Danna Paola


Danna Paola Rivera Munguía is a Mexican actress, singer and model. She gained popularity as a child actress and singer, starring in dozens of television projects throughout her early childhood and adolescence.

Early life

Danna Paola was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the daughter of Patricia Munguía and Juan José Rivera Arellano, the former singer of Grupo Ciclón and Los Caminantes. Her parents divorced during her childhood. She has an older sister, Vania.

Acting career

1999–2003: Early career

Danna Paola's acting career began in 1999 when at age 4 she and her sister attended Televisa's casting call in Mexico City for Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican version of Sesame Street. Both were later cast on the show and appeared in several episodes. One year later at age 5, she was cast in the telenovela, Rayito de Luz, in 2000. In 2001, she received her first lead role in the children's telenovela, María Belén. The same year, she released her debut album, titled Mi Globo Azul.

2004–2012: Breakout success

In 2004, she was chosen as the lead in the successful children's series, Amy, la niña de la mochila azul. Her second studio album, Océano, soon followed. A year later, she was the female lead of Pablo y Andrea, the television adaptation of the classic novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Over the next several years, she earned parts in multiple television series produced by Televisa.
In 2009, she was cast as "Patito" in Atrévete a Soñar, the Mexican remake of the popular Argentine children's telenovela, Patito Feo. Danna Paola filmed two seasons of the show and production was concluded in late 2009. Atrévete a Soñar marked Paola's transition from children's to tween telenovelas. Paola and the cast of the telenovela recorded two soundtracks and toured across Mexico, in order to promote the show. The telenovela and its soundtrack were commercially successful throughout Mexico and Latin America. The soundtrack was certified double platinum in Mexico.
In late 2010, she voiced "Rapunzel" for the Latin American Spanish-language dubbing of the Disney film"Tangled" and participated in the film's Spanish-language soundtrack.

2013–2015: ''Wicked'' and other projects

In May 2013, Danna Paola auditioned for the first Spanish-language production of the successful Broadway musical, Wicked, in Mexico City. She auditioned for both Glinda and Elphaba, performing Popular and Defying Gravity. Later that same month, the final cast for the Mexican production was announced, with Paola cast as "Elphaba". The production opened in Mexico City at Teatro Telcel on 17 October 2013, and closed on 18 January 2015. Critics in Mexico, as well as the play's original composer, Stephen Schwartz, praised her performance. In addition to being well received by critics, the play was also a commercial success in Mexico City. During its first 10 weeks, "Wicked" sold over 100,000 tickets and had more than 100 performances; it broke a box office record making it one of the most successful theatre productions in Mexico's history. At the age of 18, Danna Paola was the youngest person to play the role of "Elphaba" in a professional theatre production.
In January 2014, Danna Paola was cast in the movie, Saving Sara Cruz, a modern-day remake of the 1992 film, The Bodyguard. Production on the film never commenced and the project was later shelved. The film was to be Danna Paola's English-language debut.
In March 2014, Danna, debuted as fashion designer collaborating with the popular Mexican clothing brand, "Sexy Jeans". Her line, "Danna Paola, by SexyJns", was commercially successful with products selling out across Mexico.
In August 2014, Danna participated in the ABBA tribute album, "Dancing Queens", recording a cover of "Take A Chance On Me". "Take A Chance On Me" was released as single on 2 September 2014 and debuted at number 1 on iTunes México.
On 29 October 2014, she performed "No hay bien", the Spanish-language version of "No Good Deed", to a sold-out crowd at the Auditorio Nacional for the Lunas del Auditorio award show. That night, Wicked received an award in the "Broadway Show" category.
Danna Paola appeared in over 300 performances of Wicked from 2013 to early 2015. Following the conclusion of "Wicked", she was invited by producer Alex Gou, to join the cast of the musical, Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, where she played the lead role of "Maria" and went on tour throughout Mexico. In July 2015, she signed a contract with the U.S. based Spanish-language network, Telemundo, marking her return to telenovelas after a nearly five-year absence.
In August 2015, she recorded the duet, "Mientras Me Enamoras" with Mexican singer, Lalo Brito. A music video was also filmed, and it premiered on Brito's YouTube channel in September 2015.
During the summer of 2015, Paola moved to Miami to film the telenovela drama, ¿Quién es quién?. The project is her first telenovela role outside of Televisa. Filming for the program concluded in September 2015. ¿Quién es quién? began airing weeknights in the U.S. on Telemundo on 9 February 2016.

2016–present

In early 2016, Paola filmed in the Mexican movie, ¡Como va! Lo más sencillo es complicarlo todo, on location in Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and Querétaro. The movie was released in Mexican cinemas on 26 January 2018.
In mid-April 2016, she was confirmed as a cast member in the telenovela drama, La Doña, produced by Telemundo. The telenovela filmed in Mexico with Aracely Arámbula and David Chocarro and premiered in November 2016. The finale aired on Telemundo in the U.S. on 1 May 2017.
In 2017, Paola was cast in the Telemundo bio-series, José José: El príncipe de la canción, based on the life of Mexican singer José José. Paola played famed Mexican singer-songwriter, Lucero and appears in 4 episodes of the show. The miniseries premiered on Telemundo on 15 January 2018. In late January 2018, Paola was scheduled to begin filming a role in the bio series based on the life of Mexican actress, Silva Pinal. She later dropped out before filming began and instead revealed that she was cast in the Netflix original Spanish teen thriller television series, Élite. Production for the television show forced Paola to move to Madrid for six months starting in January 2018. She was cast in the program following a long audition process in 2017. The show has 8 episodes shot in 4K and it premiered globally on Netflix in October 2018. In 2019, Paola was cast as a judge on the singing-competition series La Academia for TV Azteca.

Endorsements

In mid-January 2016, Paola was revealed as the new face of L'Oreal Paris's "Casting Crème Gloss" hair color line for the Latinamerican market. The line is a collaboration between L'Oreal's Excellence and Preference lines. As part of the promotion, Paola dyed her hair and appeared in print and television ads for the brand.

Music career

Debut studio album as solo singer (2011–2013)

In 2011, she began the production for her fourth solo studio album which also served as her debut album as a "grown-up" solo recording artist. Her previous discography included songs for telenovelas, children's music, and film soundtracks. She revealed that she wanted her new album to reflect her growth as an artist and shed her image as a child actress. "Ruleta", written by Mexican pop singer, Paty Cantú, was announced as the album's lead single. The official music video premiered on Paola's official VEVO channel on 14 March 2012. The single rose to number 32 on the Top Mexican Airplay charts in July 2012.

Upcoming second studio album (2016–present)

In-mid February 2016, she announced that her upcoming single, "Baila hasta caer", would be released in March for radio and digital download. The song was recorded in Miami sometime during the filming of her telenovela, ¿Quién es quién?.
As part of the 2018 film release for "Lo Más Sencillo Es Complicarlo Todo", she released the single, "¿Dónde estabas tú?" in November 2017. Her latest single, "Oye Pablo" was released on 29 August 2019.

Filmography

YearTitleRolesNotes
2000Rayito de luzLupita Lerma
2001María BelénMaría Belén García MarínMain role; 95 episodes
2002La familia P. LucheMaría Belén García MarínEpisode: "Ludovico en la escuela"
2002¡Vivan los niños!Estrella
2003De pocas, pocas pulgasAmy la serenita
2004Amy, la niña de la mochila azulAmy Granados-Betancourt ArteagaMain role; 115 episodes
2004Alegrijes y rebujosHerselfEpisode: "La fiesta"
2005Contra viento y mareaChild Natalia Ríos
2005Pablo y AndreaAndrea SaavedraMain role; 75 episodes
2007Muchachitas como túPaola Daniela
2007Objetos perdidosChildEpisode: "Objeto 8"
2007XHDRbZGolden GirlEpisode: "Niños de oro"
2008Querida enemigaBettina Aguilar Ugarte
2008Tear This Heart OutLilia Ascencio Film debut
2008La rosa de GuadalupeSamanthaEpisode: "Adiós a la calle"
2009–10Atrévete a soñarPatricia "Patito" Peralta CastroMain role; 261 episodes
2009Plaza SésamoGuest Staras Patito
2010TangledRapunzelFilm, voice role; Spanish dubbing
2013Como dice el dichoMayra MataEpisode: "Los deseos se cumplen"
2015HomeTippolina TucciFilm, voice role; Spanish dubbing
2015–16¿Quién es quién?Paloma HernándezMain role; 115 episodes
2016–20La DoñaMónica Eulalia HernándezMain role guest star ; 133 episodes
2018Lo más sencillo es complicarlo todoRenata AlejandroFilm
2018José José, el príncipe de la canciónLucero León11 episodes
2018–20EliteLucrecia "Lu" Montesinos HendrichMain role; 24 episodes

Theatre

Discography

Studio albums