Maite Perroni might have been voted "Queen of the Telenovelas" by Latin American viewers in 2009, but this brunette chica next door contends that she can go unrecognized by fans as long as she doesn't wear makeup. It makes sense, then, that this actress and recording artist excels at Cinderella transformations; in telenovelas such as La Gata (The Stray Cat), she specializes in playing humble girls who rise up the social ladder by virtue rather than guile. Even exes like Mane de la Parra have only nice things to say about her: "She's a great woman."
Born in Mexico City and brought up in Guadalajara, Perroni studied acting at Center for Arts Education (CEA), an intensive, three-year theatre-arts school run by Mexican multimedia empire Televisa. In 2004, she joined the cast of Rebelde, a Mexican remake of the Argentinian telenovela Rebelde Way, as Guadalupe "Lupita" Fernandez, a working-class interloper at a posh private academy. She and her co-stars also formed the band RBD, a Latin pop group that sold millions of copies of their seven albums by the time they disbanded in 2009.
Perroni's next role as Marichuy, a shy orphan who falls in love with a psychiatrist rehabilitating street urchins in the telenovela Cuidado con el Angel (Don't Mess With an Angel), catapulted her to stardom. Roles in Mi Pecado (My Sin), Triunfo del Amor (Triumph of Love), and Cachito de Cielo (A Little Piece of Heaven) were broadcast in over 130 countries.
After signing with Warner Music Mexico, Perroni recorded her first solo album, Eclipse de Luna (Lunar Eclipse) -- the title comes from her personal affinity for the moon and the idea of an eclipse marking a new era of her life. Produced by Chilean musician Koko Stambuk, the 13 songs spanned pan-Latin styles such as bachata (gritty Dominican guitar music), vallenato (a Colombian folk ballad featuring accordions), and Latin pop. A significant success in Spanish-speaking markets, the singles "Tu y Yo" and "Eclipse de Luna" hit the top of the Mexican charts.