At the end of the 90s, she also drove the Slovak audience crazy. The real life of the Mexican actress Leticia Calderón (57) resembled a dark drama rather than a TV fairy tale. Behind her emerald eyes she hid a heavy addiction to hard drugs, painful disappointments in love and later a huge sacrifice for her son with Down syndrome. writes .
When the then 29-year-old Leticia became the main star of the famous telenovela Esmeralda, overnight she became one of the biggest stars in Latin America and Europe. The story about the poor blind girl literally caused mass hysteria. While Leticia was the personification of innocence on the screens, in private she was going through a hell that almost cost her her life.
The enormous pressure from the producers, the loss of privacy and the endless shooting days took a toll. Years later, the actress openly admitted that she was able to cope with the extreme work pace only thanks to cocaine.
Innocent experimentation quickly turned into an addiction that cost her millions. She used drugs right in the studios, the production turned a blind eye to it, as the series earned them huge money. The wake-up call only came in the form of a tragedy – her close friend overdosed and died. That’s when she realized that she had to stop this destructive carousel. After successful treatment, she finally won over drugs.
However, the most difficult life test was still waiting for her. She was unlucky in love, after the first unsuccessful marriage came the second with lawyer Juan Collado, but it didn’t last either. Her husband left her for another woman and she was left alone to raise her two sons.
The turning point in her life occurred in 2004 with the birth of her older son Lucian. The boy was born with Down syndrome and a serious heart defect. It was a hard return to reality for a star accustomed to the glitter of show business. She did not despair and sharply limited her acting career and invested all her finances and time in her son’s rehabilitation. She became a proud fighter for the rights of disabled children in Mexico and even wrote a book about her life with Luciano.
Today, you would recognize the famous Esmeralda in her mainly thanks to her iconic green eyes. On social networks, she presents herself authentically – calmly without makeup, in home clothes or while working in the garden. PHOTO can be found in the gallery! Although she returned to the cameras after a break, she replaced naive and poor girls with intriguing negative characters, which she says she enjoys much more. For her, show business is no longer the meaning of life, but only work.
Her greatest joy is the aforementioned son Luciano. Despite the doctors’ unfavorable prognosis, he successfully graduated and is currently studying gastronomy at the university. Leticia even bought him his own apartment to lead him to complete independence. Luciano’s big dream came true when he played a minor role in one of the telenovelas alongside his mother. The actress herself claims today that despite all the hardships, she would not change anything about her past, because all the difficult trials have shaped her into the strong woman she is today.
