Lucero

Lucero Hogaza León (born 29 August 1969) is a Mexican singer, actress, and television personality. Dubbed "the Americas' Girlfriend", she is known for her influence in Latin music and Latin American television, with a career spanning over four decades. She started her career at age ten as a child actress on Televisa shows such as Alegrías de Mediodía, Chiquilladas, and later starred in Chispita. In 1982, she debuted as a singer with Él and soon became one of the most popular teen pop stars of the 1980s. Her albums from that time include Un Pedacito de Mí, Ocho Quince (1988), and Cuéntame (1989).

During the 1990s, she starred in successful telenovelas such as Cuando Llega el Amor (1990), Los Parientes Pobres (1993), and Lazos de Amor (1996). At the same time, she released Latin pop albums such as Sólo Pienso en Ti and Piel de Ángel. She also became known for singing ranchera music, with albums such as Lucero de México (1992) and Cariño de Mis Cariños (1994). Lucero voiced Jane in the Spanish-language version of Disney's Tarzan (1999) and sang the Spanish version of "Reflection" for Mulan (1998). From 1997 to 2004, she was the host of Teletón México, one of the country's biggest charity TV events.

In the 21st century, she released more albums, such as Mi Destino (2000) and Quiéreme Tal Como Soy (2006). She starred in hit telenovelas such as Mi Destino Eres Tú (2000), Alborada (2005), and Soy tu Dueña (2010). Lucero also hosted the Latin Grammy Awards between 2006 and 2013 and the first two Latin American Music Awards. In 2011, she became a coach on the first season of the singing show La Voz. Lucero is considered one of the best-selling Latin artists, with over 16 million records sold worldwide. She has won many awards, including a Billboard Music Award and 21 Premios TVyNovelas. She has received honors such as the Hispanic Television Summit's Outstanding Achievement Award. In 2025, Billboard named Lucero one of the greatest female Latin pop artists of all time.

Early life and career

1980s Lucero is the daughter of a Mexican mother Lucero León and a Spanish father Antonio Hogaza.

She began her career in 1980. As a child, she was unsure about becoming an artist. At age 10, Televisa offered her the opportunity to appear in a juvenile-themed program named Alegrías de Mediodía (Eng.: Midday Happiness), alongside several children and young performers in music and comedy such as Aida Pierce and Aleks Syntek.

She combined work with her academic studies, also taking singing and dancing lessons. During that time, she also performed in the program Juguemos a Cantar (Let's play to sing), in which she was the performer of the main theme. Shortly after, she received several offers, among them Chiquilladas (Childishness), making her first starring appearance in the series for children. On the program, one of her more memorable roles was in a Popeye skit, portraying Olive Oyl.

In 1982, Lucero appeared in her first telenovela, Chispita ("Little spark"), costarring with such actors as Enrique Lizalde and Angélica Aragón, among others. Although she was known as a singer, Lucero did not sing the theme song for Chispita. Lucero earned two awards for her acting performances, the first TVyNovelas Award and an Azteca de Oro Award. With these accolades, Raúl Velasco invited Lucero to perform and record the main theme of the musical pageant América, Esta Es Tu Canción (America, this is your song). In 1982, she released her first album through Musart Records, titled Él (Him).

In 1983, she participated in the 12th Mexican national selection for the OTI Festival with the song "", not making it past the qualifying rounds. In 1985, Lucero was cast in her third film, Fiebre de amor (Eng: Love Fever), starring alongside Luis Miguel. The film was a commercial success and received two Diosa de Plata Awards, including Breakthrough Performance for Lucero's role. In 1986, she was also cast in her first theater role, in the play Don Juan Tenorio, playing Doña Inés de Ulloa.

Ending the decade, she established herself as one of the best singers in Latin America and the United States. She continued her ascent in her career, releasing her sixth studio album Cuéntame. The sales of the album reached gold and platinum status in Mexico. This album opened the U.S. market, Spain, and also across borders in Central America, in countries such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and all of South America. The title single achieved great success, becoming a number 1 hit in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, and Guatemala among other countries. The same song was included in the VH1 list "Best 100 Songs of the 80s in Spanish".

This disc was the last album she released under the name Lucerito. During this year, Procter & Gamble hired her to be the central image of the Head & Shoulders shampoo campaign for Latin America.

1990s – from Rancheras to Piel de Ángel

Lucero left the 1980s with a solid career in which she was recognized as one of the best singers of the decade. In 1990, Lucero starred in her first telenovela as an adult, Cuando llega el amor where she also sang the theme song. This telenovela earned her the TVyNovelas Award for Best Actress. Melody Records released a special EP called Cuando llega el Amor, a huge hit in Latin America reaching the top five in several countries. In the same year, after conquering the youth market with a ballad, Lucero opened a new facet in her career with mariachi genre performing cover versions of the hits of the famous band, Los Bukis, in her album Con Mi Sentimiento, produced by the composer Rubén Fuentes.

Her performances abroad earned her as a strong reputation as a Mexican singer in Latin America, Spain and the United States, giving her also the nickname of Lucero de México and La Novia de América (The Bride of America). She appeared in her sixth film, Deliciosa Sinvergüenza (Delicious rascal).

In 1991, she released Sólo Pienso en Ti, which achieved gold and platinum status in Argentina, Chile and Mexico. She returned to the ranchera genre with the album Lucero de México, once again produced by Rubén Fuentes. The promotion of the album was big, since her first ranchero album had not been well promoted. Sales achieved the gold status in Central America and Chile. In Mexico, they reached double platinum, becoming one of the best selling albums of ranchera music.

In 1994, Lucero released another ranchero album, Cariño de Mis Cariños, her third album of this genre and also produced by Rubén Fuentes. The album was selected as one of the best albums of the year according to Eres magazine in Mexico. The album earned the platinum status in that country.

In mid-1995, she performed in the soap opera Lazos de Amor in which she played triplets. The telenovela topped the TV ratings, and she also received several awards, among them TVyNovelas, El Heraldo, Eres, Diosa de Plata, all for best actress. Melody released the soundtrack of the telenovela Lazos de Amor with good sales and good airplay throughout Latin America and the United States. During 1995, Lucero sang two new songs on a UNICEF album, El Nuevo Sol, to raise funds for children, sharing credits with Pandora and Magneto. Apart from this participation, she made two more special appearances, in the album Boleros:Por amor y desamor and a duet with Mijares on the live album El Encuentro, which received high rotation on radio in U.S. and Latin America, reaching the top ten lists.

In 1997, she returned to the music scene after an extensive tour throughout Latin America and the United States, with the album Piel de Ángel (Eng: Skin of Angel), her first studio album in almost three years. Its singles "Tácticas de Guerra", "Toda La Noche" and "Quiero" were popular with audiences and earned the album gold and platinum certifications for its sales in Mexico and the United States.

In 1997, Lucero married the singer Manuel Mijares. They had two children. The wedding was called "the event of the year" and it was broadcast through Televisa to Latin America. The ceremony was held in the chapel of San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas High School.

In October 1997, she was invited to sing to the Pope John Paul II during the II World Meeting of Families in the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The opportunity was, in Lucero's own words, the most emotional experience of her spiritual and professional life.

In December 1997, she captivated the Mexican public and other countries to lead the Telethon in Mexico for 27 hours non-stop to raise money for care and rehabilitation centers for disabled people. She continued to host the event in later years. From 1997, Radio Móvil Dipsa used Lucero as the new image for its mobile campaign with Telcel. She made television spots promoting rates, coverage, cellular models and wireless internet. Sales increased, and her contract was renewed until 2000.

She received the Billboard Music Award for Best Ranchera Album. Also during this year, she collaborated in the soundtrack of Mulan, nominated for the Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Oscar, singing the song "Reflejo". In this production she shared credits with Cristian Castro and Christina Aguilera. At the end of the 1990s, the event Un Lucero en La México took place in the Plaza de Toros México bringing together more than 40,000 people who chanted Lucero's hits and gathered to celebrate her 20th anniversary as a singer and actress, in a concert of nearly three hours. She recorded her first live album that sold more than 200,000 copies. Also in 1999, Banamex (Mexico's largest bank) chose Lucero to be the main image of the TV spot of its 100 years of existence, for Mexico only. Also during this year, AT&T signed a contract with Lucero to be the main face to offer special rates for long-distance calls to Latino families in the United States, where she sang in several spots the number of the area code. In 2002 and 2003, the contract remained in force, so the company had printed some ads with her image that were published throughout the United States and for private concerts. and included two songs in English. She starred in the telenovela Mi Destino Eres Tú (Eng: My destiny is you), produced again by Carla Estrada, with a cast including Jacqueline Andere, Silvia Pasquel, Julio Alemán and María Sorté. The telenovela achieved high ratings. This performance earned her an award as Best Lead Actress in a telenovela.

In 2001, she made a special appearance in the concert of Mijares for his second live album. Besides, she received the Silver Seagull award at Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival as favorite singer.

In February 2002, she began promoting the album Un Nuevo Amor (Eng: A new love), a ranchera cutting production under the supervision of three major producers, Rubén Fuentes, Estéfano Salgado and Homero Patrón. This album was the first for Sony Music in ranchera music. At this time, she was sought to participate in 3 studio album Huey Dunbar's, Gabriel Navarro's and a special tribute to Selena. In June Lucero received the Double Eagle Leadership Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Mexico & United States at a gala celebrated in Coral Gables, Florida for her commitment to building stronger relations between the United States and Mexico, presented by the TV host Don Francisco.

In early 2003, Lucero was invited by PepsiCo to be the main image of the new product Sabritas for Mexico. With only three TV spots and ads the company managed to sell more than expected, so Lucero was recognized with an award and was invited to be the image of the 60th anniversary of Sabritas, singing the official jingle A Que No Puedes Comer Sólo Una (You can't eat just one).

Throughout 2003, she starred in the musical adaptation of the book by Antonio Velasco Piña, a musical that tells another version of what happened on 2 October 1968, in Tlatelolco. Lucero decided to take this play since she rejected participating in the telenovela Amor real. Several months in theaters made her win an award for best actress in a musical and offered 100 performances with 100 standing ovations from the audience. Critics and reporters who were reportedly hostile to the actress created a situation whereby, when the plaque for the 100th performance was shown, television reporters insisted on having an interview with the actress and tried to follow her, only to have a security guard draw his gun against them. She defended the acts of her guard which led to her being removed from hosting the annual Telethon for several years.

In August 2003, she was back to film sets to perform the role of Esperanza Alcalá in Zapata: El sueño de un héroe (Eng: Zapata: The dream of a hero) by Alfonso Arau; starring Alejandro Fernández, with cinematography by Vittorio Storaro and art direction and costumes by Eugenio Zanetti. She participated in the soundtrack of the movie with one song named Quédate en mí (Eng: Stay in me). In the fall of 2003, she signed a contract and started with Fuller Cosmetics to promote her own perfume. The perfume remained available from Fuller Cosmetics.

In 2004, Cuando Sale un Lucero (Eng: When a star comes out) was released under the company of EMI Music Mexico, a new ranchera album with the production again of Ruben Fuentes and Homero Patrón; with the singles Entre La Espada y La Pared. Vete Por Donde Llegaste achieved gold record status and it was a special edition released. That same year she returned to telenovelas, now with a relevant part in Alborada (Eng: Dawn) where the story takes place in the 1800s and where she played María Hipólita Díaz alongside Fernando Colunga, Daniela Romo, and more. They achieved top position in the audience.

After her role in this soap opera that lasted until 2005, Lucero began to record her next album in early 2006. She released Quiéreme Tal Como Soy (Eng.: Love Me As I Am) in September 2006, where she pays tribute to Rafael Pérez Botija, the composer and producer of her biggest hits. With this record she achieved strong sales thanks to the singles La Única Que Te Entiende (Eng: The One who understands you) y O Tú O Nada (Eng: Either you or nothing). In November 2006, she hosted for the first time the 7th Latin Grammy ceremony, since then, she has participated as a host five times so far. As a result of the good sales of Quiéreme tal como soy, the company decided to make a concert in the National Auditorium in March 2007, recording an album completely live that achieved high sales on CD and DVD formats. This was her second and last live album to be released to the public.

On 20 October 2008, the telenovela Mañana es para siempre (Eng: Tomorrow Is Forever) was released and produced by Nicandro Diaz. This soap opera had a primetime broadcast where Lucero starred as Bárbara Greco, the villain of the story; this was her second antagonist role since her well-received character María Paula in Lazos de Amor in 1996. She shared credits alongside great actors such as Silvia Navarro, Fernando Colunga and Sergio Sendel. The ratings were high, reaching 51 points in its final episode, which had a special two-hour duration. Due to the popularity and credibility, Procter & Gamble invited Lucero to be the face and spokesperson for the line of creams and Olay beauty products. In this way, year after year the cosmetics company has renewed its contract with the actress and singer, even getting the image of Pantene shampoo in 2011. Lucero and the company reached an undisclosed financial agreement on the debt of the old company. Enrique Peña Nieto, governor of the State of Mexico in 2008, chose Lucero to be the official spokesperson of the achievements that his government had met over the months. With the response from people, she renewed the contract to remain the face in 2009. Jones also commissioned a Spanish version, "Somos El Mundo 25 Por Haiti", in which Lucero sang in the chorus.

She finished filming Soy Tu Dueña, a remake of the 1995 telenovela La Dueña, where she played Valentina Villalba along with Fernando Colunga. In October 2010, she released Indispensable, a pop album.

For her work in television and the recording industry, Lucero's handprints have been embedded onto the Paseo de las Luminarias in Mexico City.

On 17 January 1997, Lucero married singer Manuel Mijares with whom she had two children, a son (born 12 November 2001) and a daughter (born 2 February 2005). On 4 March 2011, after 14 years of marriage, Lucero and Mijares announced their separation. In January 2014, Lucero came under controversy after she posed with her boyfriend, Michel Kuri, in front of a supposed dead animal following a hunting activity. She released a statement that the picture was leaked from her personal computer. Amid the criticisms, her performance was suspended at the International Festival Viña del Mar 2014 in Chile.

Discography

As Lucero 1990: Con Mi Sentimiento 1991: Sólo Pienso en Tí 1992: Lucero de México 1993: Lucero 1994: Cariño de Mis Cariños 1994: Siempre Contigo 1997: Piel de Ángel 1998: Cerca de Ti 1999: Un Lucero en La México 2000: Mi Destino 2002: Un Nuevo Amor 2004: Cuando Sale un Lucero 2006: Quiéreme Tal Como Soy 2007: Lucero en Vivo Auditorio Nacional 2010: Indispensable 2011: Mi Secreto de Amor 2012: Un Lu*Jo 2013: Lucero en Concierto 2014: Aquí Estoy 2017: Enamorada con Banda 2017: 2018: Más Enamorada con Banda 2018: Enamorada en Vivo 2019: Brasileira en Vivo 2019: Solo Me Faltabas Tú 2020: 20y20

As Lucerito 1982: Él 1984: Con Tan Pocos Años 1985: Fuego y Ternura 1986: Un Pedacito de Mí 1988: Lucerito 1989: Cuéntame

Special albums and EPs

As Lucero 1990: Cuando Llega el Amor 1995: Lazos de Amor 1997: Lucero le Canta a la Virgen 1998: Mulán 2003: Regina 2004: Zapata 2013: Lucero en Concierto 2023: El Gallo de Oro

As Lucerito 1982: Juguemos a Cantar 1982: Los Chiquillos de la TV 1982: 20 Navidéxitos 1982: América, Esta Es Tu Canción 1984: Disco Mensaje 1984: Katy, la Oruga 1985: Fiebre de Amor 1985: Keiko 1988: Escápate Conmigo

Filmography Films

Television