Kate del Castillo

Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo (; born October 23, 1972) is a Mexican and American actress. At the age of 19, del Castillo became known for her lead role in the telenovela Muchachitas for Televisa in 1991. Afterwards, she continued her career in film and television in Latin America, playing the leading roles in telenovelas, including Alguna vez tendremos alas, La Mentira (1998), Ramona (2000), Bajo la misma piel (2003–04) and La Reina del Sur (2011–2023).

In 2011, del Castillo earned worldwide recognition for playing the lead role in the Telemundo series La Reina del Sur. In 2017, she went on to star in the Netflix political drama series Ingobernable, playing First Lady of Mexico Emilia Urquiza. Since then, del Castillo has starred in the Peacock comedy-drama series 'Til Jail Do Us Part (2022), and the Fox crime drama series The Cleaning Lady (2024).

Del Castillo made her Hollywood debut as the female lead in the 2007 drama film Under the Same Moon, and later appeared in supporting roles in the films K-11 (2011), No Good Deed (2014), The 33 (2015), El Chicano (2019), and Bad Boys for Life (2020).

Early life

Kate del Castillo Negrete was born on October 23, 1972, in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the daughter of Kate Trillo Graham and Eric del Castillo, a legend of Mexican cinema and a soap opera actor himself. Del Castillo has two siblings: a sister, the journalist Verónica del Castillo, and a half-brother, Ponciano, from her father's side.

Career Early works

Del Castillo made her acting debut in 1978 when she took part in a film called The Last Escape. She became well known in 1991 when she starred as Leticia in Muchachitas, a telenovela airing in several Latin American countries. The following year, she went to star in Mágica juventud. Her other leading roles in 1990s was in Azul (1996), long-running Alguna vez tendremos alas (1997), and La mentira. In 1995 she appeared in the music video "Fuego de Noche, Nieve de Día" by Ricky Martin.

In early 2000s, Del Castillo played the leading roles in telenovelas Ramona (2000), El derecho de nacer (2001) and Bajo la misma piel (2003-2004). In 2003, she made her American television debut playing a recurring role in the PBS drama series American Family starring Edward James Olmos and Sônia Braga. In 2009, she had a recurring role in the Showtime dark comedy-drama Weeds playing Pilar Zuazo, a powerful woman in Mexican politics. In 2002 and 2003, she embarked on an international tour alongside Argentine actor Saul Lisazo with the play Cartas de Amor (Love Letters). In 2005, she starred alongside Demián Bichir in the romantic comedy film American Visa. In 2006, Del Castillo starred in the film Bordertown, which became her first role in Hollywood. In 2007, she went to star in the drama film Under the Same Moon directed by Patricia Riggen. The film grossed $23.3 million against $1.7 million budget. She also starred in a number of independent movies, include The Black Pimpernel (2007) and Julia alongside Tilda Swinton.

In November 2007, Del Castillo was named one of the "Stars of the Year" and in 2011 one of the "25 most influential women" and "50 most beautiful" by People en Español magazine. In 2009, del Castillo was appointed Ambassador for the Mexican Commission on Human Rights and the following year she helped launch the Blue Heart Campaign in order to raise awareness and fight human trafficking.

2011–present

In 2011, Del Castillo starred as Teresa "La Mexicana" Mendoza in the Telemundo telenovela La reina del sur based on a novel of the same name by Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte, a role that skyrocketed her fame across Latin America. With a $10 million budget it is the second most expensive telenovela ever produced by Telemundo. The series later was renewed for a second season, that premiered in 2019. del Castillo continued her collaboration with Telemundo in 2015, starring in Dueños del Paraiso. The telenovela is inspired by the drug trade of Miami in the 1970s. She also appeared in a number of American television shows, include CSI: Miami, Grimm and Dallas. In 2015, she had a recurring role as Rogelio de la Vega's ex-wife in the CW comedy series, Jane the Virgin.

On November 20, 2015, Del Castillo launched a new brand of tequila named Honor del Castillo in association with the Vivanco Family. She serves as the spokesperson for the brand. Del Castillo has also appeared in advertising campaigns for L'Oréal and Ford.

In 2012, Del Castillo starred in the Mexican film Colosio: El asesinato, which centers around the assassination of the Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio. The following year, she starred in the American prison drama film K-11. In later years, Del Castillo appeared in many American movies, including playing Idris Elba's ex in the 2014 thriller No Good Deed, Antonio Banderas' wife in the disaster-survival drama The 33, All About Nina (2018), El Chicano (2019), and Bad Boys for Life (2020). In 2017, she went to star in the Netflix political thriller series, Ingobernable playing the fictional First Lady of Mexico, Emilia Urquiza. The second season premiered in 2018.

In 2019, del Castillo made her off-Broadway debut in the Audible Theater production of Isaac Gomez's play The Way She Spoke. The performance earned her Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play nominations, making her the first Mexican actress to be nominated for three theatre awards in New York.

In 2022, del Castillo starred in the Peacock comedy-drama series, 'Til Jail Do Us Part. She is set to star and produce Volver a caer, a six-part miniseries that a modern take in Spanish on Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. In 2024 she joined the cast of Fox series The Cleaning Lady. In 2024, del Castillo was cast as Mexican singer Chavela Vargas in the miniseries Chavela. She also was cast in the comedy film The Biggest Fan for Netflix playing the role of disgraced actress Lana Cruz.

Personal life One of del Castillo's first known romantic relations was with Emilio Azcárraga Jean, son of media mogul Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, and now CEO of the largest mass media company in Latin America, the Televisa Group. On February 3, 2001, she married football player Luis García. The marriage was dissolved on September 1, 2004. In August 2009, del Castillo married Aarón Díaz in a Las Vegas ceremony. On July 26, 2011, it was announced that Kate and Díaz were separating. Del Castillo was briefly romantically connected with Sean Penn from 2015 to 2016, although the actor's representatives contest this.

On August 22, 2005, it was reported by the LAPD that del Castillo's new house in Los Angeles had been broken into by thieves, who took some jewelry from the actress. Del Castillo was in Los Angeles filming Bordertown, a film about the female homicides in Ciudad Juárez, when the burglary occurred. A frequent activist for a variety of causes, she posed in a 2012 PETA ad campaign encouraging pet owners to "fiercely protect" their dogs and cats by keeping them indoors. She became a citizen of the United States in September 2015 and resides in Los Angeles.

Relationship with El Chapo On January 9, 2012, del Castillo publicly posted an essay on Twitter (using Twextra) discussing social issues in Mexico that included controversial statements directed towards Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the head of the Sinaloa Cartel. The essay included requests to Mr. Guzmán to "deal with love, with good things" and to "[begin to] traffic in love." The most controversial portion of the essay stated: "Today I believe more in Chapo Guzmán [than in] the government that hides painful truths from me, that hides the cure for cancer, AIDS, etc., for their own benefit and wealth."

Unbeknownst to del Castillo, Guzmán was a longtime fan who harbored romantic feelings for her. Authorities found DVDs of La Reina del Sur at the safe house stormed during Guzmán's initial capture. Del Castillo was contacted by Guzmán's lawyer to discuss producing a biographical film about Guzmán in 2014. As a result of the meetings, she obtained the rights to his life and was unknowingly placed under CISEN surveillance. Communication increased following Guzmán's escape from prison in July 2015. She brokered an interview between American actor Sean Penn and Guzmán in October 2015, shortly before Mexican Marines recaptured him (del Castillo claims in her documentary for Netflix that she did not know Penn intended to interview the drug lord during the meeting). CISEN later released photographs of del Castillo at the meetings with Guzmán's lawyer and of the arrival of the actress and Penn to Mexico.

Aftermath Sean Penn and Del Castillo's actions remain under investigation by the Attorney General of Mexico. Del Castillo was originally under investigation for money laundering in relation to the planned movie about Guzmán and her tequila brand Honor del Castillo. The investigation was suspended in 2017 as there was no evidence that proved that Guzmán ever paid del Castillo any money.

On February 5, 2016, a Mexican judge granted del Castillo's petition for an injunction against any arrest related to the federal investigation into her ties with Joaquín Guzmán. The Mexican Attorney General issued a detain-and-interrogate order on del Castillo; however, that would only become effective if del Castillo set foot on Mexican soil. That order was issued after she did not heed a request to voluntarily appear before Mexican prosecutors.

Kate del Castillo did not return to Mexico until December 2018 and therefore since the injunction was issued in 2016 and 2017 filming locations for Ingobernable were changed to San Diego to accommodate restrictions on her travel.

The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story premiered in 2017 on Netflix, based on the events surrounding del Castillo's communications with El Chapo.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1978 Los de abajo 1990 El último escape Bárbara 1997 Educación sexual en breves lecciones Ana Reclusorio Estrella Uribe Segment: "Sangre entre mujeres" 2004 Avisos de ocasión Amanda 2005 American Visa Blanca 2006 Bordertown Elena Díaz Lime Salted Love Isabella Triebel 2007 El precio de la inocencia / Trade Laura The Black Pimpernel Consuelo Fuentes Under the Same Moon Rosario Reyes 2008 Julia Elena Bad Guys Zena 2009 Down for Life Esther 2011 Without Men Cleotilde Huaniso 2012 Colosio: El asesinato Verónica K-11 Mousey 2013 A Miracle in Spanish Harlem Eva 2014 The Book of Life La Muerte (voice) Also Latin American Spanish voice-over No Good Deed Alexis The Popcorn Chronicles Kate / Rosario Visitantes Ana 2015 The 33 Katy Valdivia de Sepúlveda 2016 El Americano: The Movie Rayito (voice) 2018 All About Nina Lake 2019 El Chicano Cartel Leader 2020 Bad Boys for Life Isabel Aretas 2022 Hunting Ava Bravo Ava Bravo 2023 Dora and the Fantastical Creatures Ale (voice) Short film 2024 The Casagrandes Movie Sisiki (voice) 2025 Trap House Natalia Cabrera 2025 The Biggest Fan Lana Cruz Netflix TBA A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1991 Muchachitas Leticia Bustamante Television debut 1992 Mágica juventud Fernanda 1994 Imperio de cristal Narda Lombardo 1995 Mujer, casos de la vida real Unknown role Episode: "Aunque parezca mentira" 1996 Azul Alejandra 1997 Alguna vez tendremos alas Ana Hernández Main role 1998 La mentira Verónica Fernández-Negrete Main role; 100 episodes 2000 Ramona Ramona Main role 2001 El derecho de nacer María Elena del Junco Main role 2002 American Family Ofelia 10 episodes 2003 Bajo la misma piel Miranda Murillo Ortiz 2004 Kate Del Castillo en La Riviera Maya Kate Television film 2009 The Cleaner Josefina Episode: "Does Everybody Have a Drink?" 2009 Weeds Pilar Zuazo 5 episodes 2009 El Pantera Coco 2 episodes 2011–2026 La Reina del Sur Teresa Mendoza Main role; 183 episodes 2011 CSI: Miami Anita Torres Episode: "Killer Regrets" 2012 Grimm Valentina Espinosa Episode: "La Llorona" 2013 Dallas Sergeant Marisela Ruiz Episode: "JR's Masterpiece" 2014 Killer Women Esmeralda Montero Episode: "Queen Bee" 2015 Dueños del paraíso Anastasia Cardona Main role; 69 episodes 2015 Jane the Virgin Luciana Leon 3 episodes 2016 Telenovela Kate Episode: "The Rivals" 2017–2018 Ingobernable Emilia Urquiza Main role; 27 episodes 2017 The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story Herself Main role; 3 episodes 2021 Mr. Mayor Victoria Santos Episode: "#PalmTreeReform" 2021 Maya and the Three Lady Micte, the Goddess of Death Main role; 9 episodes 2022–2024 Monster High Selena Wolf 2022 'Til Jail Do Us Part Ángela Main role; 8 episodes 2023 Volver a caer Anna Montes de Oca Main role 2024 Dora Ale the Alebrije (voice) Guest role 2024–2025The Cleaning Lady Ramona SanchezMain role

Awards