Getty Al Horford and his wife Amelia Vega
Al Horford has been married to Amelia Vega for over 10 years now and the couple has five children. The Boston Celtics star, who is from the Dominican Republic, married Vega, a fellow Dominican, in their home country back in December 2011 after dating for only a short time. Vega is a star in her own right as she is an actress, singer, author and former Miss Universe.
Here’s what you need to know about Al Horford’s wife, Amelia Vega:
1. Amelia Vega Was Born in the Dominican Republic & Won Miss Dominican Republic in 2002 & Miss Universe in 2003
Vega was born Amelia Vega Polanco on November 7, 1984, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and she is a model, actress, singer and pageant queen. Vega’s mother, Patricia Polanco, was a beauty queen who won Miss Dominican Republic World in 1980 and represented her country at the Miss World 1980 pageant when she was just 18 years old, according to Vega’s biography on her website.
Vega shared that she was constantly asked as a young girl if she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a beauty queen, she shared in a conversation with South Africa’s Zozibini Tunzi, the winner of Miss Universe 2019. She said she’d always reply no as she wanted to carve her own path as a singer.
However, she decided to compete for the title as she felt it would increase her exposure, as she shared in her bio, and was crowned Miss Dominican Republic in 2002. On June 3, 2003, when she was 18 years old, she was crowned Miss Universe 2003. To date, Vega is the only Dominican woman to ever win Miss Universe.
She was asked by Tunzi about winning at 18 and she said, “I think when we’re that young we’re just fearless… everything is fantastic, you’re up for the challenge and the excitement.” She said that looking back at the experience, it seemed unbelievable that it happened, but described it as “one of the most amazing things I experienced in my life.”
After getting crowned, the Miss Universe 2003 winner traveled to “more than 40 different countries around the world with the organization promoting her cause of HIV/AIDS prevention and supporting institutions such as the Global Health Council, and amFAR,” her website states. She also continues to be involved in charities for environmental causes, it states.
Since becoming Miss Universe in 2003, Vega completed the Barbizon Modeling and Acting program and her profile with the company states that she modeled for many magazines, appearing on the cover of Oh! Magazine, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour. She was also featured in Cover Girl campaigns.
2. Amelia Vega Grew Up Surrounded by Music & Is a Singer Who Released an Album
Vega has said that she’s always seen herself as a singer more than a model or pageant queen. “Music has always been constant in Amelia’s true passion in life,” her website bio states. “Although she’s traveled around the world with the title of the most beautiful woman in the Universe, Amelia Vega has always considered herself a singer.”
She shared in her interview with Tunzi that she grew up in a very musical household and was in musical theater singing and dancing from the age of 13. “Music has always been a big part of my family and my grandfather was a piano player, my grandmother was a singer,” she shared.
She said they weren’t professional musicians but very talented and her family would gather several times a week to play and sing in the house. “I always wanted to enjoy music in a professional way,” she shared, but said now that she’s a mother, she doesn’t see herself pursuing a bigger music career. “I just don’t see myself honestly leaving my family and traveling the world,” she explained.
That said, music is her passion and she revealed that she’ll still write lyrics and melodies at home and hasn’t ruled out making a Christian music album in the future. Vega has released one album to date, “Agua Dulce,” in 2011.
3. Amelia Vega Appeared in a Few Movies & TV Shows & Is the Author of a Children’s Book
In addition to her talent as a singer, Vega has appeared in a few movies including Andy Garcia’s 2005 film “The Lost City” and the 2006 film “Homie Spumoni” alongside Whoopi Goldberg. She was also the host of the reality show “Voces de América,” which aired on Telemundo, and hosted “Segunda Oportunidad,” a Mexican reality show, her Barbizon profile states.
Vega published her first book, “Un Día en la Vida de Pichín,” in 2019. The Spanish-language children’s book was entered into the U.S. Library of Congress in February 2020, and Vega wrote on Instagram that it was a “dream come true.” The honor came after Vega attended the annual “Dominicans on The Hill” event in 2020 hosted by Dominican-born Congressman Adriano Espaillat.
Vega attended a book signing in the Dominican Republic in which the proceeds went toward the Fundación Amigos Contra el Cáncer Infantil (FACCI), a foundation dedicated to fighting childhood cancer and improving the lives of children diagnosed with cancer, according to Diario Libre.
“I don’t see myself as an author at all,” Vega confessed to Tunzi in their discussion. “It was just something that came from my heart, seeing my husband reading to the kids and I said, ‘I wish I could give them a moment, a book, so they can see their lives and read it together,'” she shared. She said her children love the book and it’s so special to be able to read it to them.
4. Amelia Vega & Al Horford Married in Dominican Republic in 2011 After Dating for Only 2 Months
Despite both being Dominican-born, Vega and Horford actually met in Boston when they were attending the Latin Pride Awards in Boston, The Boston Globe reporter Adam Himmelsbach shared on Twitter. In an interview with Latina transcribed by FansShare, Horford said they met in 2006 or 2007 at the Latin Pride Awards but only began dating four years later, in 2011.
“We were doing a campaign for children with cancer and we were spokespeople for the cause, we met there again and that’s where we started dating,” he said. “It was pretty quick for me. We started dating and became pretty obvious that she was the right person for me. It just felt right. I would always make fun of people, or wouldn’t believe something like that was true. I felt right with her and I knew that I wanted to marry her.”
Vega shared in her chat with Tunzi that she and Horford only dated for two months before getting married. “When you know you know,” she confessed. “It was something in my heart that just felt really right, I mean in both of us and it happened really quick.” According to Hoy Digital, Vega and Horford tied the knot in a ceremony at her aunt and uncle’s house on December 24, 2011. Her aunt, Nora Vega de Guerra, is married to the famous Dominican singer and producer Juan Luis Guerra.
Horford shared a humorous story about his wedding and the role retired MLB star David “Big Papi” Ortiz played on his special day. “We’re down there, and I realize I’m supposed to get a limo for [my wife], to pick her up and take her to where we’re getting married,” Horford told Sports Illustrated. “And then, obviously being in the Dominican Republic, things never go how they’re supposed to. So three hours before the wedding, we find out that there’s no limo.”
Since it was Christmas Eve and no businesses were open, Horford was panicking about not finding a limo. “I literally freaked out,” he shared. He said he eventually called Ortiz, who was not in the country at the time.
“I’m like, ‘Hey man, this is what’s going on,'” he recalled. “‘We’re getting married in a couple hours. I need a car. What am I going to do?’” He said Ortiz told Horford to go to his house and get his Rolls-Royce Phantom. “I’ll have it there in 30 minutes,” Ortiz told Horford. “I just gotta get it washed.”
5. Amelia Vega & Al Horford Are Parents to 5 Children, 1 Boy & 4 Girls
Vega and Horford have five kids together: Ean, Alía, Ava, Nova and Mila. Their firstborn, a son named Ean, was born on February 23, 2015, Horford wrote on Facebook. Their second child, daughter Alía, was born on November 27, 2016, and the happy mother wrote on Instagram, “On November 27 a princess came to our lives to brighten up our days. Your little brother, your daddy and I were waiting for you with great eagerness.”
The Horford Vega family grew once more with the arrival of another daughter, Ava, on July 11, 2018. Their fourth child, daughter Nova, was born on January 15, 2021. They welcomed their fifth child and fourth daughter, Mila, on December 12, 2022.
Vega described motherhood as “an amazing journey” in an interview with Tunzi. She said she had some complications with becoming a mother because she had endometriosis. According to Mayo Clinic, it is a disorder in which tissue like the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows outside the uterus, and it can have an impact on pregnancies and fertility. “I kind of had my struggle to have a family in the first place so it’s a blessing,” she shared.
Vega also told Tunzi that the parents of five aren’t going to be pushing any hobbies or sports such as pageantry or basketball on their kids and will let them develop their own passions.