Carla Ortiz Oporto (born 2 December 1978) is a Bolivian actress, model, producer, activist and philanthropist.

Early and personal life

Ortiz was born in

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. After a brief career as a professional tennis player, she moved to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in the 1990s and later relocated to the United States, moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 2005 upon winning a

bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Career

Ortiz began modeling at age 13. She made her film debut in 1998 at age 19 in director Hervé Palud’s ''Mookie'', a French comedy set in Mexico. That same year, she acted in her first supporting role on Mexican television in the

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 ...

Gotita de amor ''Gotita de amor'' (''Droplet of Love'') (known as ''Chabelita'' in some territories) is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa in 1998. Is a remake of 1978 Brazilian telenovela ''Pingo de gente''. On Monday 3 ...

'' (''Droplet of Love''). She continued to earn television roles, including four other telenovelas from 1999-2001 including ''

Mujeres engañadas ''Mujeres engañadas'' (English: ''Deceived Women'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Emilio Larrosa for Televisa in 1999-2000. The telenovela tells the story of four couples who live in the same apartment building. On Monday, October 25, 199 ...

'' and '' Secreto de amor''. Her film career has included starring roles in the 2017 thriller ''Curse of the Mayans'' (Spanish title: ''Xibalba'', the name of the Mayan underworld); the 2012 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez ''The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez'' is a 2012 American Western film written and directed by Elia Petridis, and starring Ernest Borgnine in his final role. Plot A retired radio disc jockey/actor (Ernest Borgnine) is forced to en ...

'', alongside

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...

in his final role; and in ''

Olvidados ''Forgotten'' () is a 2013 Bolivian drama film written by Elia Petridis and directed by Carlos Bolado, and is based on the repression and killings associated with the U.S.-backed Operation Condor.Operation Condor Operation Condor (; ) was a campaign of political repression by the right-wing dictatorships of the Southern Cone of South America, involving intelligence operations, coups, and assassinations of left-wing sympathizers in South America which fo ...

which she also co-wrote and produced. ''Forgotten'' was submitted as Bolivia's official entry in the 87th Academy Awards for

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

, but was not nominated. In 2022, she returned to television in Season 3 of the

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' La Reina del Sur'', where she was featured in a recurring role as Karen Chacón.

Controversy

Ortiz was accused in 2017 by journalist Christoph Reuter in ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' of engaging in Russian propaganda in relation to the Syrian Civil War, for her participation as a foreign celebrity in chaperoned tours of Syria. However, these accusations have been publicly criticized by Syrian-German musician

Hanin Elias Hanin Elias (born 31 May 1972) is a Syrian German industrial/techno artist. She was a member of Atari Teenage Riot and is now a solo artist. After Atari Teenage Riot's non-definitive break in 2000, and the subsequent death of Carl Crack fr ...

Filmography

Films

*''Juana Azurduy'' (TBA) *'' The Curse of the Mayans'' (2017) *'' Voice of Syria'' (summer 2017) *''

Olvidados ''Forgotten'' () is a 2013 Bolivian drama film written by Elia Petridis and directed by Carlos Bolado, and is based on the repression and killings associated with the U.S.-backed Operation Condor.The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez ''The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez'' is a 2012 American Western film written and directed by Elia Petridis, and starring Ernest Borgnine in his final role. Plot A retired radio disc jockey/actor (Ernest Borgnine) is forced to en ...

'' (2012) *''Escríbeme postales a Copacabana'' (2009) *'' Los Andes no creen en Dios'' (2007) *''Shut Up and Shoot!'' (2006) *''Che Guevara'' (2005) *''Mookie'' (1998)

Soap operas

*'' Secreto de amor'' (2001) *'' Primer Amor... a mil por hora'' (2000) *'' Todo se Vale'' (1999) *''

'' (1999) *''

'' (1998)

Series

* '' La Reina del Sur'' (season 3; 2022-2023)

External links

References

Bolivian telenovela actresses Bolivian emigrants to the United States People from Cochabamba 1976 births Living people Bolivian film actresses 20th-century Bolivian actresses 21st-century Bolivian actresses {{Bolivia-actor-stub