Liliana Lovell

Liliana Lovell (born September 29, 1967) is an American entrepreneur who founded the Coyote Ugly Saloon and Ugly Inc. Lovell was the host of the reality TV show The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search. In the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly, she was portrayed by Maria Bello.

Early life and education Liliana Lovell grew up in Westchester County, New York and graduated from New York University with a degree in psychology and communications. In college, she worked as a bartender in New York City.

Career While working on Wall Street as an investment banking intern, she made $200 a week. After making $300 a night pouring drinks, she started bartending at a cowboy bar, the Village Idiot, to make money full-time. Lovell managed the Village Idiot for three years, where she developed a routine of dancing on the bar, singing, and challenging customers to drinking contests. She learned her business model "beautiful girls + booze = money" from her boss, bar owner Tom McNeill.

Coyote Ugly Saloon Lovell left to start her own bar with partner and now-husband Tony Piccirillo. In 1997, the bar was propelled into the national spotlight when former bartender Elizabeth Gilbert wrote of her experiences in a story for GQ magazine, "The Muse of the Coyote Ugly Saloon." In it, she described Lovell's idea of a Coyote bartender: Early in my own Coyote Ugly Saloon career, I made the mistake of saying to a customer, "Here's your beer, sir." Lil overheard and shouted, "Don't ever call anyone in this place 'sir'!" So I said, "I'm terribly sorry. I meant to say, 'Here's your beer, douche bag.' " Lil and the customer laughed. And I thought, Oh, I get it, but I am a very quick study. Some bartenders were friendly but not relaxed, so they didn't last. Some bartenders were gorgeous but not sexy, so what's the point? Some bartenders laughed a lot but were not funny themselves, so that didn't work, either.

The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search In 2006, Lovell began hosting The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search, a reality TV show on Country Music Television (CMT). The premise of the show involved Lovell auditioning young women to become the next "coyote". With the help from a few of her "coyote mentors", Lovell trained women to become bartenders, dancers, and all around entertainers. The winner received $25,000 and the title of "Ultimate Coyote".

In 2007, the series reappeared on CMT Canada. In this version, the series was based on teams. Lovell chose five of her best Coyotes from bars across the country. Each of those coyotes would then hold auditions at their home bars to find teammates for the competition. The teams for the competition were:

+ 2007 Search Teams Home Bar Coyote Apprentice New York Maria Regan Charlotte Kat Stephanie Memphis Bri Sandra "Mexico" Nashville Sally Molly "Ice" Fort Lauderdale "Wiggins" Amanda "Red" Team New York won in 2007, and were awarded $50,000. The third and final season of the show was held in 2008.