Africa Zavala

Africa Zavala was born Africa Ivonne Lechuga Zavala on August 12, 1985 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. She is of mixed South-American origin and comes from a middle class Mexican family of three children. There is very little mention of her parents and early childhood with her two siblings.

As she grew up, she was influenced by the glamour of celebrities and wanted to become a model in order to be able to dress well and live a comfortable high society life. To achieve her aim she enrolled for English classes and learnt dancing from an instructor. She went on to do her graduation from the CEA of Televisa, where she learnt the nuances of acting and show business.

Among other things, she took extra lessons in personality development in order to groom herself to face the world. She has kept herself in excellent shape and looks much younger than her actual age. Besides her looks, she has matured and carries herself with grace.

Africa Zavala started her career just after graduation, at the age of 21, when she was selected for a role in the telenovela, ‘Peregrina’ alongside Eduardo Capetillo. Later in 2006, she appeared in the telenovela ‘Codigo Postal’ with Jose Ron and Jessica Coch.

She proved her talent in her initial performances which received positive reviews, as a result of which she became known as the ‘Peregrina’ girl in show business circles.

She was fresh out of CEA Televisa with her degree in acting and the world of glamour was unfolding in front of her. She went on to obtain a starring role in the telenovela ‘Cuidado con el angel’ as Elsa Maldonado San Roman, cousin of the protagonist of the telenovela, in 2008. By then her performance had matured and she had become a name to reckon with.

Her next role in the telenovela ‘Los Exitosos Perez’, alongside Ludwika Paleta and Jaime Camil was shot in Argentina in 2009. Africa’s performances kept improving with each of her appearances and she was a celebrity in her own right by now. In 2010, she was selected to be one of the six protagonists in the telenovela ‘Para Volver a amar’ co- starring with Rebecca Jones, Neilea Norvind, Alejandra Barros, Sophie Alexander and Zaide Silvia Gutierrez. The next year saw her star in the telenovela ‘Amorcito Corazon’ next to Elizabeth Alvarez, Diego Olivera and Daniel Arenas.

Her big break came in 2012 when producer Jose Alberto Castro confirmed that she would play the lead role in his telenovela ‘Corona de lagrimas’ with Victoria Ruffo. The telenovela was released in 2014 and was a grand success, earning her a nomination for ‘Best Co-star Actress for Africa Zavala.