María Gabriela Hernández Gómez (born January 15, 1939), also known as Gaby Hernández, is a Chilean theater, film and television actress with a long active career.

Early life and education

Her father was from Castilla, Spain, and her mother of Chilean origin. She is the younger sister of Nieves Hernández and also actress Naldy Hernández. Her childhood was in Valdivia and in her adolescence she moved to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, where she graduated from secondary education at Liceo Experimental Manuel de Salas. At age 10 she entered the National Conservatory of Music, where she enhanced her skills for the piano. She studied theater at the School of Theater of the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, where she was a generation partner of Sonia Mena, Lucy Salgado and Diana Sanz. As a student, she participated in the play ''La casa de Bernarda Alba'' from 1960, alongside actresses such as Marés González,

Bélgica Castro Bélgica Castro Sierra (; 6 March 1921 – 6 March 2020) was a Chilean stage, film, and television actress. During her career she participated in more than 100 plays. She also acted in numerous Chilean films, including ' (1944) by Jorge Délano ...

, María Cánepa, Carmen Bunster, Claudia Paz and María Teresa Fricke.

Career

1960s

In 1962 she made her professional debut in the role of Cornelia in the first version of ''El abanderado'' by Luis Alberto Heiremans, in the Antonio Varas Room of the same university. For a short time she worked at the company '' Los mimos de Noisvander '' by Enrique Noisvander. During this period, she also participated in the magazine Cine Amor, starring in several fotonovelas. In 1964, she replaced

Carmen Barros Carmen Aída Barros Alfonso (7 January 1925 – 21 December 2023) was a Chilean actress and singer of jazz, popular music, and opera. In addition, she was a professor of acting perception, diction, and vocal projection, and a theater and opera di ...

in the leading role of Carmela in the second world tour of Isidora Aguirre's ''La pergola de las flores'', with great international success. At the age of 24, after the tour of the play, the Spanish producer Luis de Llano Palmer offered him an exclusive contract on Televisa, settling in Mexico for five years, working on television in productions such as Rocambole and various Mexican television programs. During this period she worked in theater plays and musical shows of Cabaret, dancer of the Latin Show Ballet of Chavela Vargas. She also studied Jazz dance at the John di Martino Academy. Subsequently, she worked for two years in Washington D.C., United States.

1970s

During the 1970s, she settled in Spain performing various theater productions. There she worked in theater together with Josep Maria Pou, at the María Guerrero Theater, in productions by various renowned playwrights, with great success.

1980s

After more than 15 years away from her native country, where she developed an acting career mainly in Mexico, the United States and Spain, she returned to Chile in 1988 to vote in favor of the No campaign in the military dictatorship in the

1988 Chilean national plebiscite A referendum on whether Augusto Pinochet, the head of a Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–90), military dictatorship, should become president for eight years under resumed civilian rule was held in Chile on 5 October 1988. The "No" side won ...

. In the same year, the producer Sonia Fuchs offered her a television contract to participate in soap operas of the Dramatic Area of TVN. Her debut in telenovelas was with a supporting role in ''Bellas y Audaces'', starring

Luz Jiménez Luz Jiménez or Luciana (born Julia Jiménez González; 1897–1965) was an indigenous Mexican model and Nahuatl-language storyteller and linguistic informant from Milpa Alta, D.F. As a young woman she witnessed the Mexican Revolution, an ...

and Sonia Viveros. The following year, she participated in the biographical miniseries ''Teresa de los Andes'' directed by Vicente Sabatini in the role of Juana del Solar.

1990s

From 1990 to 2000 she actively participated in the Dramatic Area of Channel 13, standing out in ''¿Te conté?'', ''Villa Napoli'', ''Marrón Glacé'', ''Amor a domicilio'', ''Fuera de control'' and in the series ''Los Carcamo''.

2000s

From 2001 to 2005 she collaborated with María Eugenia Rencoret on successful TVN soap operas, such as '' Amores de Mercado'' and ''Purasangre''.

2010s

In 2014 she left TVN to emigrate to Mega's Dramatic Area, where she participated in the television series '' Pituca sin lucas'', where her character Lita Amunátegui obtained great success and recognition. In 2017 she participated in the play Lady Marginal, directed by Claudia Di Girólamo, in tribute to the playwright Juan Radrigán. In 2019, she debuted as a television host in the morning magazine ''Viva la pipol'' de Chilevisión.

Awards and recognition

In 2018, she received a tribute from the Actors Union of Chile to her career. In 2020 she was recognized with the title of Illustrious Daughter of the city of

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

Filmography

Films

Telenovelas

TV Series

Theatre

*''La casa de Bernarda Alba'' (1960) *''El abanderado'' (1962) de Luis Alberto Heiremans *''Árbol viejo'' *''Goldspell'' *''La hija del capitán'' *''La danza macabra'' (1991) de

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

*''Rey Lear'' (1992) de

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

*''El malentendido'' (1994) de

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

*''Madame de Sade'' (1997) de Yukio Mishima *''Mina Antipersonal'' (2013) de Claudia Di Girolamo *''Un jardín secreto'' (2016) de Jorge Díaz *''Lady Marginal'' (2017) de Claudia Di Girolamo *''Pablo y Gabriela'' (2018) *''Viejas de mierda'' (2019) junto a Gloria Benavides y

Gloria Münchmeyer María Gloria Münchmeyer Barber (born September 2, 1938, in Santiago) is a Chilean television, film and theatre actress, known for her roles in some telenovelas like La Madrastra, Marrón Glacé, and others. She was married to actor/comedian ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Gabriela 1939 births Living people Chilean film actresses Chilean television actresses Chilean telenovela actresses People from Valdivia University of Chile alumni Chilean television personalities