Adela

Adela Amalia Noriega Méndez (; born October 24, 1969; Mexico City) is a retired Mexican actress. She rose to prominence after starring in teen-oriented coming-of-age telenovelas in the 1980s, including Quinceañera (1987–1988) and Dulce desafío (1988–1989).

Some of her notable works include María Bonita (1995–1996), María Isabel (1997–1998), El Privilegio de Amar (1998–1999), El Manantial (2001–2002), Amor real (2003) and Fuego en la sangre (2008). Noriega's success as a leading lady has led her to be known as one of the "Queens" of the genre.

Early life Adela Amalia Noriega Méndez was born on 24 October 1969, in Mexico City, Mexico. She has two siblings; an older sister, Reyna, and a younger brother, Alejandro.

Career Career beginnings Noriega was discovered as a child, at the age of twelve she was scouted in a shopping centre while she was walking with her mother. Shortly after, she began to work as a fashion model and started appearing in TV commercials and music videos.

After being spotted on a shooting of a commercial by Patty de Llano, wife of the producer Luis de Llano Macedo, she began working as a teen actress. She made her television debut at the age of fourteen in the telenovela Principessa and shortly after she participated in Juana Iris. In both shows she interpreted antagonists. She also guest starred on the comic show Cachún cachún ra ra! for a few years.

Stardom Noriega made her debut as a leading actress in 1986, at the age of sixteen, when she was cast for her first lead role in Yesenia, a historical telenovela. The telenovela was adapted from Yolanda Vargas Dulché's comic book of the same name, which centers around a young Romani woman and her caravan. From then on she began to work solely as a leading actress of many successful telenovelas with an international distribution.

She rose to greater prominence in 1987 when she obtained the leading role in Quinceañera, telenovela portraying coming-of-age topics. Quinceañera was the first telenovela that geared towards adolescents and revealed the problems they face in this transitional period from childhood to adulthood. Topics such as substance abuse, date rape, teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, gangs and self-acceptance were being explored for the first time in this genre. This teen classic had a great impact in Mexico and other countries worldwide. In 2008, it was included on the Associated Press' "10 Most Influential Telenovelas of Latin America" list, "because it represented a precedent in this genre and has had an influence on the collective imaginary."

One year after, she returned to television in another successful teen-oriented telenovela; Dulce desafío, directed by Arturo Ripstein. In this teen drama, she played the central character, Lucero Sandoval, a teenage girl who rebels against her emotionally distant father and gets romantically involved with her teacher (Eduardo Yáñez).

In 1995, she moved to Colombia and joined RTI, starring in María Bonita, where she interpreted the title character, a singer who stays trapped on a Caribbean island.

She returned to Televisa in 1997 and collaborated with the producer Carla Estrada in four consecutive productions. The same year, she appeared as the lead character of María Isabel, interpreting a young indigenous woman faced with discrimination and lack of opportunities because of her origin. The telenovela presented the iconography of the tribe Huichol, based on indigenous folk beliefs and traditional symbols, and dealt with racial, cultural and class themes. For her characterization of the lead female character, Noriega received TVyNovelas Award for "Best Young Actress in a Leading Role".

A year later, she starred in El privilegio de amar, adaptation of Cristal, opposite Helena Rojo in a story that revolved around the world of fashion industry and show business. El privilegio de amar is officially the highest-rated television program in Mexico to date, according to IBOPE. The show was internationally successful as well.

In 2001, she starred in El Manantial, under the direction of Mónica Miguel and Adriana Barraza, co-starring Mauricio Islas. For her performance as the lead female character Alfonsina Valdes Rivero, she received another TVyNovelas Award, among others.

She returned to television in 2003, in the highly acclaimed historical telenovela, Amor real, in a story that was set in the Mexican post-independence period of the mid-19th century. This costume drama registered very high records of audience in Mexico and at the time of its airing on Univision, it occasionally managed to beat leading U.S. networks in the ratings. In 2005, Amor real was released on DVD and, due to its success, it became the first telenovela to be released with English subtitles. Noriega received various recognitions for her portrayal of the aristocrat, Matilde Peñalver y Beristáin.

In 2005, she portrayed the leading character of the telenovela La esposa virgen, opposite Jorge Salinas. The story was an adaptation of Caridad Bravo Adams' novel, Tormenta de pasiones. In 2008, she was the lead female character, Sofía Elizondo, in the telenovela Fuego en la sangre. The telenovela was a big success in Mexico

Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes 1986 Las Amantes del Señor de la Noche Uncredited 1988 Un sábado másLucía

Television Year Title Role Notes1984–1987 Cachún cachún ra ra! Adela Nominated—TVyNovelas Award for Best Revelation in Comedy Series (1985) 1984–1986 Principessa AlinaEl Heraldo Award for Debutant of the Year 1985 Juana Iris RominaTVyNovelas Award for Best Female Debutant 1987 Yesenia Yesenia Nominated—TVyNovelas Award for Best Young Lead Actress 1987–1988 Quinceañera Maricruz Fernández SarcoserTVyNovelas Award for Best Young Lead ActressPalmas de Oro Award for Best Young Actress 1988–1989 Dulce desafíoLucero SandovalTVyNovelas Award for Best Young Lead Actress 1993–1994 GuadalupeGuadalupe Zambrano SantosTelemundo 1995–1996 María BonitaMaría "María Bonita" ReynosoRTI ColombiaNominated—TVyNovelas Awards Colombia for Best Lead Actress 1997–1998 María Isabel María Isabel Sánchez TVyNovelas Award for Best Young Lead Actress Nominated—Eres Award for Best Young Actress 1998–1999 El Privilegio de AmarCristina MirandaNew York Latin ACE Award for Best Television Actress TVyNovelas Award for Best Young Lead ActressCalifa de Oro Award for Best Young Actress Nominated—Eres Award for Best Young Actress 2001–2002 El ManantialAlfonsina Valdés RiveroNew York Latin ACE Award for Best Television ActressTVyNovelas Award for Best Lead Actress Palmas de Oro Award for Best Lead ActressBravo Award for Best TV Actress Sol de Oro Award (Mexico's National Association of Journalists) for Best ActressNominated—Award Inte for Best Television Actress 2003 Amor realMatilde Peñalver y Beristáin de Fuentes GuerraNew York Latin ACE Award for Best Television Actress Laurel de Oro Award for Best ActressCalifa de Oro Award for Best ActressNominated—Award Inte for Best Television ActressSol de Oro Award (Mexico's National Association of Journalists) for Best Actress 2005 La esposa virgenVirginia AlfaroNominated—TVyNovelas Award for Best Lead Actress 2008 Fuego en la sangreSofía Elizondo AcevedoNominated—TVyNovelas Award for Best Lead Actress Nominated—Award Fama for Best Lead Actress

Music videos Year Title Role Notes1984 "Corazón de Fresa" Love interestLucía Méndez video "Palabra de Honor" Love interestLuis Miguel video

Awards and honours

Noriega has been honoured with multiple awards for her work in the television industry, and the wide acceptance of her work throughout the years has established her reputation as a "Telenovela Queen".