Danna Paola

Danna Paola
Danna Paola by Sotelo on 2014
Background information
Birth name	Danna Paola Rivera Munguía
Born	(1995-06-23) 23 June 1995 Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico
Genres	Latin pop, latin ballad, electropop, teen pop, pop
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer, model, fashion designer, philanthropy
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Universal Music México 2001 – present
Associated acts	Aleks Syntek, Chayanne, Noel Schajris

Danna Paola Rivera Munguía (born 23 June 1995 in Mexico City), better known as Danna Paola, is a Mexican singer, actress, model, fashion designer and recording artist. She gained popularity in her native Mexico as a child actress and singer, starring in dozens of television projects throughout her early childhood and adolescence.

Early life

Paola was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the daughter of Patricia Munguia and Juan Jose Rivera Arellano, the former singer of Grupo Ciclón and Los Caminantes. Her parents divorced during her childhood. She has an older sister, Vania.^[1]

Acting career

1999–2003: Early career

Paola's acting career began in 1999 when at age 4 she and her sister attended Televisa's casting call in Mexico City for Plaza Sésamo, the Mexican version of Sesame Street. Both were later cast on the show and appeared in several episodes.^[2] One year later at age 5, she was cast in the telenovela, Rayito de Luz, in 2000. In 2001, she received her first lead role in the children's telenovela, María Belén. The same year, she released her debut album, titled Mi Globo Azul.

2004–2012: Breakout success

In 2004, she was chosen as the lead in the successful children's series, Amy, la niña de la mochila azul. Her second studio album, Océano, soon followed. A year later, she was the female lead of Pablo y Andrea, the television adaptation of the classic novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Over the next several years, she earned parts in multiple television series produced by Televisa.

In 2009, she was cast as "Patito" in Atrévete a Soñar, the Mexican remake of the popular Argentine children's telenovela, Patito Feo.^[3] Paola filmed two seasons of the show and production was concluded in late 2009. Atrévete a Soñar marked Paola's transition from children's to tween telenovelas. Paola and the cast of the telenovela recorded two soundtracks and toured across Mexico, in order to promote the show.^[4] The telenovela and its soundtrack were commercially successful throughout Mexico and Latin America. The soundtrack was certified double platinum in Mexico.^[5]

In late 2010, she voiced "Rapunzel" in for the Latin American Spanish-language dubbing of the Disney film"Tangled"^[6] and participated in the film's Spanish-language soundtrack.^[7] In 2011, she began the production for her fourth solo studio album. Her previous discography included songs for telenovela, children's music, or film soundtracks. She revealed that she wanted her new album to reflect her growth as an artist and shed her image as a child actress.^[8] "Ruleta", written by Mexican pop singer, Paty Cantú, was announced as the album's lead single. The official music video premiered on Paola's official VEVO channel on 14 March 2012. The single rose to number 32 on the Top Mexican Airplay charts in July 2012.^[9]

Her self-titled album, Danna Paola, was released on 5 June 2012, simultaneously in Mexico and Latin America for digital download and physical release. It included 11 songs written by popular Mexican artists such as Jesse y Joy, Río Roma, Ha*Ash, and a collaboration with 3BallMTY.^[10] The album debuted at number 1 on iTunes Mexico and Argentina, 5 on iTunes (United States) and 56 on AMPROFON.^[11] Previously, "Curame" was announced as a single,^[12] but on 19 June 2012, the song was replaced by "Todo fue un show" as the album's second single. Paola explained that she decided to change the single choice, in order to showcase her vocal ability.^[13] The single debuted at number 1 on iTunes Mexico. The album's following single, "No Es Cierto", is a duet with Noel Schajris, gained popularity in Latin America, reaching the top charts on VEVO and YouTube with more than 70,000,000 views; it also debuted at number 1 on iTunes in Mexico. Her fourth single, "Agüita", was used as the official theme song for the second season of MTV Latin America's series, Niñas Mal. It also debuted at number 1 on iTunes in Mexico.^[14]

During early May 2012, she served as the opening act for Demi Lovato's concerts at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City and at the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.^[15]

2013–present: Wicked, other projects and upcoming second studio album

In May 2013, Paola auditioned for the first Spanish-language production of the successful Broadway musical, Wicked, in Mexico City. She auditioned for both Glinda and Elphaba, performing Popular and Defying Gravity. Later that same month, the final cast for the Mexican production was announced, with Paola cast as "Elphaba". The production opened in Mexico City at Teatro Telcel on 17 October 2013. Critics in Mexico, as well as the play's original composer, Stephen Schwartz, praised her performance.^[16][17] In addition to being well-received by critics, the play was also a commercial success in Mexico City. During its first 12 weeks, "Wicked" sold over 100,000 tickets and had more than 100 performances; it broke a box office record making it one of the most successful theatre productions in Mexico's history.^[18][19] At the age of 18, Paola was the youngest person to play the role of Elphaba in a professional production.^[20]

In January 2014, Paola was cast in the movie, "Saving Sara Cruz", a modern-day remake of the 1992 film, "The Bodyguard".^[21] The film will be Paola's English-language debut. In March 2014, Danna, debuted as fashion designer collaborating with the popular Mexican clothing brand, "Sexy Jeans".^[22] Her line, "Danna Paola, by SexyJns", was commercially successful with products selling out across Mexico.^[23][24] In August 2014, Danna participated in the Abba tribute album, "Dancing Queens", recording a cover of "Take A Chance On Me". "Take A Chance On Me" was released as single on 2 September 2014 and debuted at number 1 on iTunes México.^[25] On October 29, 2014, she performed "No hay bien", the Spanish-language version of "No Good Deed", to a sold out crowd at the Auditorio Nacional for the Lunas del Auditorio award show. That night, Wicked received an award in the "Broadway Show" category.^[26]

Paola appeared in over 200 performances of Wicked from 2013 to early 2015. Following the conclusion of "Wicked", she was invited by producer Alex Gou, to join the cast of the musical, Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar, where she played the lead role of "Maria" and went on tour throughout Mexico.^[27] In July 2015, she signed a contract with the U.S. based Spanish-language network, Telemundo, marking her return to telenovelas after a nearly five-year absence. In August 2015, she recorded the duet, "Mientras Me Enamors" with Mexican singer, Lalo Brito. A music video was also filmed, and it premiered on Brito's YouTube channel in September 2015.^[28] During the summer of 2015, Paola moved to Miami to film the telenovela drama, ¿Quién es quién?. The project is her first telenovela role outside of Televisa. Filming for the program concluded in December 2015. ¿Quién es quién? began airing weeknights in the U.S. on Telemundo on February 9, 2016.^{[29][30][31][32]}

In-mid February 2016, she announced that her upcoming single, "Baila hasta caer", would be released in March for radio and digital download. The song was recorded in Miami sometime during the filming of her telenovela, ¿Quién es quién?. Her second sophomore album is slated for release sometime in 2016.^[33]

Paola filmed in the Mexican movie, ¡Como va! Lo más sencillo es complicarlo todo, in early 2016 on location in Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and Querétaro. A release date has not yet been set, but the film is expected to be released in Mexico and United States.^[34] In mid-April 2016, she was confirmed as a cast member in the upcoming telenovela drama, "La Doña", produced by Telemundo. The telenovela will film in Mexico.^[35]

Endorsements

In mid-January 2016, Paola was revealed as the new face of L'Oreal Paris's "Casting Crème Gloss" hair color line for the Mexican market. The line is a collaboration between L'Oreal's Excellence and Preference lines. As part of the promotion, Paola dyed her hair and appeared in print and television ads for the brand.^[36][37]

Personal life

Paola currently resides in Mexico City. She is fluent in Spanish and English.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theatre

Discography

Studio albums

• 2001: Mi globo azul
• 2004: Océano
• 2005: Chiquita pero picosa
• 2012: Danna Paola
• 2016:TBA

EPs

• 2007: Danna Paola

Compilations

• 2004: Lo mejor de Amy, la niña de la mochila azul
• 2009: Atrévete a soñar 1.5

Live albums

• 2010: Atrévete a soñar: El concierto

Soundtracks

• 2003: Regina: Un Musical Para Una Nación Que Despierta (musical)
• 2004: Amy, la niña de la mochila azul – Vol. 1 and 2 (telenovela soundtrack)
• 2004: Anita la Huerfanita – El Musical (musical)
• 2005: Mensajero de Paz
• 2006: Pablo y Andrea (telenovela soundtrack)
• 2009: Atrévete a soñar / Atrévete a soñar 2 (telenovela soundtrack)
• 2010: Tangled (film soundtrack)

Guest performances

• 2014: Take A Chance On Me (from Dancing Queens: Un Tributo A Abba)
• 2015: "Mientras Me Enamoras" (Lalo Brito featuring Danna Paola)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Danna Paola.

• Danna Paola at the Internet Movie Database
• Talent Agency Profile