Camille Carrión, formally Carmen Cecilia Ernestina del Socorro Carrión Enjuto (born 30 March 1946) is a Puerto Rican actress and businesswoman, best known for her contributions to television, theatre and radio.

Early life

Camille Carrión was born on March 30, 1946 in

Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico Santurce (, from the Basque '' Santurtzi'' which means Saint George) is a barrio or district in the municipality of San Juan. Its population in 2020 was 69,469. It is also the biggest and most populated of all the barrios in the capital city w ...

. She is the daughter of William ('Billy') Carrión and Carmen Enjuto, and she was brought up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She formally began her artistic career as a teenager in the theatrical group Teatro Musical, directed by Robert Cox, with

Raúl Juliá Raúl Rafael Carlos Juliá y Arcelay (March 9, 1940 – October 24, 1994) was a Puerto Rican actor. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he took an interest in acting while still in school and pursued the career upon completion of his studies. After ...

Johanna Rosaly Raquel Johanna Rosaly Guillermety (born January 13, 1948) is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, and television host. Early years Johanna Rosaly was born in Santurce, a district of San Juan. In 1956 at the age of eight, she started taking acting le ...

, Roy Brown and others. Early in her career, she played in productions at the Tapia Theater in Old San Juan of well-known Broadway Musicals including ''Bye, Bye, Birdie'', by Adams & Strouse (1962); ''Little Mary Sunshine'', by Rick Besoyan (1965) and ''Time Remembered'', by Jean Anouilh (1967). After graduating from Saint John's School in Puerto Rico, she went to the Boston Conservatory of Music, Drama & Dance, to study musical theatre. She stayed for only two years, after being offered the role of Maria in ''The Sound of Music'' at the Tapia Theater in September 1966, at the end of her sophomore year. The musical was such a success that she didn't return to Boston.

International fame

After starring in various successful

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 genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

s in Puerto Rico, (''Cuando la rival es una hija'', with Ofelia D'Acosta and Axel Anderson and ''Melodía Otoñal'' with Esteban de Pablos onTelemundo / Chanel 2), Carrión was recruited to star with Alfredo Mayo, María Jesús Aguirre, Elder Barber, and

Josefina de la Torre Josefina de la Torre Millares (1907–2002) was a Spanish poet, novelist, and opera singer, as well as a stage, film, radio, and television actress. She was closely associated with the Generation of '27, an influential group of poets including Ern ...

, in the Spanish premiere of ''Sound of Music'' (''Sonrisas y lágrimas'' in Spain) at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, in Madrid. This opened on September 25, 1968 and ran for 6 months. During her stay in Spain, she married Catalan photographer and director, Gabriel Suau.

Television career in Puerto Rico

Back in Puerto Rico, Carrión returned to television, starring in telenovelas on all of the local stations including ''Gabriela y Belinda'' on WAPA TV / Channel 4, ''Una vida para amarte'' (1970) on WRIK TV / Channel 7, and ''Una sombra entre los dos'' with Rolando Barral and Pilar Arenas on Telemundo / Channel 2. She was also re-hired by WAPA TV to star with Daniel Lugo in ''María del Mar'', produced by Tommy Muñiz. In 1972, after the birth of her daughter Paloma Suau, she completed her BA in Humanities at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

. In 1974, Carrión was hired by KLRN TV, in San Antonio, Texas to play the role of Miss Hernández in the children's series ''Carrascolendas'', which aired on PBS. In 1978, she completed her master's degree in Hispanic Literature, at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

's campus in Madrid, Spain. Back in Puerto Rico, she went back to television for ''La jibarita'', with Alba Nydia Díaz and Jean Carlo Simancas on Channel 11. This was followed by ''El amor nuestro de cada día'' with Johanna Rosaly and Jean Carlo Simancas, on WAPA TV (1980); and ''Viernes social'' (1981); ''María Eugenia'' (1981-1982) y ''Modelos, S.A.'' (1982) Telemundo, Channel 2. She took the leading role in '' Vivir Para Ti'', with Argentinean leading man Pablo Alarcón and Ulises Brenes in the role of el general Murillo. (WAPA TV 1982-1983). This was the most successful role of her television career. In 1985, Carrión created a theatrical production company, Producciones MECA, with Ángela Meyer. Their theatrical productions included ''Casa de mujeres'', ''Death on the Nile'' by Agatha Christie and ''The Women'' by Clare Booth Luce. Later, they formed Empresas MECA, to produce television shows. On Channel 11, WLII TV they produced one of the most famous 'noon shows' on the island: ''Ellas al mediodía'', with Gladys Rodríguez, Marilyn Pupo, Elia Enid Cadilla, Sharon Riley, Claribel Medína and Carrión, along with various short soap operas that were inserted in the programs. In 1988, Carrión established Latino Television International, to produce Latino Video Billboard, then returned to Channel 11 to produce and host some new shows including: ''Ahora'' and ''En familia'' on Channel 6, and ''Somos únicos'' for children (1991-1992).

Radio career

Carrión became one of the best known radio personalities in Puerto Rico as host of the weekday morning show ''Hello'', on WIAC/Sistema 102 FM with Héctor Marcano and Jesse Calderón. Later, she went on to host the popular weekday afternoon show ''Happy Hour'' on WFID 95.7 FM/Radio Fidelity.

Meditation teacher

In 2004 Carrión began to study meditation, after taking a course with Deepak Chopra, and in 2007 she became a certified Chopra Center instructor. Carrión now resides between Puerto Rico and

Cordes-sur-Ciel Cordes-sur-Ciel (; , ) is a commune in the Tarn department, region of Occitania, Southern France. The fortified town was built in 1222 by Raimond VII, the Count of Toulouse, who, though not a Cathar, tolerated what other Catholics considered he ...

in France.

References