Paulina Marcela Urrutia Fernández (born 15 January 1969) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an actress, academic, director, trade union leader, and politician. She was a

State Minister Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior ministers ...

of the first government of President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

Biography

Born into a middle-class family, Paulina Urrutia grew up in the

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

district of the Chilean capital. Her parents worked in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and separated when she was fifteen years old. She studied at the

Company of Mary The Company of Mary (; abbreviated SMM), commonly known as the Montfort Missionaries, is a missionary religious congregation within the Catholic Church. The community was founded by Saint Louis de Montfort in 1705 with the recruitment of his fir ...

school on Seminario Street in the municipality of Providencia. Her first introduction to theater was as a girl, in a school workshop. Later, after graduating from high school, she entered the discipline at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile; ) is a traditional private university based in Santiago, Chile. It is one of the thirteen Catholic universities existing in Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical univ ...

. The exercise of her profession began very early. The first play in which she performed was '' Esperando la carroza'', in 1987, under the direction of Raúl Osorio. Her career in television began in a

Televisión Nacional de Chile Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) is a Chilean Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. It was founded by order of President Eduardo Frei Montalva and it was launched nationwide on 18 September 1969. Since then, the company has been re ...

(TVN) series in 1989, thanks to an invitation from the producer . She played, with great success, Juanita Fernández Solar, who was later declared the first Chilean saint under the name

Teresa of the Andes Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes, OCD ( Spanish: ''Teresa de Jesús de Los Andes''; born Juana Enriqueta Josefina de Los Sagrados Corazones Fernández Solar; 13 July 1900 – 12 April 1920) was a Chilean nun of the Discalced Carmelites. Fernández ...

. A year later she participated, also on TVN, in ', her first

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

. In 1994, after starring in the television series ', she joined the Television Corporation of the Catholic University of Chile (UC TV), where she remained until 2002. A highlight of that period was her performance in ', as Sarita Mellafe, considered by critics as one of the best villains seen on Chilean television. In 2003 she returned to TVN, appearing in the telenovela ', but would return to UC TV the following year, acting in ' and '. Her film debut came in 1993, in the movie ''

Johnny 100 Pesos ''Johnny 100 Pesos'' () is a 1993 Chilean crime film directed by Gustavo Graef Marino. The film was selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Li ...

'' by local filmmaker Gustavo Graef Marino. Urrutia quickly became involved in the political world by actively participating in the Chilean Actors Union (Sidarte), becoming its general secretary and its president in 2001. During the first government of Michelle Bachelet, she was appointed president of the

National Council of Culture and the Arts The National Council of Culture and the Arts (CNCA) was the Chilean government agency responsible for arts and cultural policy. The council was founded in 2003 and amalgamated arts and cultural policy under a single agency. It was a cabinet-level ...

in 2006. This is equivalent to the position of

culture minister A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

in other countries. Under her administration as minister, a set of reforms to

intellectual property law Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, ...

was drafted and discussed. It was approved unanimously by the

National Congress National Congress is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures. Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress, original name of the Oromo People's Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress Reform *India: **In ...

on 13 January 2010, and promulgated as Law No. 20,435 on 4 May of that year, during the government of

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...

. In May 2017 she assumed the direction of the Camilo Henríquez Theater, succeeding the playwright Ramón Griffero. Urrutia was married to journalist, producer, and director

Augusto Góngora Augusto José Góngora Labbé (2 January 1952 – 19 May 2023) was a Chilean journalist, filmmaker and television presenter. After working in independent media during the military dictatorship in Chile, he went on to work for the country's nati ...

, until his death in May 2023. Gongora had been diagnosed with

Alzheimers Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term memory, remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can incl ...

disease since 2014. She has no children, but two step-children with him. Between 2018 and 2022 the Chilean film maker Maite Alberdi followed the couple in and outside their home to create a full-length documentary film, '' The Eternal Memory'', showing how they coped with Góngora's illness in daily life. The film was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2023

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and had its European premiere in the Panorama Section at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the 70th in 2020. The fe ...

in February 2023. On May 19, 2023, Gongora died.

Filmography

Film

Telenovelas

TV series

Theater

* '' Esperando la carroza'' (1987), by Jacobo Langsner, Theater of the Catholic University of Chile, dir.: Raúl Osorio * ''El paseo de Buster Keaton'' (1988), assembly of three pieces by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

for the director Aldo Parodi, La Memoria Theater Company * ''La Tierra no es redonda'' (1989), staged by Alfredo Castro, based on ''El libro de Cristóbal Colón'' by

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

, La Memoria Theater Company * ', by Alfredo Castro and , in the role of the girl in the pear tree, 1992, La Memoria Theater Company; re-release: 2010 * ''Los días tuertos'' (1993), La Memoria Theater Company * ''El seductor'' (1996), by Benjamín Galemiri * ''La misión'' (1997), by Heiner Müller * ''Máquina Hamlet'' (1999), by Heiner Müller * ''Cinema-Uttopia'' (2000), by Ramón Griffero * ''Todos saben quién fue'' (2001), by Alejandro Moreno * ''Devastados'' (2002), by

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...

, dir.: Alfredo Castro * ''La amante fascista'', by Alejandro Chato Moreno, in the role of Iris Rojas, La Palabra Theater Company, 2010; Camilo Henríquez Theater, 2017, under the direction of * ''Tus deseos en fragmentos'' (2012), by Ramón Griffero, Fin de Siglo Theater * ''Prometeo, el origen'' (2015), by Ramón Griffero, Camilo Henríquez Theater * ''99 La Morgue'' (2017), by Ramón Griffero, directed by the author, Camilo Henríquez Theater

Music videos

Awards

APES

* 1990, Award for Best Television Actress for ' * 1993, APES Award for Best Film Actress for ''

Altazor

* 2000,

Altazor Award The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...

in Audiovisual Arts as Best Television Actress for ' * 2003, Altazor Award in Performing Arts as Best Theater Actress for ''Devastados'' * 2011, Altazor Award in Performing Arts as Best Theater Actress for ''La amante fascista''

International Festival of Trieste, Italy

* 2007, Best Performance for the film ''Tendida, mirando las estrellas''

Caleuche

* 2016, Caleuche Award for Best Supporting Actress in the series '

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Urrutia, Paulina 1969 births Actresses from Santiago, Chile Chilean agnostics Chilean film actresses Chilean people of Basque descent Chilean stage actresses Chilean telenovela actresses Chilean television personalities Culture ministers of Chile Government ministers of Chile Living people Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Women government ministers of Chile 21st-century Chilean women politicians 20th-century Chilean actresses 21st-century Chilean actresses Chilean actor-politicians