Clarissa Molina (born Clarissa María Molina Contreras; September 23, 1991) is a Dominican-American model and beauty queen who won Miss Dominican Republic 2015 and represented the Dominican Republic at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. She later won the title of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2016 after having placed 3rd Runner-Up the previous year.
Molina was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic and is the daughter of Domingo Molina and Clara Contreras. At the age of 11, her parents separated and moved to New York City. She was left in the Dominican Republic with her stepmother. At age 15 she and her siblings moved to New Jersey with their uncle and cousins.
Molina auditioned for Univision's reality show and beauty pageant Nuestra Belleza Latina 2015 in New York City on October 4, 2014. Judge Jomari Goyso and guest judges Daniel Arenas and Veronica Bastos did not give her a pass to enter the competition due to them seeing her as arrogant. Days later head judge Osmel Sousa went to her home in New Jersey to personally invite her to be part of the competition. After several eliminations, she was selected to be part of the 12 finalists who enter the mansion of Nuestra Belleza Latina where she became a favorite among both the judges and audience. After 13 weeks of competition, she made it to the Top 4 and finished as 3rd Runner-Up. The eventual winner was Francisca Lachapel of the Dominican Republic.