Betty Kaplan is a Venezuelan-American film and television director born in New York City and raised in

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

. She is Co-Chair of the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film director, film and television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dire ...

Latino Committee. Kaplan has directed the films ''

Doña Bárbara ''Doña Bárbara (Lady Bárbara)'' is a novel by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, first published in 1929. It was described in 1974 as "possibly the most widely known Latin American novel".Shaw, Donald, "Gallegos' Revision of Doña Bárbara ...

'', '' Almost a Woman'' and ''

Of Love and Shadows ''Of Love and Shadows'', also known as ''De amor y de sombra'', is a 1994 Chilean-Argentine-American drama film written and directed by Betty Kaplan and starring Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Connelly, Stefania Sandrelli and Patricio Contreras. It ...

'', the last one adapted from the novel by

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

.She has won several awards, among them the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and many Audience Awards for her work. Often Kaplan writes, directs and produces her own film projects.

Biography

Kaplan was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

mother and a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n father. Kaplan was raised in Venezuela and lives in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

Work

Kaplan is also known as a prolific television director. Her television directorial work includes “One Hot Summer” starring

Vanessa Marcil Vanessa Marcil ( ;) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Brenda Barrett on ''General Hospital'', Gina Kincaid on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', and Sam Marquez on ''Las Vegas''. Early life Marcil, the youngest of fo ...

Casper Van Dien Casper Robert Van Dien Jr. (born December 18, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his lead role as Johnny Rico in the 1997 science-fiction action film ''Starship Troopers''. He has also appeared in a large number of television and ...

and

Jon Seda Jonathan Seda (born October 14, 1970) is a Puerto Rican actor. Seda was an amateur boxer who auditioned for and was given a role in the 1992 boxing film ''Gladiator''. He played the role of Chris Pérez alongside Jennifer Lopez in the movie '' ...

, shot for the United States network Lifetime Television and broadcast in 2009; '' Law and Order: Criminal Intent'', directing the episode "Legacy” during season 7 (2008), which was the highest rated ''Law & Order Criminal Intent'' episode, with the ratings at 4.06 local and 3.8 National numbers; and an episode titled "The Journey" for the police drama series ''The Division'' during season 2 (2002) for the Lifetime Television network. This was the highest rated Original Series episode at 3.6 National numbers. Kaplan gained prominence early in her directing career in 1983 with "Bolívar", an entire mini-series for television that Kaplan wrote and directed. "Bolívar" was financed by Venezuelan state television, dramatizing the Simon Bolivar historical saga, portraying the liberation of South America from Spain. The series was produced under the government of Carlos Andres Perez. The mini-series has reached the status of a popular annual television event in Venezuela. Kaplan also directed "Caminos Que Andan", a series of eleven documentary-dramas on the lives of Latin American writers that she filmed for the

Televisora Nacional Televisora Nacional was the first television station (state-owned) to begin operations in Venezuela. It broadcast from 1953 to 1992 making Venezuela the ninth country in the world to have television. History On 22 November 1952, the first televis ...

of Venezuela. In ''

'', an adaptation of a Chilean novelist

book, Kaplan gave Spanish actor

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival ...

his first English-language movie role; introducing Banderas to Hollywood. Jennifer Connelly was the lead in this film, convincing Latin Americans that she was truly from an upper-class Chilean background.

Stefania Sandrelli Stefania Sandrelli (born 5 June 1946) is an Italian actress, famous for her many roles in the ''commedia all'Italiana'', starting from the 1960s. She was 14 years old when she starred in '' Divorce Italian Style'' as Angela, the cousin and love i ...

(''The Conformist'') was also a lead in the film. "El Numero Uno" is Kaplan's current film project is in pre-production. It will depict Venezuela's

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

Renny Ottolina Renaldo José Ottolina Pinto (December 11, 1928 – March 16, 1978) was a Venezuelan producer and entertainer. Born in Valencia, Carabobo, he performed professionally under the name Renny Ottolina. Early life His mother Ana Mercedes Pinto died ...

, its top media personality and national hero. Media moguls and politicians felt threatened by Ottolina's growing popularity forcing him out television, however he came back much stronger on radio. Venezuelans tired of corruption were looking for a political savior and Renny Ottolina decided to run for president to fill the need. Three months before the presidential elections, Ottolina was killed in a suspicious airplane accident. Kaplan had been a dancer in Ottolina's popular weekly television show and knew him personally. Kaplan has also produced Spanish language music videos for Latino performers such as Mexican Pablo Montero and Argentine Raul DiBlasio. Yet her most legendary might be "La Papa sin Catsup" in 2003 that she produced for Mexican American singer

Jenni Rivera Dolores Janney "Jenni" Rivera Saavedra (July 2, 1969 – December 9, 2012) was an American singer known for her work within the Regional Mexican music genre, specifically in the styles of Banda, Mariachi and Norteño. In life and death, sever ...

. Currently she is working on over a dozen screenplays in various genres that are with major production companies for consideration. Kaplan has also directed several television commercials, directed theater in Los Angeles. As Co-Chair of the

Latino Committee, Kaplan organizes key events, including the screening of

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born October 9, 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and actor. He directed the Academy Award–winning fantasy films ''Pan's Labyrinth'' (2006) and '' The Shape of Water'' (2017), winning the Academy Awards for ...

’s '' Hellboy II: The Golden Army'' (2008); ''

Michael Jackson's This Is It ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'' is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at the O2 Arena, but cancelled du ...

'' (2009), a documentary-concert film about singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

, directed by

Kenny Ortega Kenneth John Ortega (born April 18, 1950) is an American filmmaker, touring manager, and choreographer. He is known for directing the films ''Newsies'', '' Hocus Pocus'', ''The Cheetah Girls 2'', '' High School Musical'', '' Michael Jackson's T ...

; and the Q&A of Rodrigo Garcia's ''

Mother and Child ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

'' (2010).

Filmography

Television projects

References

External links

*Betty Kaplan at Internet Movie Database

*Official Betty Kaplan Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Betty American women film directors American women television directors American television directors American women film producers American film producers Venezuelan women film directors Venezuelan television directors Venezuelan women screenwriters American women screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American film directors American people of Mexican descent 21st-century American women