well as Nevada. Castro had her first taste of fame on the reality show and beauty contest Nuestra Belleza Latina, where she came in fourth place. Leticia has also been a host for Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors and currently runs her own popular Youtube channel. As a weather anchor, Castro has worked on ABC Sacremento, Univision, and Telemundo.

The Italian born Domenica Davis went to Boston University and graduated with a degree in Broadcast Journalism before enrolling in Mississippi State University to study Broadcast Meteorology. Davis currently works at NBC News but has also held jobs with Fox News as a weather forecaster. In 2010 she joined NBC, based out of New York. As a mother of two, Davis has kept her personal life away from the spotlight. It is unknown whether or not she is currently married or engaged to anyone.

Marilu Kaufman is originally from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She currently works as a weather anchor for Multimedios Television and on Milenio TV. Before becoming a Mexican household name, Kaufman began her broadcasting career on a local cable newscast. With such incredible beauty and grace, it’s no surprise that Kaufman is also a model and actress on the side, having appeared in television commercials, advertisements, and even some popular music videos. Kaufman’s signature bodacious brunette locks and infectious smile have earned her nearly 50,000 Instagram followers.

Carolina Ramirez has over 50,000 Instagram followers and counting. Before making it to Despierta America, the gorgeous Colombian weather girl got her start on the beauty pageant reality show, Nuestra Belleza Latina in 2010, where she stole the hearts of fans and judges alike. When Univision hired Ramirez, she quickly acquired a massive fan base with her trendy dresses and lovable personality. Carolina has also worked on other promotions for Univision including Premios Juventud VIP tours, and Latin GRAMMY Street Parties.