A native of the Dominican Republic, Méndez relocated to Montecatini Terme, Italy as a very young child with her mother in search of a better life. Many of Méndez's aunts had relocated to Italy and had married Italian citizens, and after divorcing Denny's biological father, her mother relocated to Italy and married an Italian man whom she met while he was on vacation in the Dominican Republic. Méndez, who had no formal training as a model, was studying to become a tourist guide before enrolling in the pageant.
Her first venture in the beauty pageant circuit occurred when she was a candidate for in the title of Miss Dominican Republic 1996 on 16 December 1995, when she represented the Distrito Nacional and placed second runner-up. After another attempt to win the title the following year, she decided to return to Italy where she entered the Miss Italia pageant. Her election as Miss Italia on 7 September 1996 in the Italian town of Salsomaggiore caused a minor scandal throughout that nation. It was the first time that a woman of non-Italian ancestry was elected to represent the country in an international beauty pageant and some Italian citizens saw it as a wake-up call for Italy to close its borders to further immigration. Two members of the judging panel were suspended for saying that a black woman could not represent Italian beauty. The news of the first black Miss Italy was carried to millions overseas via the popular African-American periodical Jet magazine. The author of the article wrote: Upon being elected Miss Italia, Méndez responded to the controversy with a brief reply: Denny was selected as one of the 10 semifinalists in Miss Universe 1997 in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. on 16 May 1997. Despite winning the semifinals with the highest overall score and entering the Top 6 in first place, her Top 6 answer was not enough to advance her to the final 3. The crown was eventually won by Miss USABrook Mahealani Lee. But the publicity from the pageant helped her land modeling jobs among many of Europe's leading fashion houses and magazines intent on displaying their love of diversity.
Post-pageant career
Today, Méndez is a popular television personality in Italy. She remains very active in the modeling world and has become a budding actress. Besides several theatrical productions, she has guest starred on many Italian sitcoms, dramas, and feature films; she also had a small role in the film Ocean's Twelve, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon.
