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Nelly Meruane
Nelly Meruane
Nelly Meruane
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Nelly Lucinda Consuelo Meruane Solano (20 December 1927 – 20 June 2018) was a distinguished Chilean actress and teacher whose career spanned 65 years.[1] For 20 years she was a member of the stable cast of the Teatro Ensayo [es] of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.[2]

Key Information

Meruane was recognized for her leading roles in the television series Juani en sociedad [es] (1967), the telenovela La madrastra (1981), and the play Mama Rosa (1982).[3] She received several honors, such as an APES [es] Award in 2011[4] and an Altazor in 2014.[5]

Biography

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Nelly Meruane was born in Nueva Toltén on 20 December 1927.[3] She showed a strong interest in the performing arts from a very young age. Due to strong opposition from her parents, she studied pedagogy in Spanish, but also took theater classes in parallel.[3] When beginning her studies at the University of Chile's Pedagogical Institute, she also entered the school's Dramatic Arts Center (CADIP), joining the cast of several plays under the stage name Sonia del Solar.[6] Later, she majored in theater at the Catholic University. She debuted in the play Time and the Conways at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago in 1952 as a first-year student of the Theater Academy.[7]

In 1960 she starred in La pérgola de las flores [es] by Isidora Aguirre, where she replaced actress Ana González in the role of Rosaura. In the following years, she popularized the role of La Cotocó in the TV series Juani en sociedad [es], starring alongside Silvia Piñeiro [es]. She met actor Juan Carlos Bistoto [es] when he appeared on the show in 1969, and married him 45 days later.[3]

She subsequently traveled to Venezuela with Bistoto, achieving a distinguished career in theater and television there. In 1977 she starred in the film El Pez que Fuma, directed by the playwright Román Chalbaud. She returned to Chile in 1981, and played Dora in Arturo Moya Grau's successful telenovela La madrastra. In 1982 she starred in Mama Rosa by Fernando Debesa, a performance which was lauded as one of her best.[8] She continued to appear in films and television, with her last acting role being Señora Felman on the telenovela Chipe libre in 2014.[1] In 2016 she was featured in the documentary Viejos amores, along with six other veteran actresses.[9]

Nelly Meruane died in Santiago on 20 June 2018, nine days after her contemporary and frequent co-star Liliana Ross.[1][3]

In November 2018 she received a posthumous career tribute from the Actors Guild of Chile.[10]

Works

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Films

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Telenovelas

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Year Title Character Channel
1981 La madrastra Dora San Lucas Canal 13
1982 Una familia feliz [es] Marisa Altamira Canal 13
Alguien por quien vivir [es] Ester Elizalde Canal 13
1983 Las herederas [es] Kiki Zelada Canal 13
1985 Matrimonio de papel [es] Natalia López Canal 13
1986 Ángel malo [es] Marilú Alemparte Canal 13
1987 La invitación [es] Julieta Vantini Canal 13
1988 Matilde dedos verdes [es] Ema Riquelme Canal 13
Semidiós [es] Elsa Santana Canal 13
1989 Bravo [es] Eugenia Canal 13
1990 ¿Te conté? [es] Hilda Mardones Canal 13
1991 Villa Nápoli [es] Úrsula Canal 13
1992 Fácil de amar [es] Berta Canal 13
1993 Marrón glacé [es] Aída Canal 13
1994 Champaña [es] Inés Molina Canal 13
Top secret [es] Canal 13
1996 Marrón Glacé, el regreso [es] Aída Canal 13
1997 Playa salvaje [es] Silvia O'Reilly Canal 13
1999 Fuera de control [es] Lavinia Loyola Canal 13
2001 Corazón pirata [es] Flora Salas Canal 13
Piel canela [es] América Canal 13
2003 Machos Mirna Robles Canal 13
2004 Hippie [es] Blanca Donoso Canal 13
2008 Mala Conducta Rosa Bobadilla Chilevisión
2014 Chipe libre Señora Felman Canal 13

TV series and specials

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Year Title Character Channel
1967–1972 Juani en sociedad [es] Cotocó Pereira Canal 13
2002–2006 La vida es una lotería [es] Margarita/Milena TVN
2004 El cuento del tío Professor TVN
2004 Xfea2 [es] Lídia Mega
2005–2006 La Nany Yaya Cárdenas Mega
2006 Tiempo final: en tiempo real [es] Vecina TVN
2007 Vecinos al 3 y al 4 [es] Sra. Elena Canal 13
2007–2010 Teatro en Chilevisión [es] Various Chilevisión
2008 Casado con hijos Josefina de Larraín Mega
2009 Aquí no hay quien viva [es] Nora Cifuentes Chilevisión
2014 Familia moderna Antonia's grandmother Mega

Plays

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Opera

Awards

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References

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Nelly Meruane

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Nelly Meruane was a Chilean actress renowned for her versatile and enduring career across theater, television, and film, spanning more than 65 years and establishing her as one of the most emblematic figures in Chilean performing arts. She was particularly celebrated for her work with the Teatro de Ensayo at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where she belonged to the stable cast for two decades, as well as for her memorable roles in acclaimed telenovelas and stage productions that highlighted her ability to portray complex characters across dramatic and comedic registers. Born on December 20, 1927, in Toltén, in Chile's La Araucanía region, Meruane initially pursued teaching while secretly studying theater at the Pontifical Catholic University, making her professional debut in 1952 with the play El tiempo y los Conways. She gained early recognition in productions such as La pérgola de las flores and later achieved one of her most defining roles as the titular character in Mama Rosa (1982), a performance widely regarded as a pinnacle of her stage work. During the 1970s, she lived in exile in Venezuela with her husband, actor Juan Carlos Bistoto, where she appeared in the film El pez que fuma (1977), before returning to Chile and contributing to numerous television dramas on Canal 13, including Juani en sociedad, La madrastra (1981), Marrón Glacé (1993), and Machos (2003). Meruane's later career included acclaimed performances such as her role in the stage adaptation of Coronación (2014–2016), for which she received the Premio Altazor. Her contributions were honored with distinctions including the Premio Municipal de Arte (2006), the APES award for lifetime achievement (2011), and recognition as a Distinguished Public Person by the Municipality of Providencia (2017). She passed away on June 20, 2018, at the age of 90, leaving a legacy as a strong and multifaceted artist who profoundly influenced representations of women on Chilean stages and screens.

Early life

Family background and childhood

Nelly Lucinda Consuelo Meruane Solano was born on 20 December 1927 in Toltén, in Chile's La Araucanía Region. She was the youngest of seven siblings in a family of Arab descent dedicated to commerce. Her father, Alberto Meruane, was a merchant of Palestinian origin, while her mother, Berta Solano, worked as a teacher and school principal. From early childhood, Meruane showed a strong interest in the performing arts. At four or five years old, she took the stage for the first time to recite verses that her mother had prepared for a school play, marking the beginning of her lifelong connection to acting. Her father initially opposed her pursuing a career on stage.

Education and training

Nelly Meruane studied pedagogy in Spanish (pedagogía en castellano) at the Instituto Pedagógico of the University of Chile, a choice driven by her father's strong opposition to a theatrical career. While pursuing these studies, she secretly studied theater in parallel at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her father discovered her involvement in theater through newspaper coverage of her performances. Subsequently, she majored in theater at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her professional debut took place as a first-year student at the theater academy.

Career

Theater career

Nelly Meruane made her professional theater debut in 1952 with a role in El tiempo y los Conways (Time and the Conways) by J. B. Priestley, presented at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago. She subsequently joined the stable cast of Teatro Ensayo UC (now Teatro UC) at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where she remained for 20 years as one of the company's most emblematic and distinguished actresses. In 1960, she stepped in as Rosaura in Isidora Aguirre's La pérgola de las flores, replacing Ana González for one month in the Teatro Ensayo UC production. Her repertoire spanned a wide range of authors, including Molière, Goldoni, Eugene O'Neill, Eduardo De Filippo, Jean Genet, Joe Orton, Antonio Gala, and Isaac Chocrón, showcasing her versatility across comedy and drama. She also ventured into opera in non-singing roles. Among her most celebrated stage performances was the title role in Fernando Debesa's Mama Rosa (1982), where she embodied the character at four different ages—from 14 to over 80—in a production that ran for nearly eight months at the Teatro Nacional and was later televised. In her later career, she shared the lead role of the senile grandmother Elisa in the stage adaptation of José Donoso's Coronación (2013–2016), alternating in the part with Bélgica Castro and Gloria Münchmeyer across multiple seasons. Other notable productions in her extensive career included El sí de las niñas (1954), ¡Esta Señorita Trini! (1958), Locos de verano (1966), Viejas (1995), and A pedir de boca (2004). Meruane was widely regarded as a versatile and methodical actress, noted for her prodigious memory, precise technique, and equal command of humor and dramatic depth.

Television career

Nelly Meruane established a prominent presence on Chilean television starting in the late 1960s, with her career encompassing a wide range of telenovelas and series across multiple channels. Her breakthrough came with the long-running Canal 13 series Juani en sociedad (1967–1972), where she portrayed the beloved character Cotocó Pereira, earning widespread popularity among viewers. It was on the set of this production that she met her future husband, actor Juan Carlos Bistoto. Following exile in Venezuela after the 1973 coup and her return to Chile, Meruane reentered television with a key role as Dora San Lucas in the landmark telenovela La madrastra (1981) on Canal 13, marking her entry into the modern era of Chilean telenovelas. She subsequently became a fixture in Canal 13's dramatic lineup through the 1980s and 2000s, delivering memorable supporting performances in numerous acclaimed productions, including Una familia feliz (1982), Ángel malo (1986), Marrón glacé (1993), Marrón Glacé, el regreso (1996), Fuera de control (1999), and Machos (2003). Meruane's work extended beyond Canal 13 in her later years, with notable appearances in series on other networks such as La vida es una lotería (2002–2006) on TVN, La Nany (2005–2006) on Mega, and Aquí no hay quien viva (2009) on Chilevisión. She was recognized for her distinctive voice, delicacy in portraying characters, and ability to create enduring secondary and supporting roles that left a lasting impression on audiences. Her final television appearance was as Señora Felman in Chipe libre (2014), capping a prolific career focused heavily on telenovelas and character-driven performances.

Film career

Nelly Meruane's contributions to cinema were limited compared to her dominant presence in Chilean theater and television, resulting in only a handful of film appearances over more than five decades. She made early appearances in Chilean productions, including a role in the feature film El cuerpo y la sangre (1962) and the fiction short Angelito (1965). During her exile in Venezuela, she portrayed La Argentina in Román Chalbaud's El pez que fuma (1977). Later in her career, she appeared in Pablo Larraín's Fuga (2006) as Mujer en el Velorio. Her final on-screen work was in the documentary Viejos amores (2016), directed by Gloria Laso, where she appeared as herself alongside six other veteran Chilean actresses—Bélgica Castro, Carmen Barros, Delfina Guzmán, Gloria Münchmeyer, Gabriela Hernández, and Liliana Ross—sharing reflections on their lives, careers, personal losses, and contributions to Chilean theater and society. Her later acting career was limited by a traffic accident from which she never fully recovered, leading to her retirement after these final appearances.

Personal life

Awards and honors

Death and legacy

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