# Esmeralda Pimentel
**Esmeralda Pimentel** (full name María Esmeralda Pimentel Murguía) is a Mexican actress and producer, born 1989, best known for leading Televisa telenovelas such as *El color de la pasión*, *La vecina* and *Enamorándome de Ramón*, and since 2023 she has also worked as a co-founder of the production company Ellas Cuatro, and for streaming and Spanish-market productions including *Montecristo* (2023) and *Casi el Paraíso* (2024)[1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [2](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html) • [3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024). She entered the profession through the Nuestra Belleza México pageant and Televisa's Centro de Educación Artística (CEA)[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [2](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth date | María Esmeralda Pimentel Murguía, 1989[1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia) |
| Birthplace | Sources disagree: El Bronx, New York, to a Dominican father and Mexican mother, raised in Jalisco (INDEX), or Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco (Televisa, Glamour)[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia) |
| Career start | Nuestra Belleza México 2007 finalist for Jalisco, two years at Televisa's CEA, cast by producer Pedro Damián as Ada in *Verano de amor* (2009)[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [6](https://as.com/tikitakas/quien-es-esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-visita-la-resistencia-de-david-broncano-n/) |
| First lead role | Lucía Gaxiola Murillo in *El color de la pasión* (2014), 118 episodes[1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/) |
| Awards | Premio Bravo for best debut actress (*Abismo de pasión*); TVyNovelas nominations including Best Lead Actress for *El color de la pasión*[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/mx/person/esmeralda-pimentel/umc.cpc.156c5260q48r4d9kuml21bsak) |
| Producing | Co-founder of Ellas Cuatro with Ela Velden, Gabriela Marcos Payton and Frida Astrid; first project *Señoras* acquired by Sony Pictures TV Latin America[2](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html) |
| Volume of work | More than 25 projects across theater, film and television as of August 2024[3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024) |
## Early life and background
Televisa's Canal 5 profile and Glamour México both record her full name as María Esmeralda Pimentel Murguía and her birth date as 1989[1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia). Her parentage is consistent across sources: a Mexican mother and a Dominican father, and Glamour describes her as an only child[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia).
**Birthplace records conflict.** The Instituto de Dominicanos y Dominicanas en el Exterior (INDEX), a Dominican government institute, records her as born in El Bronx, New York, and raised in Jalisco[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/). Televisa, Glamour México and Infobae instead give Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco[1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia) • [9](https://www.infobae.com/entretenimiento/2025/03/27/esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-brilla-en-el-cine-espanol-y-sostiene-el-activismo-me-conmueve-la-lucha-por-la-infancia-y-la-mujer/), and IMDb's biographical line reads Jalisco, México[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/).
## Career beginnings: pageant and CEA
Her entry into acting ran through a pageant she did not seek out. In a 2024 Vogue México cover interview she recalled that her best friend enrolled her in Nuestra Belleza and her mother took her to the audition[3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024). Competing as Jalisco's representative in the 2007 edition, she placed among the finalists; INDEX calls her third finalist, while Apple TV's biography calls her second runner-up, two descriptions of the same placement[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/mx/person/esmeralda-pimentel/umc.cpc.156c5260q48r4d9kuml21bsak). The finalist result opened the door to Televisa's Centro de Educación Artística, where she trained for two years[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [6](https://as.com/tikitakas/quien-es-esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-visita-la-resistencia-de-david-broncano-n/).
Producer Pedro Damián then cast her in the telenovela *Verano de amor* (2009), in which she played Ada[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos). IMDb credits her with 120 episodes as Adalberta Clavería, and Vogue notes the cast also included [Dulce María](https://www.edgepedia.org/dulce-maria) and [Karla Souza](https://www.edgepedia.org/karla-souza)[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/) • [3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024).
## Television career
In 2012 she signed her first exclusivity contract with Televisa, an arrangement she later described as lasting roughly six years, between 2012 and 2018[2](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html) • [6](https://as.com/tikitakas/quien-es-esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-visita-la-resistencia-de-david-broncano-n/). The contract years covered a run of melodramas: *Abismo de pasión* (2012), produced by Angelli Nesma and starring [Angelique Boyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/angelique-boyer) and [David Zepeda](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-zepeda), a role that earned her a Premio Bravo for best debut actress; *Cachito de cielo* (2012, 102 episodes as Mara); *De que te quiero, te quiero* (2013); her first lead, Lucía Gaxiola Murillo in *El color de la pasión* (2014, 118 episodes); *La vecina* (2015–2016, 177 episodes as Sara); and *Enamorándome de Ramón* (2017, 117 episodes as Fabiola)[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/mx/person/esmeralda-pimentel/umc.cpc.156c5260q48r4d9kuml21bsak) • [1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos).
Her Televisa run closed with *La bella y las bestias* (2018), in which she played Isabela León, a high-school student seeking to avenge her parents' death; IMDb counts 66 episodes for the role[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/) • [1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos). Glamour México also lists earlier 2013 credits, *Gossip Girl Acapulco* and the film *Cásate conmigo, mi amor*, and theater work including *Palomita Pop*, *Cuatro X* and *La Dalia Negra*[5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia).
## Film, streaming and international work
After her Televisa exclusivity ended, her credits shifted toward streaming and international productions. IMDb lists Verónica de Velasco Rivera in *El Candidato* (2020, 9 episodes), Nurse Ana Morales in the American series *The Good Doctor* (2021, 2 episodes), 39 episodes of *[High Heat](https://www.edgepedia.org/high-heat)* (also titled *Donde Hubo Fuego*) (2022)[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia).
Her 2023 return to the small screen was a co-leading role as Haydée Hernández in *Montecristo*, a modern adaptation of Dumas's novel opposite [William Levy](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-levy-actor), released on Vix+ in Mexico and Movistar+ in Spain[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/) • [2](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html). Film work spans both markets: *Cuando los Hijos Regresan* on the Mexican side, and a growing Spanish profile that Infobae described in March 2025 as making her one of the emerging figures of Iberian audiovisual production[1](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos) • [9](https://www.infobae.com/entretenimiento/2025/03/27/esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-brilla-en-el-cine-espanol-y-sostiene-el-activismo-me-conmueve-la-lucha-por-la-infancia-y-la-mujer/).
## Producing and recent projects (2023–2025)
She co-founded the production company Ellas Cuatro with actresses and producers Ela Velden, Gabriela Marcos Payton and Frida Astrid; its first project, *Señoras*, was acquired by Sony Pictures TV Latin America for development[2](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html).
Her 2024 slate was dense. Vogue announced her starring role as Frida Becker in *Casi el Paraíso*, a film adaptation of Luis Spota's novel, premiering 12 September 2024; Glamour México dates the same film as 2025, a discrepancy in release dating between the two outlets[3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024) • [5](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia). IMDb lists her as Frida Becker/Concha with an associate producer credit on the film (listed there as *Almost Paradise*), Mariana in *Heartless* (8 episodes), and [Jessica Ramos](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-ramos) in *Un Buen Divorcio* (9 episodes), all 2024[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/). Vogue also announced *Todo lo que fuimos*, a drama-romance series in which she co-stars with Fátima Molina as a mother who reunites with the woman who was the love of her life in childhood[3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024).
As of August 2024, she was TOUS Atelier's ambassador in Mexico and sustains activism focused on childhood and women's causes, telling Infobae, "Me conmueve la lucha por la infancia y la mujer"[3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024) • [9](https://www.infobae.com/entretenimiento/2025/03/27/esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-brilla-en-el-cine-espanol-y-sostiene-el-activismo-me-conmueve-la-lucha-por-la-infancia-y-la-mujer/).
## By the numbers
IMDb's episode counts give a quantified picture of her screen workload: 120 episodes in *Verano de amor* (2009), 102 in *Cachito de cielo* (2012), 118 in *El color de la pasión* (2014), 177 in *La vecina* (2015–2016), 117 in *Enamorándome de Ramón* (2017), 66 in *La bella y las bestias* (2018), 39 in *High Heat* (2022) and 6 in *Montecristo* (2023)[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/). Those figures show the structural difference between the two halves of her career: the Televisa telenovelas with recorded episode counts ran to more than a hundred episodes each, while the streaming-era roles, with the exception of *High Heat*, count in single or double digits[7](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/). Vogue counted more than 25 projects across theater, film and television as of August 2024, fifteen years after her 2009 debut[3](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024).
## Recognition
*Abismo de pasión* earned her the Premio Bravo for best debut actress, and a TVyNovelas nomination for Best Female Revelation[4](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/) • [8](https://tv.apple.com/mx/person/esmeralda-pimentel/umc.cpc.156c5260q48r4d9kuml21bsak). Apple TV's biography lists further TVyNovelas nominations: Best Young Lead Actress for *Cachito de cielo* (2012), Best Female Antagonist for *De que te quiero, te quiero* (2013), and Best Lead Actress for *El color de la pasión* (2014)[8](https://tv.apple.com/mx/person/esmeralda-pimentel/umc.cpc.156c5260q48r4d9kuml21bsak).
## References
1. [Conoce a Esmeralda Pimentel en 5 datos, Canal 5, Televisa](https://www.televisa.com/canal5/multimedia-canal5-labellaylasbestias/conoce-a-esmeralda-pimentel-en-5-datos)
2. [Esmeralda Pimentel: "En Televisa me decían que a mis 35 años iba a caducar como actriz", El País México, 22 April 2023](https://elpais.com/mexico/2023-04-22/esmeralda-pimentel-en-televisa-me-decian-que-a-mis-35-anos-iba-a-caducar-como-actriz.html)
3. [Esmeralda Pimentel, entrevista en la portada de Vogue, Vogue México, August 2024](https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/esmeralda-pimentel-portada-vogue-agosto-2024)
4. [Esmeralda Pimentel, INDEX, Instituto de Dominicanos y Dominicanas en el Exterior](https://index.gob.do/esmeralda-pimentel/)
5. [Esmeralda Pimentel: talento y corazón multifacéticos que inspiran, Glamour México](https://www.glamour.mx/articulos/esmeralda-pimentel-quien-es-biografia)
6. [Quién es Esmeralda Pimentel, la actriz que visita 'La Resistencia' de David Broncano, AS.com](https://as.com/tikitakas/quien-es-esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-visita-la-resistencia-de-david-broncano-n/)
7. [Esmeralda Pimentel, IMDb Pro filmography](https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm3299693/)
8. [Esmeralda Pimentel, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/mx/person/esmeralda-pimentel/umc.cpc.156c5260q48r4d9kuml21bsak)
9. [Esmeralda Pimentel, la actriz que brilla en el cine español y sostiene el activismo, Infobae, 27 March 2025](https://www.infobae.com/entretenimiento/2025/03/27/esmeralda-pimentel-la-actriz-que-brilla-en-el-cine-espanol-y-sostiene-el-activismo-me-conmueve-la-lucha-por-la-infancia-y-la-mujer/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of Latin America and Iberia › Mexican screen actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license