Sonya Eleonora Smith Jacquet (, born April 23, 1972) is an American and Venezuelan actress best known for her roles 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 ...

Biography

Smith was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, of Venezuelan actress Ileana Jacquet and Frederick Smith, who is American. Her maternal great-grandfather was French and her maternal great-grandmother was Finnish. After her parents divorced, her actress mother along with Smith went back to Venezuela; Smith grew up in Venezuela and identifies herself with the Venezuelan culture. She speaks fluent Spanish, English, and German; the last learned from her mother, a German who grew up in Venezuela. She studied psychology at the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

Career

Her breakthrough came in the early 1990s when she played Estrellita Montenegro, the main character in '' Cara Sucia'', her most successful telenovela as the lead actress. Smith remains a popular actress not only in Venezuela, also in other countries where her telenovelas have shown. In 2006, she returned to telenovelas with

Olvidarte Jamás ''Olvidarte Jamas'' (''Always on my Mind'') is a 2005 telenovela made by Venevision International in Miami that lasted 118 episodes. The telenovela starred Venezuelan-American actress Sonya Smith and Mexican actor Gabriel Porras. The telenov ...

, her biggest hit as the lead actress since ''Cara Sucia'', which was shot in Miami; this is the time where Smith returned to her birth country, but this time in Miami. Later, in 2007, she reappeared in '' Acorralada'', in which she was one of the main stars and which has been a huge success. There, she was Fedora Gaviota. During 2005, Smith made her

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

debut, playing Angela La Salle in '' Cyxork 7'', where she acted alongside

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 29, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, Twin Peaks (season 3), 2017) and its prequel film ''Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992). He has appeared ...

; although Smith currently lives in the United States and appeared in a Hollywood film, she still wants to remain more in the Spanish media of the country because the Spanish media opened opportunities for her to fame. In 2007, she participated in another Hollywood film, '' Ladrón que roba a Ladrón'', where she shared credits with actors,

Fernando Colunga Fernando Colunga Olivares (; born 3 March 1966) is a Mexican actor known for his work in Mexican telenovelas. Colunga gained international fame for playing Luis Fernando de la Vega in the Mexican soap opera '' Maria la del Barrio''. He is also ...

, Gabriel Soto, Miguel Varoni, and Saúl Lisazo among others. In 2013, she gets another protagonist role in the telenovela "Marido En Alquiler" based on the Brazilian telenovela "Fina Estampa" playing the role of Griselda Carrasco and starring with Juan Soler.

Filmography

Film

Television roles

Theater

Awards

*Latin Pride National Awards (for Outstanding Woman Achievement, 2008) * Miami Life Award (2011) *Latino Wall Street Award (Reconocimiento a la Trayectoria Artística, 2024)

References

Entrevista con Luis Olavarrieta "La vida no me dió hijos"

External links

Sonya Smith
Biography *
Sonya Smith official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sonya 1972 births Living people Actresses from Philadelphia American film actresses American people of Finnish descent American people of French descent American people of German descent American people of Venezuelan descent American telenovela actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses RCTV personalities Venezuelan film actresses Venezuelan people of American descent Venezuelan people of Argentine descent Venezuelan people of French descent Venezuelan people of Finnish descent Venezuelan people of German descent Venezuelan telenovela actresses