Who Is Alicia Machado? Miss Piggy Comment From Donald Trump To Miss Universe Referenced In Presidential Debate

There were many soundbite moments during the presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Monday night, but one of the highlights arrived near the end when Clinton referenced Alicia Machado, who Trump once described as "Miss Piggy" after she gained weight.

The Clinton remarks stemmed from Trump answering a question about Clinton not having "the look" to be president, to which Trump clarified that she doesn't have "stamina." Clinton jumped on the opportunity to reply to Trump's earlier coded comments.

"This is a man who has called women, 'pigs,' 'slobs' and 'dogs.' Someone who has said that pregnancy is an inconvenience to employers, who has said women don't deserve equal pay as long as they do as good a job as men.

"One of the worst things he said was about a woman in a beauty contest – he loves beauty contests, supporting them and hanging around them – and he called this woman 'Miss Piggy,' then he called her 'Ms. Housekeeping,' because she was Latina. Her name is Alicia Machado. She has become a U.S. citizen, and you can bet she's going to vote this November."

Machado, 39, was crowned Miss Universe in 1996, the first year Trump had owned the pageant. The Venezuela native described Trump as a "bully" in a May interview with "Inside Edition."

Machado reportedly gained 40 pounds, prompting Trump to call her "Miss Piggy" and "Ms. Housekeeping." On "The Howard Stern Show," Trump described Machado as "an eating machine."

"She weighed 118 pounds or 117 pounds and she went up to 160 or 170," Trump told reporters in 1996. "So this is somebody who likes to eat."

Trump questioned Clinton while she discussed Machado—he repeatedly asked "Where did you find this (information)?"—but the story surfaced months ago.

Trump even referenced Machado in his 1997 book "The Art of the Comeback" about the 1996 pageant. "The best part of the evening was the knowledge that next year, she would no longer be Miss Universe," Trump wrote.

In a Washington Post interview in 1997, Machado explained she had starved herself prior to the pageant, and also implied she was bulimic.

Machado, who at one time was engaged to All-Star baseball player Bobby Abreu, would eventually move on to acting in telenovelas in 1998, last starring in "Lo Imperdonable" in 2015. She also appeared in Playboy in 2006 and released two music albums.

When "Inside Edition" reporter Jim Moret asked Machado if she would vote for Trump, she gave a sarcastic laugh. Machado was active on Twitter during the debate, posting: "I'm with you!" in Spanish.

She also retweeted a post by ABC News Live that quoted Clinton telling Trump, "I have met a lot of the people who were stiffed by you and your businesses."