Paola Fabiana Ponce (born 25 June 1979), known professionally as Lola Ponce (), is an Argentine singer and actress. Ponce made her breakthrough in Argentina and Latin America with her debut album ''Inalcanzable'', which was released in 2001. She also earned a great popularity in Italy, after starring in musical '' Notre-Dame de Paris'' in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. Ponce has since released two more albums — ''Fearless'' (2004) and ''Il diario di Lola'' (2008) — and has performed in Spanish, Italian and English. In 2008, along with Giò Di Tonno, she won

Sanremo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian culture, Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longes ...

with the song "Colpo di fulmine". She sings in many Concerts with Andrea Bocelli and Riccardo Cocciante.

Life and career

Early life and career (1982–1997)

Lola Ponce was born in Rosario,

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R� ...

, to Hector and María. She has two siblings, Claudia and Alejandro. Born and raised in a musical family, she formed a duo with her brother when she was only eight, performing melodic songs. Ponce took part in many festivals in Latin America as child and teenager. In 1998, she had a role in '' Chiquititas'', a popular TV series created by

Cris Morena María Cristina De Giacomi (born 23 August 1956), professionally known as Cris Morena, is an Argentine Award-winning television producer, actress, television presenter, composer, musician, songwriter, writer, former fashion model and CEO of Cr ...

, and signed a recording contract with producer Oscar Mediavilla in 1999. Ponce entered the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

, but dropped it to pursue her music career.

Stardom (2001–present)

Ponce released her debut album ''Inalcanzable'' in 2001, achieving a great success in Latin America. In 2002, she was cast as Esméralda in theatre musical '' Notre-Dame de Paris'', which was shown in

, Italy, and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain. Ponce recorded two songs for the musical soundtrack, "Ave Maria Pagana" and "Ali in Gabbia, Occhi Selvaggi", and made her breakthrough in Italy and Europe. In 2004, she released her first album in English, ''Fearless'', and in 2005 performed her song "Sleep" in the revival part of the

San Remo Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

. In 2008, she released third studio albums ''Il diario di Lola'', which contains songs in Spanish, Italian and English. Ponce also won the 58th Sanremo Music Festival along with Giò Di Tonno and the song "Colpo di fulmine". The song reached number one at

Italian Singles Chart The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. In 2010, Ponce appeared in several television series and films, and starred the stage adaptation of

Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel '' The Betrothed'' (orig. it, I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the maste ...

's novel '' The Betrothed''. She also participated in Argentine version of '' Dancing with the Stars'', ''

Bailando por un sueño ''Bailando por un Sueño'' is a franchised TV series in various Latin American countries. Meaning "Dancing for a dream", it is a reality series that commenced on the Mexican television network Canal de las Estrellas, in which celebrities are partne ...

'', and released her first compilation album ''Lola''.

Personal life

Ponce dated Italian lawyer Manuel Malenotti for five years, from 2005 to 2010. She began a relationship with her co-star

Aarón Díaz Aarón Díaz Spencer (born March 7, 1982) is a Mexican-American actor, singer, and model. Early life Aarón Díaz Spencer was born in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico to an Irish-American mother (surname Spencer) and a Mexican father (sur ...

in 2012. The pair began dating after meeting on the set of the telenovela ''El Talisman''. They have two daughters: Erin (born February 2013) and Regina (born August 2014). The couple got married in June 2015, in a private ceremony held in Morocco.

Discography

* 2001: ''Inalcanzable'' * 2002: '' Notre-Dame de Paris'' * 2004: ''Fearless'' * 2008: ''Il diario di Lola'' * 2010: ''Lola''

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponce, Lola 1982 births Argentine female models 21st-century Argentine women singers Argentine film actresses Argentine stage actresses Argentine telenovela actresses Argentine television actresses Place of birth missing (living people) English-language singers from Argentina Italian-language singers Living people People from San Lorenzo Department Sony BMG artists Sanremo Music Festival winners Bailando por un Sueño (Argentine TV series) participants