View source for Ana Obregón

{{Short description|Spanish actress (born 1955)}}
{{family name hatnote|García|Obregón|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ana Obregón
| image              = Ana G. Obregón.jpg
| alt                =
| caption            =
| birth_name         = Ana Victoria García Obregón
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1955|3|18|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Madrid]], Spain
| death_date         =
| death_place        =
| nationality        = [[Spain|Spanish]]
| death_cause        =
| spouse             =
| children           = 2 (1 son and 1 granddaughter)
| other_names        =
| known_for          =
| alma_mater         = [[Complutense University of Madrid]]
| occupation         = [[Actress]], [[television presenter]], [[socialite]]
| years_active       =
}}
'''Ana Victoria García Obregón''' (born 18 March 1955), better known as '''Ana Obregón''', is a Spanish actress, television presenter, and socialite. Obregón has appeared in European and American films but she is best known for her high-profile personal life and her career as a television presenter –hosting shows such as ''[[¿Qué apostamos?]]''–, and as a television actress –starring in television series such as ''[[Ana y los 7]]'' and ''{{ill|A las once en casa|es}}''–.
==Education==
She obtained a [[Master of Science|master's]] degree in biology, specializing in zoology, from the [[Complutense University of Madrid]] and a [[Master of Business Administration]] in construction and real estate companies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.elmundo.es/f5/comparte/2017/03/08/58c001cbca47417c648b45d1.html|title=Ana Obregón muestra (por fin) su título de Biología en Twitter|newspaper=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]|language=es|date=8 March 2017}}</ref>
==Career==
She made her film debut in 1979 and had an international film career with several films of medium resonance. She is best known to American audiences for her role as [[Bo Derek]]'s sidekick in ''[[Bolero (1984 film)|Bolero]]'' (1984). She also starred in ''[[Jules Verne's Mystery on Monster Island]]'' (1981) and the [[3-D film|3-D]] action adventure film ''[[Treasure of the Four Crowns]]'' (1983) with [[Tony Anthony (actor)|Tony Anthony]]. She also appeared in an episode of ''[[Who's the Boss?]]'' –playing Ana, Tony Micelli's Italian cousin– and in an episode of ''[[The A-Team]]''.<ref name="anita">{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.es/play/television/noticias/abci-programas-y-series-definen-carrera-televisiva-obregon-202005170118_noticia.html|title=Los programas y series que definen la carrera televisiva de Ana Obregón|newspaper=[[ABC (newspaper)|ABC]]|language=es|date=17 May 2020|author=Rus, Óscar}}</ref>
In the mid-1980s she began her career in television in Spain. Between 1993 and 1998 she hosted the prime-time game show ''[[¿Qué apostamos?]]'' along with [[Ramón García (TV host)|Ramón García]] on [[Televisión Española]] (TVE).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5165238/0/asi-era-que-apostamos-concurso-ramon-garcia-ana-obregon-que-contaba-con-famosos-extranjeros-para-sus-pruebas/|title=Así era '¿Qué apostamos?', el concurso de Ramón García y Ana Obregón que contaba con famosos extranjeros para sus pruebas|newspaper=[[20 minutos]]|date=17 August 2023|author=Tapiador, María|language=es}}</ref> The success with this show allowed her to host numerous television galas and special shows from then on. On 14–15 October 1994, she hosted –along with {{ill|Francisco (singer)|es|Francisco (cantante)|lt=Francisco}}– the 23rd edition of the [[OTI Festival]] at [[Teatro Principal de València|Teatro Principal]] in [[Valencia]]. The event was transmitted live to the [[Organización de Telecomunicaciones de Iberoamérica|Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana]] (OTI) member broadcasters via satellite.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/1994/10/17/radiotv/782348401_850215.html|title=Flores, luz, amor... y OTI|newspaper=[[El País]]|language=es|date=17 October 1994}}</ref> She hosted on TVE the broadcast of the New Year's Eve [[Twelve Grapes|clock bell strikes]] live from [[Puerta del Sol]] in Madrid to welcome 1995 –along with [[Joaquín Prat]]–, 1996 –with Ramón García–, 2005 –with Ramón García–, 2021 –with [[Anne Igartiburu]]– and 2023 –with [[Los Morancos]]–.{{efn|She was also going to welcome 2022 with Anne Igartiburu, but she had to be replaced by {{ill|Jacob Petrus|es}} after testing positive for coronavirus.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rtve.es/television/20221227/ana-obregon-todos-vestidos-campanadas-nochevieja/2412999.shtml|title=Todos los vestidos de Ana Obregón en las Campanadas|website=[[RTVE]]|language=es|date=27 December 2022}}</ref> She also hosted that broadcast on [[Antena 3 (Spanish TV channel)|Antena 3]] to welcome 2000 –with Pedro Rollán–.
She made a career as a television actress, participating in series such as ''[[Hostal Royal Manzanares]]'' (1996–1997) and ''{{ill|A las once en casa|es}}'' (1998–1999). In 2002, she created, scripted and starred in the series ''[[Ana y los 7]]''. This series achieved great audience success, adding a total of 91 episodes in five seasons, and had [[remake]]s in Portugal, Mexico, Italy and Chile.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.formulatv.com/noticias/ana-y-los-siete-remakes-internacionales-90413/|title=Los remakes internacionales de 'Ana y los 7': Así era Ana en otros países|website=formulaTV|language=es|date=18 March 2019}}</ref>
She has participated as a contestant in season seven of ''[[Mira quién baila (Spanish TV series)|¡Mira quién baila!]]'', in season four of ''[[MasterChef Celebrity (Spanish TV series)|MasterChef Celebrity]]'' and as a panelists in season three of ''[[Mask Singer: Adivina quién canta]]''.<ref name="anita"/>
==In the gossip press==
A staple of the Spanish ''prensa rosa'' or gossip press, Obregón is also famous in Spain and Britain for a long relationship with [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]] striker [[Davor Šuker]] as well as a supposed liaison with the [[Real Madrid]] and England international [[soccer|football]] player [[David Beckham]]. This led to a spat with Beckham's wife [[Victoria Beckham|Victoria]].<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2005/12/15/beckham-exclusive-posh-off-115875-16486068/ Beckham Exclusive: Posh off!"], ''The Mirror'', 15 December 2005, accessed 29 October 2009.</ref> Obregón later denied any sexual misconduct on her part, but sued instead.<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2005/12/17/actress-s-threat-to-sue-posh-115875-16494576/ "Actress's threat to sue Posh"], ''The Mirror'', 17 December 2005, accessed 29 Oct 2009.</ref>
==Controversies==
Obregón was one of [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s clients at his consulting firm, ''Intercontinental Assets Group Inc.'' (IAG). In 1982 Epstein, then a high-level [[bounty hunter]], helped her to recover her father's millions in lost investments, which had disappeared when Drysdale Government Securities collapsed because of [[fraud]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zOH-CwAAQBAJ |title=Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal that Undid Him, and All the Justice that Money Can Buy: The Shocking True Story of Jeffrey Epstein |last1=Patterson |first1=James |last2=Connolly |first2=John |date=October 10, 2016 |publisher=[[Little, Brown]] |isbn=9780316362450 |chapter=Chapter 26 |pages=320}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.salon.com/2019/07/09/i-was-a-friend-of-jeffrey-epstein-heres-what-i-know/ |title=I was a friend of Jeffrey Epstein; here's what I know |date=July 9, 2019 |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=July 16, 2019 |first=Jesse |last=Kornbluth}}</ref><ref name="USAToday071419">{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/14/jeffrey-epstein-net-worth-is-he-billionaire-or-not/1708479001/ |title=From private island to private jet: What is 'billionaire' Jeffrey Epstein's net worth? |first1=Janna |last1=Herron |first2=Kevin |last2=McCoy |date=July 14, 2019 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |access-date=July 14, 2019 |publisher=[[Gannett]]}}</ref>
Obregón found herself in the midst of controversy in 2007 following information disclosed by ''[[Interviú]]'', and subsequently published by the major newspapers in Spain: according to said media, an ostensibly distraught Obregón allegedly called her [[bodyguard]] Eloy Sánchez Barba in order to ask him to hire third parties to beat up or physically assault journalist [[Jaime Cantizano|Jaime Cantinzano]], in reprisal for what she deemed an unacceptable public exposure of her teenage son. According to these sources of information, she said: "...but I don't want this done by just anyone, I want you to have ''los Miami'' doing this", in reference to a well-known criminal group established mainly in [[Madrid]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.elmundo.es/papel/2009/01/13/madrid/2576710.html |trans-title=The Police have spent 15 years bringing the "Los Miami" structure down |newspaper=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]] |issue=940 |date=January 13, 2009 |access-date=20 October 2019 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828103504/http://www.elmundo.es/papel/2009/01/13/madrid/2576710.html |archive-date=28 August 2009 |first=Pablo |last=Herraiz |publisher=Mundinteractivos, S.A. |title=La Policía lleva 15 años desarticulando a 'Los Miami'|volume=6 }}</ref> Unbeknownst to her and Sánchez Barba, the latter's telephone line had been tapped by the Spanish police in connection to their investigation of a [[contract killing|hit job]] presumably coordinated by Sánchez Barba months before.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.interviu.es/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=39&idioma=CAS&idnoticia_PK=50782&idseccio_PK=547&h |trans-title=Ana Obregón attempts to have Jaime Cantizano beaten up |magazine=[[Interviú]] |title=Ana Obregón ordena dar una paliza a Cantizano |date=26 May 2008 |access-date=20 October 2019 |language=es |first1=Manuel |last1=Marlasca |first2=Luis |last2=Rendueles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022211041/http://www.interviu.es/reportajes/articulos/ana-obregon-ordena-dar-una-paliza-a-cantizano |archive-date=22 October 2011 |publisher=Grupo Zeta}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/382504/0/ |trans-title=Ana Obregón asked her bodyguard to have Cantizano beaten up, according to 'Interviú' |newspaper=[[20 Minutos]] |title=Ana Obregón pidió a su escolta que diera una paliza a Cantizano, según 'Interviú' |date=26 May 2008 |access-date=20 October 2019 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticiascadadia.com/noticia/13181-jaime-cantizano-sabia-que-ana-obregon-queria-darle-una-leccion/ |trans-title=Jaime Cantizano knew Ana Obregón planned on teaching him 'a lesson' |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322155203/http://www.noticiascadadia.com/noticia/13181-jaime-cantizano-sabia-que-ana-obregon-queria-darle-una-leccion/ |archive-date=22 March 2011 |work=Noticias cada día |date=May 27, 2008 |access-date=20 October 2019 |language=es |title=Jaime Cantizano sabía que Ana Obregón quería darle "una lección" |first=Eloy |last=Sánchez Barba}}</ref>
==Personal life==
In 2020, she lost her only son, Alejandro Alfonso (Aless) Lequio, to cancer. In 2021, she also lost her mother to old age. Following the deaths of her mother and son, she exited the entertainment industry.
On 20 March 2023, Obregón became the grandmother of a girl, whom she named Ana Sandra (Analé) Lequio Obregón, by surrogacy. She later revealed that the girl was fathered by her deceased son, who preserved samples of his sperm before beginning cancer treatment, and the ovum of a donor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-04-06 |title=Spanish TV star reveals surrogate baby was conceived using late son's sperm |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/ana-obregon-son-baby-surrogate-b2315204.html |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> Ana Sandra was born at the [[Memorial Regional Hospital (Florida)|Memorial Regional Hospital]] in [[Florida]]. Although surrogacy is illegal in Spain, adopting a child born abroad is lawful.<ref>{{cite news |title=68-year-old actress reveals baby was fathered by dead son |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zopfkaaG0yY |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> In an interview with [[¡Hola!]] magazine in May 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-04 |title=Ana Obregón cumple con la última voluntad de Aless y nos presenta a su nieta, Ana Sandra |url=https://www.hola.com/actualidad/20230404344346/ana-obregon-presenta-ana-sandra-hija-aless-lequio/ |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=HOLA |language=es}}</ref> Obregón referred to Ana Sandra as her "granddaughter".<ref name=":0" />
==Selected filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1980
| ''[[Spoiled Children (1980 film)|Spoiled Children]]''
| Amparito
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Car Crash (film)|Car Crash]]''
| Janice
|
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Jules Verne's Mystery on Monster Island]]''
| Meg Hollaney / Meg Calderón
|
|-
| 1982
| ''{{ill|Regreso del más allá|es}}''
|
|
|-
| 1983
| ''[[Treasure of the Four Crowns]]''
| Liz
|
|-
| 1984
| ''[[Bolero (1984 film)|Bolero]]''
| Catalina
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1987
| ''{{ill|Policía (1987 film)|es|Policía (película de 1987)|lt=Policía}}''
| Luisa
|
|-
| ''[[La vida alegre]]''
| Carolina
|
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Sinatra (1988 film)|Sinatra]]''
| Isabel
|
|-
| 1991
| ''{{ill|¿Lo sabe el ministro?|es}}''
| Marta Figueras
|
|-
| 1998
| ''[[The Naked Eye (1998 film)|The Naked Eye]]''
| Marian
|
|-
| 2011
| ''[[Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis]]''
| Widow
|
|-
| 2016
| ''[[Santiago Apóstol (film)|Santiago Apóstol]]''
| Reina Loba
|
|}
===Television series===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! class="unsortable" | Date
! Title
! Role
! Network
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1986
| ''[[The A-Team]]''
| Marta
| [[NBC]]
| 1 episode
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Who's the Boss?]]''
| Ana
| [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
| 1 episode
|-
| 1996–1997
| ''[[Hostal Royal Manzanares]]''
| Sonsy
| [[Televisión Española]]
| 43 episodes
|-
| 1998
| ''{{ill|Blasco Ibáñez, la novela de su vida|es}}''
| Elena Ortúzar Chita
| Televisión Española
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1998–1999
| ''{{ill|A las once en casa|es}}''
| Paula
| Televisión Española
| 54 episodes
|-
| 2002–2005
| ''[[Ana y los 7]]''
| Ana García Palermo
| Televisión Española
| 92 episodes
|}
===Television shows===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! class="unsortable" | Date
! Title
! Role
! Network
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1991
| ''{{ill|Caliente (Spanish TV series)|es|Caliente (programa de televisión)|lt=Caliente}}''
| Host
| [[Televisión Española]]
| 12 episodes
|-
| 1993–1998
| ''[[¿Qué apostamos?]]''
| Host
| Televisión Española
| 70 episodes
|-
| 2016
| ''{{ill|Algo pasa con Ana|es}}''
| Herself
| [[DKiss|DKISS]]
| 8 episodes
|}
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0643505|name=Ana Obregón}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obregon, Ana}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actresses from Madrid]]
[[Category:Spanish film actresses]]
[[Category:Spanish television presenters]]
[[Category:Complutense University of Madrid alumni]]
[[Category:Spanish television actresses]]
[[Category:OTI Festival presenters]]
[[Category:Spanish women television presenters]]
[[Category:Spanish socialites]]