Gabriela Elena Španić Utrera (; born December 10, 1973), known simply as Gabriela Spanic or Gaby Spanic (), is a Venezuelan actress, model, singer and beauty pageant titleholder. She is known for her roles in several Latin telenovelas, most notably her portrayal of twins in La usurpadora (1998), one of the most popular telenovelas in the Spanish-speaking world.
Spanic has been signed to Televisa, Telemundo, TV Azteca, and Venevision.
Early life Gabriela was born in Ortiz, to Croatian father Casimiro Spanic and Venezuelan mother Norma Utrera. She has a twin sister, Daniela Spanic, one younger sister, Patricia, and a younger brother, Antonio. She studied Psychology in Caracas at Andrés Bello Catholic University for a year but left university to pursue an acting career.
Career Spanic's career started in 1992 when she joined the Miss Venezuela 1992 contest, representing her home state, Guárico, The contest served as a platform to launch her acting career even though it was won by Milka Chulina it led to appearances in Venezuelan telenovelas such as Morena Clara, where she portrayed the villain Linda Prado.
In 1994, Spanic had her first leading role in the telenovela Como Tu Ninguna, which aired for two years and became one of the largest novelas of the country and had an enormous success, including internationally.
After playing Amaranta in Todo por tu Amor (1997), Spanic moved to Mexico, where she acted in La usurpadora (1998), portraying twins Paola and Paulina, which came to worldwide success when the novela was transmitted to more than 125 countries around the world and became one of the most popular telenovelas in the Spanish-speaking world. La Usurpadora was the first novela to win more than 20 points in the grid of the TV American audience.
In 2000 Gabriela Spanic co-hosted the OTI Festival in its last edition, which was held in Acapulco.
Spanic acted in other Televisa productions such as Por Tu Amor (1999), and La intrusa (2001), before signing with Telemundo, starring in La venganza (2002), Prisionera (2004) and Tierra de pasiones (2006).
Spanic won the Orquidea Award in 2005 for her trajectory as an actress, as well as the prestigious FAMAS Award for Best Actress for her role in Tierra de Pasiones.
In 2010, Spanic worked with Televisa again when she played the antagonist of Soy tu Dueña. As of 2011, Spanic is signed to TV Azteca, and has worked in Emperatriz (2011), La otra cara del alma (2012) and Siempre tuya Acapulco (2014).
Personal life
Spanic was married to actor Miguel de León from 1996 to 2003. She and her ex-boyfriend have one son born in 2008.
In 2025, Spanic moved to Brazil.
Filmography + Television, television films and series Year Title Role Notes 1989La fuerza de los humildes Unknown 1990 Adorable Mónica Rute 1991 Mundo de fieras Unknown1991-1992BellísimaUnknown 1992 La loba herida Meche 1992 Divina obsesión Aurora 1993 Rosangélica Carla 1993 Morena Clara Linda Prado Series regular 1994 Maria Celeste Celina Hidalgo Guest star 1994-1995 Como tú, ninguna Gilda Barreto/Raquel Sandoval Main role 1996 Quirpa de tres mujeres Emiliana Echeverría Salazar Castañon Main role 1997 Todo por tu amor Petra Josefina Marcano / Amaranta Rey Series regular 1997 Bienvenidos Esterbina Guest star 1998 La usurpadora Paola Bracho Montaner / Paulina Bracho Martinez Main role 1998 Más allá de la usurpadora Paulina Bracho Martinez Television film 1999 Por tu amor Aurora de Montalvo / María del Cielo Montalvo de Durán Main role 2001 La hora pico Herself Guest star 2001 La intrusa Virginia Martínez Roldán de Junquera Brito/Vanessa Martínez Roldàn de Islas Main role 2002-2003 La venganza Valentina Díaz / Helena Valerugo Fontana Main role 2004 Prisionera Guadalupe Santos Luján Main role 2004 Numai Iubirea Guest star 2005–07 Decisiones Daniela / Mariela 2 episodes 2006 Tierra de pasiones Valeria San Román Main role 2010 Soy tu dueña Ivana Dorantes Rangel Series regular 2011 Emperatriz Emperatriz Jurado Main role 2011 Confesiones de novelas Herself 2012 Soy tu doble Herself Judge 2012-2013 La otra cara del alma Alma Hernández Quijano Main role 2013 Te quiero mexico, te quiero limpio Driver 2014 Siempre tuya Acapulco Fiscal Fernanda Montenegro Guest star 2015 Baila si puedes Herself Participant/guest 2018 Heredadas Alma 2019 Más noche Herself 2019 Teletón Dynamic What is the mask? Herself Participant 2020 Dancing with the Stars Hungary Herself Participant 2021 Si nos dejan Fedora Montelongo Series regular 2021 La casa de los famosos Herself Participant 2021 Esta historia me suena Rosario Episode: "Te aprovechas de mí" 2022 Corazón guerrero Elisa Series regular 2022 La mejor navidad Main role 2022–24 Secretos de villanas Herself Main cast 2023 Top Chef VIP Herself Participant 2023 Amores que engañan Elisa Episode: "Talento robado" 2023 La Usurpadora: The Musical Film 2024 Vivir de amor Mónica Rivero Cuéllar Series regular 2025 A Fazenda Herself Contestant
Discography Gabriela Total (2004) Mejorando Tu Vida Con Gabriela Spanic, Vol. 1 e 2 (2005) En Carne Viva (2014) Gabriela Spanic Greatest Hits (2016)
References
External links