Sonya Smith ( born April 23, 1972) is an American actress best known for her roles in

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'' ...

Biography

Sonya was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, she is the daughter of German-born Venezuelan actress Ileana Jacquet and Frederick Smith, who is American. Her maternal great-grandfather was French and her maternal great-grandmother was Finnish. After her parents divorced, her actress mother along with Smith went back to Venezuela; Smith grew up in Venezuela and identifies herself with the Venezuelan culture. She speaks fluent Spanish, English, and German; the last learned from her mother, a German who grew up in Venezuela. She studied psychology at the

Universidad Central de Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in L ...

. She also has a

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

degree.

Career

Her breakthrough came in the early 1990s when she played Estrellita Montenegro, the main character in '' Cara Sucia'', her most successful telenovela as the lead actress. Smith remains a popular actress not only in Venezuela, also in other countries where her telenovelas have shown. In 2006, she returned to telenovelas with

Olvidarte Jamás ''Olvidarte Jamas'' (''Always on my Mind'') is a 2005 telenovela made by Venevision International in Miami that lasted 118 episodes. The telenovela starred Venezuelan-American actress Sonya Smith and Mexican actor Gabriel Porras. The telenovel ...

, her biggest hit as the lead actress since ''Cara Sucia'', which was shot in Miami; this is the time where Smith returned to her birth country, but this time in Miami. Later, in 2007, she reappeared in ''

Acorralada ''Acorralada'' (''Trapped'') is an American telenovela produced by Venevisión. Univision aired ''Acorralada'' from January 15, 2007 to October 5, 2007 on weekday afternoons at 2pm/1c. It was rebroadcast in late 2011 through April 2012 on Univisi ...

'', in which she was one of the main stars and which has been a huge success. There, she was Fedora Gaviota. During 2005, Smith made her

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

debut, playing Angela La Salle in '' Cyxork 7'', where she acted alongside

Ray Wise Raymond Herbert Wise (born August 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland Palmer in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) and its prequel film '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), Vice President Hal Gardner i ...

; although Smith currently lives in the United States and appeared in a Hollywood film, she still wants to remain more in the Spanish media of the country because the Spanish media opened opportunities for her to fame. In 2007, she participated in another Hollywood film, '' Ladrón que roba a Ladrón'', where she shared credits with actors,

Fernando Colunga Fernando Colunga Olivares () (born 3 March 1966) is a Mexican actor best known for his work in Mexican telenovelas. Colunga gained international fame for playing Luis Fernando de la Vega in the Mexican soap opera ''Maria la del Barrio''. He is ...

Gabriel Soto Gabriel Soto Díaz (born April 17, 1975) is a Mexican actor and model. He won the national male pageant El Modelo Mexico, and placed first runner-up in Mister World 1996. He was also a member of the former Mexican boy band Kairo, and acts i ...

Miguel Varoni Miguel Américo Belloto Gutiérrez (born 11 December 1964), known professionally as Miguel Varoni, is a Colombian-Argentinian host, actor and director. He is married to Colombian actress Catherine Siachoque. He is the son of the actress Teresa ...

, and

Saúl Lisazo Saúl Gustavo Lisazo Oscoidi (; born June 1, 1956 in Los Toldos, province of Buenos Aires in Argentina) is an Argentine actor and ex-footballer. Biography Saúl Gustavo Lisazo Oscoidi is one of 6 siblings: Maria, Fernanda, Araceli, Alejandro, M ...

among others.

Filmography

Film

Television roles

Awards

*Latin Pride National Awards (for Outstanding Woman Achievement, 2008) * Miami Life Award (2011)

References

External links

Sonya Smith
Biography *
Sonya Smith official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sonya 1972 births Living people Actresses from Philadelphia American emigrants to Venezuela American people of Finnish descent American people of French descent American people of German descent American people of Venezuelan descent American telenovela actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses Naturalized citizens of Venezuela RCTV personalities Venezuelan expatriates in the United States Venezuelan film actresses Venezuelan people of American descent Venezuelan people of Argentine descent Venezuelan people of French descent Venezuelan people of Finnish descent Venezuelan people of German descent Venezuelan Protestants Venezuelan telenovela actresses American people of Colombian descent