Gisela Valcárcel | |
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Gisela Valcárcel (2008)
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Born |
Sonia Mercedes Gisela Valcárcel Álvarez 26 January 1963 Lima, Peru |
Other names | "La reina del medio día" (the queen of mid-day TV shows), "La señito" |
Occupation | hostess, actress, writer, businesswoman |
Years active | 21 |
Spouse(s) | soccer player Roberto Martínez- captain of "U" (universitario de deportes) soccer team (divorced), Architect Javier Carmona (divorced) |
Children | Ethel Poso Valcárcel |
Awards | Stevie Awards 2009 |
Sonia Mercedes Gisela Valcárcel Álvarez (born January 26, 1963) is a Peruvian television hostess, actress, and businesswoman.
Valcarcel was born on 26 January 1963, to her parents Jorge Valcárcel and Teresa Álvarez. She studied at Institución Educativa Teresa González de Fanning. At age 17 she became pregnant by Peruvian songwriter Augusto Polo Campos, resulting in her only child: Ethel.
She started as a secretary at a car company and was hired as an extra for theatre shows. Her career in show business started the day she publicly gave a kiss in the mouth to Venezuelan singer Oscar de León live on Peruvian TV. She was working as a part-time receptionist on Panamerican televisión, channel 5, back then.
On 10 June 1995, she married Roberto Martínez Vera-Tudela, a popular soccer player & captain of "la U". The wedding grabbed headlines in the national press and was broadcast live on television. After some years, the couple divorced.
She was involved in a political scandal when a video of her with José Francisco Carreño Crousillat and Vladimiro Montesinos, where they talked about 1 hour. The footage shows that Montesinos informed Valcárcel of measures to be taken to prevent the spread of a book (La Señito by Carlos Vidal) that reveals intimate aspects of Valcárcel's life. This was denounced as an offense against public administration. A lawsuit was not filed since the judge dismissed the complaint and acquitted the parties involved of all charges.
In the meantime, she also entered a phase of spiritual search that took her to India, where she met some religious leaders, including Sathya Sai Baba, and in the U.S. Deepak Chopra. This changed her perspective, bringing a stage of peace to her life. In 2006- after six years of romance- she married Peruvian architect Javier Carmona. The couple separated shortly after the marriage due to a supposed affair between Carmona and another Peruvian entertainer- aka "vedette"- Tula Rodríguez. Gisela Valcárcel was her mentor and considered herself betrayed by her mentee.
She started as a comic actress and a dancer ("vedette"), in the program Risas y Salsa and La gran Revista.
In 1987, Panamericana Televisión proposed conducting a Peruvian version of Hello Susana, which would be named "Alo Gisela". Valcárcel then became the queen of midday on Peruvian TV for several years during the late '80s and early '90s.
Her guests have been famous Latin American stars such as Julio Iglesias, Luis Miguel, Guillermo Dávila, Ricardo Montaner, Shakira, María Antonieta de las Nieves, Isabel Pantoja, José Luis Rodríguez, Menudo, Ricky Martin, Thalía, Paulina Rubio, Rocío Dúrcal, and Paloma San Basilio. Her TV shows were always very popular due to her interaction with the audiences, including phone conversations on TV and offering advice to the audience, especially housewives. At the same time, she founded "Amarige Salon & Urban Spa", a beauty parlor.