‘Despierta America’ is one of the trending show on American television. The host of the show Francisca Lachapel recently cut her hair in an episode featured on December 5, 2022.
This Dominican actress has made her mark in the entertainment industry through outstanding performances.
Initially, she used the surname of her ex-husband Rochy Lachapel, with whom she stayed in marriage from 2010 to 2016. Viewers usually know her by her ex-husband’s surname and call her Francisca Lachapel.

In this article, we have mentioned all the updates from the different life aspects along with the reason why she decided to shorten her hair in an on-air episode of Despierta America.
Before knowing the reason behind this big decision, let us know a few things about the biography and early life of the actress.
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Biography of Francisca Lachapel
Francisca is a Dominican-American actress born in Azua de Compostela, Dominican Republic, on May 5, 1989.
She also holds the title of beauty pageant ‘Nuestra Belleza Latina 2015‘ and currently works as the co-host of the famous television show Despierta America.
The real name of Faransica is Francisca Antonia Mendez Zampogna, and her age is 33 years old.
After her divorce in 2016, she did not use the surname Lachapel with her name anymore. Moving forward, let us have a quick look at the life of Francisca.
Name | Francisca |
Full Name | Francisca Antonia Mendez Zampogna |
Date of Birth | May 5, 1989 |
Age | 33 years (as of 2022) |
Birthplace | Azua de Compostela, Dominican Republic |
Gender | Female |
Sun Sign | Taurus |
Relationship Status | Married |
Spouse | Francesco Zampogna |
Children | One |
Son’s Name | Gennaro Zampogna |
Sibling | Ambioris Rafael Mendez Montero |
Parents | Dona Divina Montero |
Nationality | Dominican-American |
Ethnicity | NA |
Religion | Christianity |
Native Language | Spanish |
Height | 1.62 m |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Black |
@francisca | |
@franciscalachapeltv | |
TikTok | @francescalachapeloficial |
@franciscaNBL | |
Profession | Actress, TV Host, Beauty Pageant Winner |
Net Worth | Estimated in millions of dollars |
Well Known as | Host of Despierta America |
Where did Francisca spend her early life?
Francisca was born in the municipality of Azua and was raised in the same city by her parents. She was raised with her brother Ambioris Rafael Mendez Montero.
The exact information about the profession of the parents of the 33-year-old actress is unavailable. However, her mother, Dono Divina Montero, has given her full support to be successful in her acting career.

According to Francisca, she suffered a lot when she was a little child. Growing up, she was teased by the people around her for having curly black hair. She thought that she was ugly because of her hair.
She opened up about this phase of her life in the recent episode of Despierta America and got rid of the opinion of others, which let her think that she was not beautiful.
When she reached her teenage years, she appeared on local television in the Dominican.
Coming to her early educational background, no accurate information about her studies is available. However, she moved to the United States at the age of 21 in 2010.
How did Francisca Lachapel pave the way to excellence in her career?
Francisca is a renowned personality on American television. After working for many years in the Dominican television industry, she bounced back with full power by winning the beautiful crown of ‘Nuestra Beliza Latina‘ in 2015.
This crown is considered similar to Miss America. Achieving this title transformed her life from an average television actor to a top-class entertainer in the industry. She also became a co-host of Despierta America in the same year.

In 2014, she worked in the television series ‘Me caigo de risa,’ and then she won the title, which transformed her career. She began to receive offers from better production houses.
From 2016 to 2017, she worked in the television series ‘Waking Up with You.’ She was also a part of several famous television series titled Sal y Pimienta, Sabadazo, and El Gordo y la Flaca.
After a while, Francisca also performed in a romantic comedy El Fantasma de mi Novia in 2018. The same year, she also hosted the tv mini-series Se Habla USA.
Currently, she has also been working on the television show Lios de Familia.
One of her projects, Teacher Mechy, is also in the post-production in which she will be appearing in the role of Bertha. This show is supposed to be released in 2023.
Why did Francisca cut her hair live on the show?
On Univision’s morning show on December 5, 2022, she cut down her hair and let go of the weight she had been holding onto for so long.
From the traumas of her early life she has been fighting for so long, she decided to get rid of all. As mentioned above, Francisca believed that she was ugly while growing up because of her hair.
The people around her scolded and teased her many times for her hair, due to which she started to think that she was not pretty and good enough to do anything good in her life.
She even tried to get a straightener for her at the age of 11 to let go of her curly hair.
She revealed this aspect of her life during one of the episodes of the show Despierta America where she decided to address this issue.
The main reason behind addressing the fact is that she wanted to make peace with her inner child, that has suffered a lot because of the opinions of others.
She picked up scissors and cut down her hair live on the TV show stating that she does not want any girl like her to think she is ugly or have to fit into any kind of beauty standards.
Her early life was traumatic because of the discrimination she faced, and by doing the act, she made peace with her inner self, stating that she accepted the Francisca that God had sent to this world.
How does Francisca’s family react after seeing her natural hair?
Talking about the reactions of the family of Francisca, we can see from a recent video she uploaded in which her husband Francesco and her son Gennaro reacted beautifully.
Both the men in her life seem very happy and touched by the brave decision to cut down her hair. Her husband congratulated her for showing such courage. Their response was all that boosted her confidence to achieve much success in life.
If we talk about the family life of the actress, she has been married to Francesco Zampogna since May 2022. The couple has been together since 2019 and got married in Miami, Florida, in 2022.
Francisca and Francesco are also a parent of a baby boy Gennaro Zampogna who was born on July 7, 2021.
Other than her husband and son, the mother of the actress also shows much love and power for this courageous act.

What were the reactions of the viewers of Despierta America’s star?
Francisca is a famous personality worldwide. She is also very much active on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
After cutting her hair on the live show, some of the viewers and fans of Francisca show compassion towards her as they feel that the act is very genuine.
However, many people criticized her action and called it a gimmick. They also stated there was no need to create such a dramatic event on the show.
One of her fans also commented on the Instagram platform that every person has traumas as children but reaching this point is extreme. She got mixed reviews from her viewers.
Overall, if we talk about the social media presence of the actress, then her Instagram account @francisca has 4.1 million followers with more than 3000 posts. She updated about both her personal and professional life on her Instagram account.
Her Twitter account @francisaNBL has 65.4K followers, and her Facebook account @franciscalachapeltv has limited followers. It seems that she is not much active on the Facebook platform.

Francisca’s husband, Francesco Zampgna, has an Instagram account @franczampogna, with 264K followers. Her son Gennaro Zampogna has 149K followers on @gennarozampogna. Her husband and son are active participants in the Instagram world.
Final Thoughts
Francisca Lachapel, or Francisca Montero, has made her way to the hearts of millions of people through her outstanding performances in her career.
Her presence as a co-host of Despierta America has provided her with the name and fame she has been struggling for so far.
It is really courageous of her to let down her guard on the show and get rid of her insecurities with her long hair. She comes up with an example for those who are struggling with the same issues.
I hope that this article will give you all the necessary information that you are looking for. Stay in touch with us for more information and updates regarding the people of the entertainment world.