Silvia Elena Santelices Rojas (born 27 June 1940) is a Chilean theater, film, and television actress, a pioneer of telenovelas in her country. She currently serves as councilor for the commune of Rancagua.
Professional career In 1960 Santelices entered the Catholic University of Chile to study theater. While still a student, she joined the nascent dramatic department of her alma mater's television station, Canal 13, where she initially participated in televised plays. In 1967 she was part of the cast of the first telenovela shot in Chile, , in which she shared the screen with actors such as Mirella Latorre, Mario Rodríguez, and .
During the 1980s and 90s Santelices participated in numerous soap operas on Canal 13 and TVN, most notably La madrastra (1981), Los títeres (1984), and (1999). She also played Lucia Solar, mother of Teresa of the Andes (played by Paulina Urrutia) in TVN's miniseries (1989).
After years of absence from television, in 2005 she participated in the television series Brujas, and has joined other dramatic productions such as Papi Ricky and Veinteañero a los 40.
She is known for having a great stage presence, characteristic smooth voice, and great interpretive power. Since the late 1990s she has lived in the city of Rancagua, where she is part of Casa del Arte Theater Company.
Political career In the 1970s Santelices was a supporter of Popular Unity. The 1973 coup d'état took her by surprise in Venezuela, where she was exiled for five years.
She was elected councilor of Rancagua in the municipal elections of 2008 on behalf of the Socialist Party. In the 2012 elections she returned to obtain a seat on the Municipal Council of Rancagua, receiving 4,533 votes, corresponding to 6.38%, obtaining the third communal majority.
Telenovelas Year Title Role Channel1967 Ignacia Duarte Canal 131981 La madrastra Felisa Morán 1982 Isabel Valverde TVN Cecilia Sonnenberg Canal 131983 Estela Diez1984 Los títeres Eva Chacón 1985 Lía Narváez / Leonora Di Lauro TVN1986 Ximena Larralde 1988 Clara Wilson Canal 131989 Eliana Riesling TVN1990 Silvia Montané1991 Adriana Miraflores1993 Dolores "Lolo" Alzavía Canal 131995 Gloria Cox TVN1996 Loca piel Irene Claro 1999 Kimberly Seymour Canal 132005 Brujas Rebeca Márquez 2007 Papi Ricky Matilde Hormazábal 2012 Reserva de familia Amelia Correa TVN 2016 Veinteañero a los 40 Ester Lynch Canal 13
Other TV series Year Title Role Channel 1967 Esa mujer eres tú Lucila Canal 13 Manolita Rozas 1968 Loreto1970 Leonor Encina TVN Natalia Klavitz 1979 Adelaida Molina 1989 Lucía Solar 2005 La Nany Yolanda "Yoli" Tapia Mega2015 Josefa "Pepa" UCV
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