Danna Paola

Danna Paola Rivera Munguía, known professionally as Danna Paola, was born on June 23, 1995, in Mexico City, Mexico. Her father, Juan José Rivera Arellano, was a former singer, which exposed Danna Paola to the entertainment industry early in life. Her career began at the age of four in 1999, when she participated in a casting call for Televisa’s ‘Plaza Sésamo,’ the Mexican adaptation of ‘Sesame Street.’ She and her sister, Vania, were both cast in the show. The following year, at age five, Danna Paola secured a role in the telenovela ‘Rayito de Luz’ (2000), and by 2001, she landed her first lead role in the children’s telenovela ‘María Belén.’ In the same year, she released her debut album, ‘Mi Globo Azul.’ From 2004 to 2012, Danna Paola continued to build her career, starring in successful children’s series such as ‘Amy, la niña de la mochila azul’ (2004) and ‘Pablo y Andrea’ (2005). She further gained recognition in the teen drama series ‘Atrévete a soñar’ (2009-2010), where she played the lead role of Patito, and contributed to its commercially successful soundtrack, which achieved double platinum certification in Mexico.

Her career expanded beyond traditional acting with significant voice acting roles, including providing the Latin American Spanish voice for Rapunzel in Disney’s animated film ‘Tangled’ (2010) and its accompanying soundtrack. A pivotal moment in her career was her role as Elphaba in the first Spanish-language production of the Broadway musical ‘Wicked’ in Mexico City (2013-2015). At 18, she was the youngest person globally to portray Elphaba professionally. The production was critically and commercially successful, breaking box office records with over 100,000 tickets sold in its first 10 weeks. This period also saw her foray into fashion design, collaborating with Sexy Jeans on her line “Danna Paola, by Sexy Jeans,” which quickly sold out upon release. After her theatrical success, she continued her music career, releasing “Ruleta” (2012) and other singles, diversifying her discography beyond children’s music and soundtracks. In 2015, she moved to Miami to film the telenovela ‘¿Quién es quién?’, marking her first major role outside Televisa.

From 2018 to 2020, Danna Paola gained international prominence for her role as Lucrecia “Lu” Montesinos Hendrich in the Netflix original Spanish teen thriller series ‘Élite,’ appearing in three seasons. During this time, she also rejoined ‘La Academia’ (2019) as a judge and became a mentor on the Spanish singing competition ‘Top Star. ¿Cuánto vale tu voz?’ (2021). Following her tenure on ‘Élite,’ she decided to focus primarily on her music career, releasing albums like ‘Sie7e +’ (2020) and ‘K.O.’ (2021). She continues to contribute to film with voice roles, such as Raya in ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ (2021) and Elphaba in the Latin American Spanish dubbing of the 2024 musical film ‘Wicked.’ In 2023, she launched her boutique record label, One Percent Records, alongside her producer Hoyer, signifying her entrepreneurial shift in the music industry.