Nelly Lucinda Consuelo Meruane Solano (20 December 1927 – 20 June 2018) was a distinguished Chilean actress and teacher whose career spanned 65 years. For 20 years she was a member of the stable cast of the of the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

. Meruane was recognized for her leading roles in the television series ' (1967), the telenovela '' La madrastra'' (1981), and the play ''Mama Rosa'' (1982). She received several honors, such as an Award in 2011 and an

Altazor ''Altazor o el viaje en paracaídas'', or simply ''Altazor'', is the magnum opus of Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro, published in Madrid in 1931. This poem in the shape of a book can be classified as an example of the Avant-garde literature movem ...

in 2014.

Biography

Nelly Meruane was born in

Nueva Toltén Nueva Toltén is a Chilean town in Toltén commune, Cautín Province, Araucania Region. It is located near the mouth of Toltén River that drains Villarrica Lake, it is also SW of Temuco. Nueva Toltén was founded after the original community, To ...

on 20 December 1927. She showed a strong interest in the performing arts from a very young age. Due to strong opposition from her parents, she studied

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

in Spanish, but also took theater classes in parallel. When beginning her studies at the

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

's Pedagogical Institute, she also entered the school's Dramatic Arts Center (CADIP), joining the cast of several plays under the stage name Sonia del Solar. Later, she majored in theater at the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univ ...

. She debuted in the play ''

Time and the Conways ''Time and the Conways'' is a British play written by J. B. Priestley in 1937 illustrating J. W. Dunne's Theory of Time through the experience of a moneyed Yorkshire family, the Conways, over a period of nineteen years from 1919 to 1937. Wide ...

'' at the

Municipal Theatre of Santiago The Teatro Municipal, National Opera of Chile is the most important stage theatre and opera house in Santiago, Chile. History and overview The Chilean government ceded a significant parcel of land in downtown Santiago to the municipality, in 184 ...

in 1952 as a first-year student of the Theater Academy. In 1960 she starred in ' by Isidora Aguirre, where she replaced actress Ana González in the role of Rosaura. In the following years, she popularized the role of La Cotocó in the TV series ', starring alongside . She met actor when he appeared on the show in 1969, and married him 45 days later. She subsequently traveled to Venezuela with Bistoto, achieving a distinguished career in theater and television there. In 1977 she starred in the film ''

El Pez que Fuma ''El Pez que Fuma'' (English: ''The Smoking Fish'') is a 1977 Venezuelan film directed by Román Chalbaud. The film takes place in La Guaira, in the titular brothel. It is considered by many to represent a high point in Venezuelan cinema, and was ...

'', directed by the playwright Román Chalbaud. She returned to Chile in 1981, and played Dora in Arturo Moya Grau's successful telenovela '' La madrastra''. In 1982 she starred in ''Mama Rosa'' by Fernando Debesa, a performance which was lauded as one of her best. She continued to appear in films and television, with her last acting role being Señora Felman on the telenovela ''

Chipe libre ''Chipe libre'' (lit: ''Free Opportunity'') is a Chilean comedy television series created by Carla Stagno, José Fonseca, Pablo Toro, and Anneke Munita, that was broadcast on Canal 13, from August 3, 2014, to January 26, 2015, starring Fernanda Ur ...

'' in 2014. In 2016 she was featured in the documentary ''Viejos amores'', along with six other veteran actresses. Nelly Meruane died in Santiago on 20 June 2018, nine days after her contemporary and frequent co-star

Liliana Ross Liliana Piera Marina Brescia Clerici, best known professionally as Liliana Ross, (March 30, 1939 – June 10, 2018) was an Italian-born Chilean actress, director, playwright, and theatrical producer whose professional career spanned more than fi ...

. In November 2018 she received a posthumous career tribute from the Actors Guild of Chile.

Works

Films

* ' by R. Sánchez (1962) * ''Angelito'' by L. Cornejo (1965) * ''

'' by

Román Chalbaud Román Chalbaud (born 10 October 1931) is a Venezuelan film director and screenwriter, as well as a prominent playwright. Starting work in television after prestigious training, Chalbaud moved into making films before the industry took off i ...

(1977) * ''

Fuga Fuga Island is an island and barangay located north of Luzon and is part of the Babuyan Islands, which is the second-northernmost island group of the Philippines. Barangay Fuga Island is one of the 42 barangays under the jurisdiction of the munic ...

'' by

Pablo Larraín Pablo Larraín Matte (; born 19 August 1976) is a Chilean filmmaker. He has directed nine feature films and co-directed one television series, including the Academy Award-nominated films ''No (2012 film), No'' (2012), ''Neruda (film), Neruda'' ...

(2006) * ''Viejos amores'' (2016)

Telenovelas

TV series and specials

Plays

Awards

* , 2006 * Career Award, 2011 * University of Chile Fearab Award for Distinguished Professional Career, 2012 *

Altazor Award The Altazor Award of the National Arts or simply Altazor, is a Chilean award which is awarded annually. The winners are chosen by the own creators and performers of the arts. They were established in 1958, but were not awarded until 1999. The a ...

for Best Actress in ''Coronación'', 2014 * Distinguished Public Personality from the Municipality of Providencia, 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meruane, Nelly 1927 births 2018 deaths Chilean people of Palestinian descent 20th-century Chilean actresses 21st-century Chilean actresses Chilean film actresses Chilean schoolteachers Chilean stage actresses Chilean telenovela actresses People from Cautín Province University of Chile alumni