Malena Gracia

Almudena Gracia Manzano (born 14 September 1971), known artistically as Malena Gracia,[1] is a Spanish actress,[2] singer, dancer, vedette,[3] and pin-up model.[4] She is best known for having obtained a triple platinum certification for her song "Loca", with more than 300,000 copies sold.[5] She has also appeared on television series with high ratings.

Malena Gracia
Born	Almudena Gracia Manzano 14 September 1971 Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Actress, singer, TV presenter
Years active	1987–present

Career

Malena Gracia has worked in film, television, music, theater, and advertising. She has been a model and appeared in several magazines and Spanish TV programs. She was discovered by director and producer Valeriu Lazarov. She was a student at the Daniel Cicaret dance school. She studied solfège, singing, and acting with Luis Arnedillo and the professor of the Madrid Royal Conservatory, Inés Rivadeneira. Later she continued her classes with José Sepúlveda, at Ángela Carrasco's school, specializing in musicals. She shared a singing teacher with Shaila Dúrcal.[6] Her early years in the world of dance and entertainment were not easy; her family was of humble origins and for seven years she was a victim of mistreatment of one of her ex-partners.[7][8]

During the 1990s, Gracia worked on various television shows and began a musical career, as a singer of copla and Spanish songs, studying with maestro Julián Bazán. In 1992 she released her first Spanish song album Vete con él. Her style would later change to pop, although she always aspired to be a lyric singer.

Her television popularity grew on shows like De lo bueno el mejor and in sketches on the popular Antena 3 program Arévalo & cia,[9] a Spanish adaptation of The Benny Hill Show.[10] She participated in the first chapters of Hostal Royal Manzanares with Lina Morgan, a series that obtained audience levels of 46% and 8,500,000 spectators for its premiere.[11] She also gained notoriety in the tabloid press.[12] She presented Pase lo que pase on Telemadrid with Catalan comedian Jordi LP. She also participated in several Christmas specials on Telecinco with Lina Morgan.

At the end of the 90s, she formed the group Sex Bomb with Yola Berrocal and Sonia Monroy, which she would leave shortly afterward due to her incompatibility with Berrocal and Monroy.[13]

In 1998 was chosen Playboy's European covergirl. She has posed nude or seminude for the magazines Playboy, Man, and Interviú (she appeared on seven occasions, one of them posing with Yola Berrocal).[14]

Gracia had a romantic relationship with lawyer Emilio Rodríguez Menéndez, who was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for fraud against the Public Treasury. After their breakup she suffered strong harassment and media persecution by the lawyer. In the year 2000, Malena Gracia filed a defamation lawsuit against his magazine Dígame, through which she obtained a judicial order to seize the magazine. The singer requested help from the Método 3 detective agency, which cooperated with the police to arrest him in 2005 in Argentina for having escaped to Paraguay to avoid the condemnation of the Spanish justice system.[15] According to Gracia, the lawyer blackmailed her knowing that in the past she had briefly engaged in prostitution.[8][16]

Two years after the separation of Sex Bomb, Malena joined the popular reality series Hotel Glam,[17][18] where she was third finalist, and thanks to this she was able to get funding to start her musical career, with various summer and dance songs.[19]

2003 saw the market launch of her successful song "Loca" on the Vale Music label. It achieved high levels of popularity on the radio and at events in Spain. Due to its high sales volume, it reached triple platinum status, becoming the quintessential song of that summer,[20][21] was played for more than a decade in Spain, and was published in several compilations.[22][23]

In 2005 she premiered the play Las corsarias in Barcelona together with Marlène Mourreau and Rosanna Walls. Its run only lasted three days, and it was later discovered to have been financed by the Gürtel plot, with €481,000 supplied by Francisco Correa Sánchez and his partner "El Bigotes".[24]

Malena Gracia has tried to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest on several occasions. She was presented to the Spanish preselection of 2008 with the song "Un poquito más", but was passed over in favor of Rodolfo Chikilicuatre.[25][26][27] In 2009 she tried with "Quiero volar".[28] In 2010 she once again presented her candidacy for the Spanish Eurovision preselection with her song "La Vida".[28][29][30][31]

She has had numerous appearances on television as a contributor to the program Sálvame with Jorge Javier Vázquez, and DEC.[32]

Among other reality TV appearances, she was the fourth finalist on the 2010 season of Supervivientes. This edition featured both famous and unknown contestants, with Gracia being the last famous one to be voted off.

In April 2012, she appealed on television regarding the possible abduction of her sister at birth. She was born prematurely on 30 August 1960, and for that reason she was taken to the Hospital Clínico San Carlos to gain weight in an incubator. The family went to see her on several occasions, but on the twelfth day they were told that she had died, without allowing the parents to see the body, which was consistent with procedures carried out in the kidnapping of children in Francoist Spain.[33]

In March 2015 she presented her new album Miénteme on the Telecinco network, becoming a trending topic on Twitter.[34]

In February 2016 she was romantically linked in the press with the well-known humorist Arévalo,[35] a friend of the artist for over 20 years. Arévalo lost his wife in December 2015,[36] and the story was later denied by both, which caused discomfort in the comedian for confusing a deep friendship.[37][38][39][40]

In 2016, she was part of the cast of a theatrical adaptation of the 1962 film Atraco a las tres, directed by José María Forqué, premiered on 5 March at the Federico García Lorca Theater in Getafe.[41] The play toured several venues, including the Carlos III Royal Theater of Aranjuez.[42] In May 2016, she announced in the press that she was experiencing financial difficulties due to the death of her mother on Christmas 2015.[43][44]

Acting roles

Films

Year	Title	Director	Role	Notes
1987	Howl of the Devil	Paul Naschy	Girl	Minor role
1990	Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!	Pedro Almodóvar	Nurse	Minor role
2007	Atasco en la nacional	Josetxo San Mateo	Malena	Supporting role
2008	219	Miguel del Barrio	Confidant	Short film
2009	La Poniponchi, una chica cuasi perfecta	Ivan G. Anderson	Monja	Supporting role
2012	Gente de fiesta	Javier de la Torre	Claudia	Television film
2015	El Anillo	David de la Torre	Leonor	Short film
2016	Relaxing Cup of Coffe	José Semprún	Girl in the swimming pool	Minor role
2017	Cosmética Terror	Fernando Simarro	Cameo	Minor role
	Luces	Alfredo Contreras	Estela	Supporting role

Dramatic TV series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Hostal Royal Manzanares	Nelly	1 episode
1997–1999	Arévalo y cia	Various characters	13 episodes
2000	Paraíso	Marga	1 episode
2006	Con dos tacones	Model	1 episode
2007	C.L.A. No somos ángeles	Malena	1 episode
2010	Sexo en Chueca	Famosa	1 episode
2016	Paquita Salas	Malena Gracia	1 episode
2017	Indetectables	Tatiana	2 episodes

Presenter

• Presentadora de Playboy TV (1998/1999)
• Pase lo que pase on Telemadrid, together with Jordi LP (2000)
• Show store on Canal 7 (2001/2002)
• Ahora o nunca on Cincoshop (2009/2010)
• Llamando se gana on Tienda en Veo (2010)
• Llamando se gana on Canal Club (2011)
• Marca y Gana on Cuatro TV (2011/2012)

Collaborations

• De lo bueno, lo mejor as flight attendant (1995/1996)
• Mamma Mia on Telemadrid as occasional contributor (2000/2002)
• Crónicas Marcianas on Telecinco as occasional contributor (2002/2005)
• TNT on Telecinco as occasional contributor (2005/2006)
• A tu lado on Telecinco as occasional contributor (2007)
• Oh la la as contributor (2007/2008)
• Sálvame Diario on Telecinco as occasional contributor (2009)
• Sálvame Deluxe on Telecinco as occasional contributor (2009)
• Vuélveme loca on LaSiete as reporter (2010)

Specials

• Especial año nuevo 1994 on Telecinco
• Especial navidad 1995 on La 1, together with Lina Morgan
• Viaja con nosotros, together with Javier Gurruchaga (1996)
• Diario de... la cirugía estética, presented by Mercedes Milá (2005)
• 21 Días Cómo convertirse en famoso on Canal Cuatro, with Adela Úcar (2010)
• Sálvame Stars on Telecinco, year-end special presented with Jorge Javier Vázquez (2017–2018)

Contests and reality shows

• Mañana serán estrellas on Telecinco, 2nd place (1993)
• El trampolín, 1st place (1993)
• Nuevos valores, 1st place (1994)
• El Super Trampolín, 1st place (1994)
• Hotel Glam on Telecinco, 3rd finalist (2003)
• Supervivientes on Telecinco, 4th finalist (2010)

Theater

• Theater Company of Ricardo Hurtado (1982/1986)
• Las cartas boca abajo by Miguel Mihura (1988)
• El canto de la cigarra by Alfonso Paso (1989)
• How The Other Half Loves by Alan Ayckbourn (2000)[45]
• La decente by Alfonso Paso (2001/2002)
• Tres mujeres sin punto com (2012)
• Que descanse en paz, pero que lo haga ya (2013)
• Prohibido seducir a los casados (2014)
• Dos en apuros (2015/2016)
• Atraco a las tres by Carlos Pardo García (2016)[46]

Musicals

• Maridos en paro by Zori y Santos (1994)
• Con ellos llegó la risa, together with María Isbert (1996)
• Vaya tela, together with the Calatrava Brothers (1997)
• Loca por ti, show of her own creation (1998)
• Atrévete, show of her own creation (1999/2001)
• Grease Tour, together with others such as singer Rebeca, Mónica Mey, and Sandra Morey (2002/2003)
• Vuelven las corsarias, together with Marlène Mourreau and Rosanna Walls (2005)
• Canción del Olvido (2015)

Other events

• Representative of Spain at the first Playboy Congress of 1999 on the island of Rhodes, Greece
• Performance at Dancing Queen Barcelona 2007
• Proclaimer of the 2007 festivals of Santa Cruz de Retamar (Toledo)
• Gay Pride Day Parade in Madrid almost every year
• Proclaimer of Gay Pride 2008
• Candidate to represent Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest three consecutive years (2008, 2009, 2010)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title
1992	Vete con el Label: Zafiro Records Format: CD Tracks: 10
2000	Atrévete "Suena el teléfono" "Medley 60s & 70s" "Baby (Que derroche)" "Una noche más" "Pa'arriba pa'abajo" "La vida en rosa" "Medley rumba española" "Yo soy malena" "New york, new york" "No llores por mi argentina"
2003	Loca Label: Vale Music Format: CD Tracks: 10 3x platinum: 300,000 copies sold
2004	Bombón latino Label: Vale Music Format: CD Tracks: 3
2011	Soy la mejor Label: P Music and Digimusic Format: CD Tracks: 10

Singles

Year	Title
2003	"Loca"
2004	"Bombón latino" "Yo soy el fuego"
2005	"Infinitamente gay"
2006	"Chica mala" "30 Días"
2007	"Vivo sola" "Peligrosa"
2008	"Un poquito más" "Porteras de discoteca" (with Paco Clavel) "Me levantó la mano" "Miénteme otra vez"
2009	"Remixes 2009" "Besa mi boca" "Quiero volar"
2010	"La vida" "El embrujo"
2011	"Soy la mejor" "Sálvame" (with Johny Demoni)
2013	"Move it" "Miénteme" (with Johny Demoni)
2014	"Sólo una noche más" (feat. Nuno B.I & Ashala)
2015	"Love is in the air" "Estoy bailando" "Despertar" "Raffaella mix"
2016	"Al son del jazz" "Todos me miran" "Quiero ser artista" "Otra vez" "Loca" (dance versión) "No te detengas" (feat. Lexter) "Vete con él" (2016 version)
2017	"Quiero más" "A quién le importa"
2018	"Mira como bailo" (with Reina Saba) "Próximamente nuevos temas"

EPs

Year	Title
1999	Malena
2008	Miénteme otra vez
2010	La vida
2013	Move it
2015	Miénteme Despertar
2016	Otra vez
2018	Mira como bailo (with Reina Saba)

Additional

• B.S.O. Hotel Glam, 2003

References

1. "Una 'sexbomb' en la comarca" [A 'SexBomb' in the Region]. La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 29 December 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
2. "Pablo Carbonell y Anabel Alonso, de vacaciones en un 'Atasco en la nacional'" [Pablo Carbonell and Anabel Alonso, on Vacation in 'Atasco en la nacional']. El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. EFE. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
3. Montijano Ruiz, Juan José (1 March 2016). "El teatro frívolo español en el siglo XXI: De las variedades a los espectáculos 'frívolo-didácticos'" [Frivolous Spanish Theatre in the 21st Century: On the Variety and 'Frivolous-Teaching' Shows]. In Romera Castillo, José (ed.). Teatro y música en los inicios del siglo XXI [Theater and Music at the Beginnings of the 21st Century] (in Spanish). Editorial Verbum. p. 221. ISBN 9788490743126. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
4. "Malena Gracia, desnudo integral en 'Interviú'" [Malena Gracia, Uncut Nude in 'Interviú]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). 5 November 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
5. "Malena Gracia, ex chica Playboy, presenta su disco en 'La Gala'" [Malena Gracia, Ex-Playboy Girl, Presents Her Album on 'La Gala'] (in Spanish). Radio Televisión Canaria. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
6. "Ana Morgade se vuelve 'Loca' imitando a Malena Gracia" [Ana Morgade Becomes 'Crazy' Imitating Malena Gracia] (in Spanish). Antena 3. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
7. Espí, Sergio (31 October 2011). "Malena Gracia, atacada por confesar dos abortos en 'La Caja Deluxe': '¡Tú hijo te importaba una mierda, sólo pensabas en tí'" [Malena Gracia, Attacked for Confessing Two Abortions on 'La Caja Deluxe': 'Your Son Did Not Give a Shit, You Only Thought about Yourself']. Periodista Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
8. "Malena Gracia, arruinada" [Malena Gracia, Ruined]. Intereconomia.com (in Spanish). 26 May 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
9. "Arévalo y cia (Serie de TV)" (in Spanish). Filmaffinity. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
10. Medianoche, Mike (15 October 2015). No me toques los 90 [Hands Off the 90s] (in Spanish). Roca editorial. p. 61. ISBN 9788416306763. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
11. García Orts, Jesús (27 July 2015). Lina Morgan: de Angelines a Excelentísima Señora (in Spanish). Editorial Club Universitario. ISBN 9788416312467. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
12. López Millán, Hilario (1 January 2001). Crónica Rosa de España: De la Collares a Rociito (in Spanish). Planeta. p. 181. ISBN 9788408037880. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
13. "Conozca a los concursantes oficiales de 'Supervivientes'" [Meet the Official Contestants of 'Supervivientes']. El Economista (in Spanish). 19 April 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
14. Barrio, Carlos (1 July 2011). "Malena Gracia". Interviú (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
15. Marco, Francisco (7 January 2014). El método (in Spanish). La Esfera de los Libros. ISBN 9788499709703. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
16. "La revista Dígame es secuestrada judicialmente por publicar un reportaje que demuestra que Malena Gracia ejercía de prostituta" [The Magazine Dígame is Judicially Seized for Publishing a Story that Shows Malena Gracia Worked as Prostitute]. La Hemeroteca del Buitre (in Spanish). 13 November 2000. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
17. Alaska (1 January 2003). Transgresoras [Transgressors] (in Spanish). Ediciones Martínez Roca. p. 272. ISBN 9788427029774. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
18. Piñeiro, Raquel (16 July 2015). "Todos los 'realities' emitidos en España, ordenados de peor a mejor" [All the 'Realities' Broadcast in Spain, Ordered from Worst to Best]. Vanity Fair Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
19. Moral, Selene (11 June 2018). "Las canciones del verano de los años 2000 (de 2000 a 2003)" [The Summer Songs of the 2000s (from 2000 to 2003)] (in Spanish). Los 40. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
20. Troquel, Luis (10 August 2015). "La selva de la canción del verano" [The Jungle of the Summer Song]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
21. Moreno, David (20 June 2015). "Malena Gracia te invita a gozar con un videoclip que está a caballo entre el porno y la vergüenza ajena" [Malena Gracia Invites You to Enjoy a Video that is Halfway Between Porn and the Shame of Others]. 20 minutos Blogs (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
22. "Lab canción del verano" [Summer Song Lab] (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
23. García de Cáceres, Luis (2004). El síndrome del infante de España: el amor mercenario [The Syndrome of the Infant of Spain: Mercenary Love] (in Spanish). Odisea Editorial. p. 143. ISBN 9788495470447. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
24. Izquierdo, José María (11 March 2014). Gürtel: Año V [Gürtel: Year 5] (in Spanish). El País Selección. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
25. Llanos, Héctor; Calderón, Esther L. (10 February 2008). "Estrellas del 'indie' y del pop 'petardo' luchan por participar en Eurovisión" [Stars of 'Indie' and 'Firecracker' Pop Fight to Participate in Eurovision]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. EFE. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
26. Solloso, Jaime (24 January 2008). "Malena Gracia speaks out to oikotimes.com". Oiko Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
27. "(title missing)". Zero (in Spanish). No. 115. 2009. p. 111. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
28. "Malena Gracia, dentro del grupo Maremagnum, presenta La vida a TVE" [Malena Gracia, within the Maremagnum Group, Presents La vida on TVE] (in Spanish). Eurovision Spain. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
29. "Bizarre, Javier Mota, Malena Gracia y Álex Manga también quieren ir a Eurovisión" [Bizarre, Javier Mota, Malena Gracia, and Álex Manga Also Want to Go to Eurovision]. Popelera.net (in Spanish). 12 January 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
30. Veiga, Yolanda (19 January 2010). "Karmele Marchante arrasa en la primeras votaciones para Eurovisión 2010" [Karmele Marchante Sweeps the First Vote for Eurovision 2010]. La Rioja (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
31. Hernández, Nuria (18 January 2010). "Karmele Marchante: 'Malena Gracia no es rival para mí'" [Karmele Marchante: 'Malena Gracia is Not a Rival for Me']. Qué! (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
32. Suárez, Omar (19 May 2016). "Las Gracias de Malena". Sálvame, soy un reportero en apuros: Las peripecias del reportero de los famosos [Save Me, I'm a Reporter in Distress: The Vicissitudes of the Celebrity Reporter] (in Spanish). Penguin Random House. ISBN 9788403515819. Retrieved 23 June 2018 – via Google Books.
33. "Malena Gracia denuncia en Sálvame el posible robo de su hermana tras nacer" [Malena Gracia Denounces on Sálvame the Possible Theft of her Sister After Birth] (in Spanish). Telecinco. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
34. "Malena Gracia revoluciona las redes con su 'nueva' cara y su nuevo disco" [Malena Gracia Revolutionizes the Networks with Her 'New' Face and Her New Album]. Bolsamania (in Spanish). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
35. Domènech, Albert (17 February 2016). "Malena Gracia y Arévalo, ¡pareja bomba!" [Malena Gracia and Arévalo, Bombshell Couple!]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
36. Abril, Víctor (13 December 2015). "El humorista Arévalo, destrozado tras el fallecimiento de su mujer" [The Humorist Arévalo, Destroyed After the Passing of His Wife]. ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
37. "La verdad sobre el inverosímil 'romance sorpresa' entre Malena Gracia y Arévalo" [The Truth About the Implausible 'Surprise Romance' Between Malena Gracia and Arévalo]. ESDiario.com (in Spanish). 10 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
38. Ruiz, Jesús Manuel (17 February 2016). "Las primeras declaraciones de Arévalo tras conocerse su supuesta relación con Malena Gracia" [The First Statements of Arévalo After Learning of His Supposed Relationship with Malena Gracia]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 June 2018.
39. "El supuesto amor entre Arévalo y Malena Gracia triunfa en Twitter" [The Supposed Love Between Arévalo and Malena Gracia Triumphs on Twitter]. HuffPost (in Spanish). 17 February 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
40. "Paco Arévalo y Malena Gracia están juntos" [Paco Arévalo and Malena Gracia are Together]. ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
41. Puerto Rodríguez, Julián (1 March 2016). "Atraco a las tres". El Buzón (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
42. "Atraco a las 3" (in Spanish). Carlos III Royal Theater of Aranjuez. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
43. "El drama de Malena Gracia: 'No pude pagar una corona de flores cuando murió mi madre'" [Malena Gracia's Drama: 'I Could Not Pay for a Wreath When My Mother Died']. Voz Populi (in Spanish). 25 May 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
44. "Malena Gracia atraviesa una dramática situación económica" [Malena Gracia is Going Through a Dramatic Economic Situation]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 26 May 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
45. "Teatro Guía". ABC (in Spanish). 28 January 2000. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
46. "Atraco a las tres". TodoOcio (in Spanish). 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2018.

External links

• Malena Gracia on Facebook
• Malena Gracia at IMDb