A Hialeah beauty queen earned infamy for arrest. Now exonerated, she’s debuting on Netflix.

Five years ago, Vanessa Barcelo went viral for all the wrong reasons: the former Hialeah and Miami Lakes beauty queen was jailed while wearing a tacky Christmas sweater, accused of attacking a holiday party guest with a baseball bat. Even though Barcelo was ultimately exonerated — she acted in self-defense — the story haunts her with every Google search of her name.

But on Wednesday, she’ll be back in the national spotlight, but for a better reason.

Barcelo, 31, who runs One Love Cakes, is set to appear on the Wednesday debut of “Baking Impossible,” a reality competition show that challenges contestants to engineer sophisticated baked goods that can also withstand stress tests, like a boat cake that can float in a pool, or a cake that can withstand a simulated earthquake.

The eight-part show is hosted by Justin Willman, a TV personality and magician, and judged by a series of experts, including famous chefs, an aerospace engineer and an astrophysicist.

“To rebuild from zero, it’s been a very trying journey, from being a beauty queen known for beating someone up with a bat to being on a Netflix series,” said Barcelo, of Hialeah.

Hialeah police arrested Barcelo in December 2016 during an “ugly Christmas sweater” party she was hosting at her home. She was accused of walloping a guest in the face with a blue Nike aluminum softball bat, and her mugshot featured her in a snowman sweater.

Barcelo never actually hit the drunk partygoer, but merely pointed the bat at the man she believed was trying to assault her drunk cousin in an upstairs bedroom. Prosecutors agreed and dropped the most serious felony charge. A judge tossed a misdemeanor battery charge, ruling she acted in self-defense when she slapped the man on her own property.

She later sued Hialeah police, saying the wrongful arrest hurt her cake-making business. The case was later dismissed.

The Netflix show reached out to Barcelo on Instagram, where she’s become well-known for crafting edible cakes off pop culture, including ones shaped like luxury purses, a Super Bowl trophy, a character from the TV show American Horror Story and even one made to look like a package of Clorox wipes, a pandemic must.

During the interview process, Barcelo figured she’d be burnt by her past. “I thought they were going to raise red flags because of everything that comes up when you pull up my name,” she said.

But the producers selected her and flew her to Southern California, where she spent a month-and-a-half filming the show. Because of COVID-19 protocols, it wasn’t exactly Hollywood glamorous as she was confined to shuttling between the studio and the hotel. Still, she said, “It was a great experience.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 1:48 PM.