Miguel Angel de León Lopez (born February 23, 1962) is a Venezuelan actor. He is better known simply as Miguel de León. He has acted mainly in
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 ...
s, which garnered him international fame across Latin America, where the genre is popular, particularly among women. He is also known to Hispanic audiences in the United States.
Biography
De León was born in
Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (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 northern p ...
Bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...
"). Later that year, he participated in his first telenovela, ''Sueño Contigo'' ("I dream of you"). He was soon signed to a multi-year contract by Radio Caracas Television. Other films de León has acted in include a
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 ...
n version of ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', and ''El Cristo de las Violetas'' ("Jesus of the violets").
In 1989, de León played "Leonardo" in ''La Revancha'' ("The rematch"), a major Venevision hit. He acted in four other telenovelas before his first appearance at a major international hit, 1993's '' Kassandra'', where he played "Ernesto Rangel", acting alongside Puerto Rican actor
Osvaldo Ríos
Osvaldo Ríos Alonso (born October 25, 1960, in Carolina, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican actor, model, singer, and guitarist, who is best known for his roles in telenovelas. He has appeared in several soap operas, including ...
, among others.
During the middle 1990s, de León married another Venezuelan telenovela star, Gaby Spanic. He had been previously married to Nubia Quilarte.
After ''Kassandra'', de León made three more telenovelas before he and his wife decided to accept offers by
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
's
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 ...
. The couple then 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 ...
. 1998's '' Gotita de amor'' ("Small drop of love") marked de León's debut in Mexican telenovelas. He acted alongside Laura Flores,
Julio Alemán
Julio Méndez Alemán (November 29, 1933 – April 11, 2012) was a Mexican actor.Raúl Araiza Jr., Niurka Marcos,
Adriana Fonseca
Adriana Fonseca (; born Adriana Fonseca Castellanos March 16, 1979) is a Mexican actress and dancer. She is best known for her roles in Televisa's telenovelas like '' La usurpadora'' as Veronica Soriano (1998), '' Rosalinda'' as Lucy Pérez Rome ...
, Andrea Lagunes and Daniela Luján, among others, in that telenovela. Next, he and his wife starred together in '' La usurpadora'', which also became a major international hit. Around that time, de León obtained Mexican citizenship, which he later gave up after returning to Venezuela.
2000s ''Carita de Angel'' ("Angel Face"), gave de León an opportunity to act alongside acting legends Libertad Lamarque and
Silvia Pinal
Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (12September 193128November 2024) was a Mexican actress. She began her career in theatre before venturing into cinema in 1949. She became one of the greatest female stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema and, with her p ...
. In 2001, de León acted in an episode of the well-known series, '' Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real'' ("Women, real life stories").
Around that time, his wife left Mexico to film a telenovela in
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
alongside actor José Ángel Llamas. Rumors of an adulterous relationship between his wife and Llamas surfaced, and the couple eventually divorced. In 2002, de León returned to Venezuela. His last Mexican telenovela was recorded before he left; '' ¡Vivan los niños!'' ("Long live the children") put de León with child star Andrea Legarreta and with Juan Ferrara.
* 2003 - ''Alegrijes y Rebujos'' (Mexico)
* 2004 - ''Mariana de la Noche'' (Mexico)
Miguel de León has filmed three other telenovelas after returning to Venezuela. He was signed by Venevision to work for that channel.