Laura Natalia Esquivel (born May 18, 1994, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

), known professionally as Laura Esquivel, is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

and Italian actress and singer, who gained international popularity for her debut acting role as Patricia "Patito" Castro in the popular Argentine children's telenovela, ''

Patito Feo ''Patito Feo'' (in English, Ugly Small Duck) is an Argentine telenovela produced by Ideas del Sur that aired on Disney Channel between July 2007 and March 2011 in Latin America, Europe and Asia. ''Patito Feo'' originally debuted in early April 20 ...

''.

Biography

From the age of 7, Laura took singing, acting, piano and dance lessons in her native Argentina. She was first introduced to the general public on reality-musical format '' Codigo F.A.M.A. Argentina'' which was aired across Latin America in 2005. She was chosen to represent Argentina in the international version of the show and was one of the finalists in 2005. Afterwards, she appeared in a tribute to

Roberto Gómez Bolaños Roberto Gómez Bolaños (21 February 1929 – 28 November 2014), more commonly known by his stage name Chespirito, or "Little William Shakespeare, Shakespeare", was a Mexican actor, comedian, screenwriter, humorist, director, producer, and au ...

(Chespirito) in 2005 and in the variety show ''

Sábado Gigante Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day ...

''. She was also chosen as one of the leads in the musical ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' which had a long run in

. In 2005, Argentina's most-watched show, '' Showmatch'', did a segment on talented kids. Her segment, in which she sang Disney songs, achieved extremely high ratings and big repercussion. Because of that, Marcelo Tinelli offered her a development deal and she was soon chosen as the lead in ''

'', a child-oriented telenovela produced by Ideas del Sur. ''Patito Feo'' began filming in 2006 in

. Its soundtrack achieved multiple platinum certifications and a Gardel Award. The show was also a huge success, achieving high ratings and sold-out stadium concerts all over Latin America; it received a nomination for the International

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 2008 for the Children and Young People category''.'' After two seasons, ''Patito Feo'' ended in 2008. Laura continued touring with the cast throughout Argentina and Latin America. In 2008, the show became a huge success in Europe, especially in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, Italy and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. Laura is currently learning Italian. She will tour the country soon with a stage production based on ''Patito Feo'' and was also chosen by

Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...

as one of the leads in a telenovela they will produce in

. Esquivel learned Italian and starred in the Italian movie, ''Un paradiso per due'' alongside her former ''Patito Feo'' castmate Gaston Soffritti in 2009. The following year, Esquivel was cast in the Italian movie, '' Natale in Sudafrica''. In 2010, while touring Italy and Greece, Laura signed an endorsement deal with Monnalisa to promote its Teenager line Jakioo. In 2011, Laura spent the majority of her time touring in Italy and Greece to promote the theatrical versions of ''Patito Feo''. She is also a hostess on the Argentine teen TV show, ''Mundo Teen''.

Discography

* 2004 ''Peter Pan'' (soundtrack) * 2007 '' Patito Feo La Historia Más Linda'' * 2007 '' Patito Feo La Historia Más Linda En El Teatro'' * 2008 '' Patito Feo La Vida Es Una Fiesta'' * 2012 ''Giro Giro'' (Digital single) * 2012 ''Locura'' (Digital single) * 2012 ''Lenguaje perfecto'' (Digital single) * 2012 ''Aquel amor'' (Digital single) * 2012 ''Estarè Contigo'' (Digital single) * 2017 '' Divina''

Filmography

References

External links

lauraesquivel.tv
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esquivel, Laura 1994 births Living people Argentine film actresses Argentine child actresses 21st-century Argentine women singers Argentine pop singers Argentine child singers 21st-century Argentine actresses