Thalía: 1972—: Singer, Actress

In her mid-teens Thalía took bit parts in three weekday serials, La Pobre Señorita Limantour (1987), Quinceañera (1988), and Luz y Sombra (1989). When Timbiriche disbanded, she spent a year in Los Angeles training under starmaker Florence Riggs, who had furthered Madonna's career. Thalía's subsequent command of English and mastery of fashion, singing, dance, and guitar advanced her in the entertainment pecking order. At work with producer Alfredo Diaz Ordaz, she issued vocal albums—Thalía, Mundo de Cristal, and Love, and in 1991 co-hosted a popular variety show, VIP de Noche, on Channel 5-Spain. The shift from sweet to smoldering at first stymied Thalía watchers, who were uneasy with a prowling sex kitten in place of the familiar teen star.

As a soap opera diva, Thalía garnered fans for playing sweet village lasses in a trilogy, Las Tres Marias: Maria Mercedes (1992), Marimar (1994), and Maria la del Barrio (1995). The telenovela series, which evolved from Hispanic oral tradition to a radio staple, thrived on Spanish-language TV channels in 120 countries. The grueling on-camera schedule threatened Thalía's health. She fainted on the Marimar set and rested for a week before returning to work. Soap fans bombarded stations to demand her return.

Restored to health and regular appearances, Thalía did not disappoint the public. Her brown eyes, lustrous brown hair, lithe shape, and coy posturing won devoted followers throughout Latin America and Asia, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia. Her starring roles so entranced Filipinos that employers threatened workers who left their posts during broadcasts of daily soap opera segments. When she toured the Philippines in 2001, riot police held back emotional mobs that wanted to admire her at close range.