Biography

Maria Helena Doering Monsalve de Escobar is one of five siblings from Cali, Colombia. She started her career as a model, working in Italy, Germany, Japan, Spain and Switzerland. During the mid 1980s-early 1990s she appeared in commercials for Coffee Delight, Colgate, Kolynos, Kinder Surprise, Danone, Nutella, Parmalat, Martini, Swatch, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Svelto and other products. Eventually she was contracted by a famous Colombian producer to star in La maldicion del paraiso (1993) in her home country. She is married to businessman Eduardo Escobar and has a son, Alejandro.

This Caleña (a female from Cali) starred in novelas such as La maldicion del paraiso, Las aguas mansas, La viuda de Blanco, Adrian esta de visita, La venganza, Milagros de amor, Te voy a enseñar a querer, Hasta que la plata nos separe, Victoria, El penultimo beso, Bella Calamidades. Just this past year, she portrayed the mother of the female antagonist in La Pola, the historical biography of Policarpa Salavarrieta, the heroine for Colombia's independence. However, this was not Maria Helena's first historical role. In 1993, she starred as Magdalena Ortega de Nariño in Cronicas de una Generacion Tragica. Ironically in this role, she was the wife of Antonio Nariño, leader of the Colombian military during the early 19th century.

Her latest projects for 2011 include a movie titled "Escritor de Telenovelas" produced by Dago Garcia and a new telenovela called "Los Rico Tambien Lloran" for RCN.

- IMDb mini biography by: Alexa DeLeon