Mariana Levy Fernández (22 April 1966 – 29 April 2005) was a Mexican ''

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 ...

'' actress, singer and television show host. She was the daughter of actress

Talina Fernández Catalina María del Sagrado Corazón Fernández-Veró Vela (2 August 1944 – 28 June 2023) was a Mexican television presenter, journalist, producer, and actress. She hosted and wrote for numerous television programs for many years. Biography ...

and banker Gerardo Jorge Levy and the sister of Pato Levy.

Biography

Mariana Levy Fernández was born in Mexico City. By the time she turned sixteen in 1982, she participated in her first

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

soap opera, ''Vivir Enamorada'' ("Living in Love"), where she played "Verónica". Levy took 1983 off, then returned to the small screen in 1984, in a major

hit, ''Los Años Felices'' ("The Happy Years"). In ''Los Años Felices'', she played the role of "Nancy". Her next telenovela, ''

Martín Garatuza Martín Garatuza (born c. 1601, Puebla, Mexico) was a famous trickster whose frauds and escapes became legendary in colonial New Spain and whose name has passed into Spanish language, folklore and literature. Garatuza, whose real name was Martín ...

'' (1986) was not successful. The opposite can be said of her next work, as "Linda", in 1987's ''

Rosa Salvaje ''Rosa salvaje'' (English title: ''Wild Rose'') (; is a Mexican telenovela produced by Valentín Pimstein for Televisa. The telenovela premiered on Canal de las Estrellas on July 6, 1987 and ran for 199 episodes until April 8, 1988. This telenove ...

'' ("Wild Rosa"). ''Rosa Salvaje,'' about a girl named Rosa who falls in love with a millionaire but was not accepted by his family, became a hit all over Latin America, Europe and Asia. Levy became known in places including Spain,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, Russia,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. She participated in 1988's ''Lo Blanco y Lo Negro'' ("What's White and What's Black"), alongside

Rafael Sánchez Navarro Rafael Sánchez Navarro (born 1958) is a Spanish- Mexican actor. He is the son of Manolo Fábregas, an actor from Spain who established himself in Mexico. Biography Navarro grew up in a family of actors. Seeing his relatives on television, film ...

among others, as "Alma de Castro". She took off the rest of the 1980s, but, in 1990, she returned to television with the task of playing three characters in the same soap opera; playing "Ángela", "Gimena" and "Estrella" in ''Yo compro esa mujer'' ("I'll buy that woman"). She married again, this time to

José María Fernández José María Tranquilino Fernández Marín Sr. (June 6, 1896 July 20, 1972) was a Cuban baseball catcher, first baseman, right fielder and manager in the Negro leagues from the 1910s to the 1940s. A native of Guanabacoa, Cuba, Fernández was ...

, the half brother of

Chantal Andere Jacqueline Chantal Fernández Andere (, born January 25, 1972) is a Mexican actress and singer, best known for her portrayal of antagonistic roles in multiple telenovelas. Early life and career Andere was born to Mexican actress Jacqueline ...

. In 2003, Mariana Levy joined her mother, Talina Fernández, as cohost of her televised variety show, ''Nuestra Casa'' ("Our House"), and also participated in her final telenovela, the hugely successful

Amor Real ''Amor real'' (English: ''Real Love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Carla Estrada for Televisa, broadcast by Las Estrellas, Canal de las Estrellas (now known simply as Las Estrellas). It originally aired from June 9 to October 17, 2003. '' ...

. This production was set in the mid 19th century, and in one of her most memorable characters ever, Mariana played "Josefina", an ugly-duckling-turned-swan character. Levy retired to give birth to Paula and José Emilio.

Death

Levy died of a heart attack on 29 April 2005 during a robbery attempt in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. The heart attack was attributed to the stress she experienced after an assailant approached her car on a city street and tried to steal her watch. The death shook the Mexican entertainment world. It was one of the highest-profile deaths in Mexico's wave of common crime since TV comedian

Paco Stanley Francisco Jorge Stanley Albaitero (3 July 1942 – 7 June 1999), known by his stage name Paco Stanley, was a Mexican television entertainer who worked for Televisa and TV Azteca. He also participated directly, for a time, in political activ ...

was gunned down in 1999. According to Mexican

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Lolita Ayala Dolores "Lolita" Ayala Nieto (born May 20, 1951) is a Mexican journalist and philanthropist from Mexico City. She began her career in News broadcasting, television journalism in the early 1970s, at a time when no woman headed a news or informati ...

, "her heart apparently could not take the shock."

Television roles

References

External links

*
Mariana Levy at the Alma-Latina.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Mariana 1966 births 2005 deaths Mexican child actresses Mexican telenovela actresses Mexican television actresses Mexican film actresses Mexican stage actresses Mexican television talk show hosts 20th-century Mexican actresses 21st-century Mexican actresses Actresses from Mexico City Singers from Mexico City Hispanic and Latino American actresses 20th-century Mexican women singers Mexican women television presenters Mexican television presenters 21st-century American women