Paula Alí

Paula Alí
Born
Paula Andrea Alí Rivera

(1938-01-26)26 January 1938
Candelaria, Cuba
Died3 August 2026(2026-08-03) (aged 88)
Havana, Cuba
OccupationActress
Years active1959–2026

Paula Andrea Alí Rivera (26 January 1938 – 3 August 2026) was a Cuban film, television and stage actress. Beginning her career as a model on television in the 1950s, she began acting on stage with Teatro Martí in 1965 and, later, the Teatro Estudio and Teatro El Público. Alí also worked as a film and television actress, performing in films such as Letters from the Park (1988), The Elephant and the Bicycle (1994), Nothing More (2001), Horn of Plenty (2008), Esther Somewhere (2013) and Neurótica anónima (2026) and television shows including ¡Oh, La Habana! [es]. In 2026, shortly before her death, Alí was given a lifetime achievement award by the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

Career

Alí began working in the entertainment industry in 1959, as a model. Six years later, in 1965, she had begun working on stage and joined the Havana-based Teatro Martí. In 1970, Alí joined the Teatro Estudio and, later, the Teatro El Público. Working in the theatre, she performed both domestically and in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela and European countries including Portugal, Spain, and Yugoslavia. With the Teatro Estudio, she performed in renditions of Virgilio Piñera's Aire frío, Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding and La casa de Bernarda Alba, and José Antonio Rodríguez's Los inventos de un escaparate. In 2002, with Teatro El Público, she played Celestina in a performance of La Celestina directed by Carlos Díaz. Her performance, where she acted Celestina as a softer force, was well received. Her performance in Una mujer sola won the Segismundo award and awards from the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba in 1990.

Upon being cast in telenovelas, Alí became a well-known and respected actress in Cuba. She played roles in telenovelas, dramas, and comedy shows. In the comedy Punto G (transl. G-spot), which also featured her nephew, she played the role of Rosa Matriz. She also worked in films and short films. Alí played a cleaning woman in the 1990 short film Oscuros Rinocerontes Enjaulados and, alongside Cuban actresses Isabel Santos [es] and Coralia Veloz Fernández [es], acted in the 2004 short film Leo y Julieta. The story depicted a lesbian relationship and was only shown for one day at a film festival. Also in the early 2000s, she performed in Nothing More; in 2003, she won the best actress award from the Cartagena International Film Festival for her role.

Awards earnt by Alí during her lifetime include a National Culture Award, an Artista de Mérito de la Radio y la Televisión award (2012), the Raúl Gómez García medal, and a small screen award and lifetime achievement award from Agencia Artística de Artes Escénicas ACTUAR. On 22 July 2026, shortly before her death, she was given a lifetime achievement award by the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

Personal life and death

Paula Andrea Alí Rivera was born in Candelaria, Cuba, on 26 January 1938. She died in Havana on 3 August 2026, at the age of 88. Her death was confirmed by the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

Alí had a nephew who was also an actor.

Credits

Film

Television

Stage

Notes

  1. ↑ Many sources mislabel her age as "90".

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "La popular actriz cubana Paula Alí muere en La Habana a los 90 años". infobae (in Spanish). EFE. 3 August 2026. Archived from the original on 4 August 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Cuba mourns the passing of the renowned and beloved actress Paula Alí". Radio Angulo. 3 August 2026. Archived from the original on 5 August 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 del Pino Más, Dania (2015). "Paridades y conflictos: Analogía de dos mundos en La Celestina de Teatro El Público". Celestinesca (39): 225–246. ISSN 0147-3085. JSTOR 26167859.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bibliografía Cubana 1981. Vol. 2. 1981. pp. 108, 109.
  5. 1 2 Bibliografía Cubana 1983. Vol. 2. p. 74.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 CABRERA, CARLOS ARMANDO (3 August 2026). "Muere Paula Alí, figura de seis décadas en la televisión, el cine y el teatro cubanos". Diario Las Américas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 August 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 Limonta, Norma R. Guillard; Breña, Mariana Ortega (2009). "Cuba and the Revolutionary Struggle to Transform a Sexist Consciousness: Lesbians on the Cuban Screen". Latin American Perspectives. 36 (1): 63–71. doi:10.1177/0094582X08329133. ISSN 0094-582X. JSTOR 27648160.
  8. 1 2 Morera Ruiz, Adis Marlen (13 April 2026). "Primera actriz Paula Alí en Escena de Mujer, cita con el arte en Cuba". Prensa Latina. ProQuest 3329027825.
  9. 1 2 A Cuban Cinema Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. 2020. p. 252. ISBN 979-8-216-26970-0.
  10. ↑ Holland, Jonathan (4 September 2014). "'Esther Somewhere' ('Esther en alguna parte'): VLAFF Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 5 August 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Lodge, Guy (29 April 2016). "Film Review: 'Viva'". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Castañeda, Mireya (14 March 2018). "Cuban women behind the camera". Granma. Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "La ovación a "Neurótica anónima" en el Festival de Málaga refrenda que Cuba sostiene su memoria viva través del cine: Santiago García Galván". La Crónica de Hoy. 8 March 2026. ProQuest 3314106158.
  14. ↑ "Contigo: Conozca sobre la novela cubana Sábados de glori". Venceremos. January 2025. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2026.