# María Adelaida Puerta
**María Adelaida Puerta** is a Colombian actress best known as the first performer of Catalina Santana, the lead role in the Caracol Televisión series *Sin tetas no hay paraíso* (2006), and for playing "La Perrys" in the crime series *El Capo*. Her full name is María Adelaida Puerta Restrepo.[1](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Maria_Adelaida_Puerta) • [2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452) IMDb records her birth date as 1982, in Medellín, Colombia.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1690463/bio/) A biographical site gives a different date, November 11, 1982,[1](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Maria_Adelaida_Puerta) and her talent-agency profile lists Cali as her city of birth,[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) so the basic biographical records disagree on both points. Multiple other sources, including her own account to *El Colombiano*, identify her as paisa (person from Colombia's Antioquia/Medellín region) and as born in Medellín.[5](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-vuelve-con-la-perris-a-el-capo-OG20154758)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | María Adelaida Puerta Restrepo[1](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Maria_Adelaida_Puerta) |
| Born | 1982, Medellín (per IMDb); a biographical site gives 1982[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1690463/bio/) • [1](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Maria_Adelaida_Puerta) |
| Breakthrough role | Catalina Santana, the first actress in the part, *Sin tetas no hay paraíso* (Caracol, 2006)[2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452) |
| Awards | Premio India Catalina, Actriz Revelación 2007; India Catalina Antagonista 2010 and Premio TV y Novelas Villana Favorita 2010, both for La Perrys in *El Capo*[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) |
| Signature characters | Catalina (prostitution), La Perrys (hitman's world), Alicia Benítez in *La Mariposa*[2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452) • [4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) |
| Training | Teatro Libre de Bogotá (1998–2000); La Casa del Teatro Nacional (2001–2002); Suzuki and Viewpoints with the SITI Company (2006)[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) |
| Recent work | Klass 95 (2023), *El Capo* season 4 for Paramount+ (2022–2023), *100 años de Soledad* as Amaranta Buendía (Dynamo, 2024)[5](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-vuelve-con-la-perris-a-el-capo-OG20154758) • [4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) |
## Breakthrough: Catalina Santana
*Sin tetas no hay paraíso* was a Caracol Televisión series that premiered in 2006 and portrayed the realities of young women living in areas under the influence of drug trafficking; it dealt openly with prostitution, violence, and the pursuit of easy money.[2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452) • [6](https://www.elespectador.com/revista-vea/famosos/que-paso-con-maria-adelaida-puerta-protagonista-de-sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso/) Puerta was the first actress to play Catalina, a young woman determined to enlarge her breasts regardless of what she had to do.[2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452)
The series became a social phenomenon. During its three-month run it averaged 35.4 rating points in households and 14.9 points among persons, and its final episode, broadcast on October 13, 2006, registered 42.5 household points.[7](https://www.tropicanafm.com/2025/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-19-anos-de-la-famosa-serie-que-marco-la-television-colombiana-452397.html) Puerta has said the role opened many doors and brought her recognition, particularly in Mexico, and she won the Premio India Catalina as revelation actress of 2007 for it.[2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452) • [4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) Before the series she had already appeared in RCN telenovelas including *Francisco, el matemático* (2001), *Ecomoda* (2002), and *Todos quieren con Marilyn* (2005), but this role consolidated her career.[2](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452) • [4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) In interviews she framed the series' core subject as easy money and the conversion of women into sexual merchandise, not the cosmetic surgery itself.[8](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/historico/r_nueva_portada_oct7_2006-AVEC_AO_4166302)
## El Capo, La Mariposa, and typecasting
In 2009 she played "La Perrys," the antagonist of *El Capo* for Fox-Telecolombia, a role she credits with national and international projection, and she won the India Catalina for best antagonist and the TV y Novelas favorite villain award for it in 2010.[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) • [5](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-vuelve-con-la-perris-a-el-capo-OG20154758) In 2011 she was the protagonist of *La Mariposa* as Alicia Benítez, a sophisticated woman laundering money while pursued by the DEA.[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) • [9](https://wwwgcp.clarin.com/espectaculos/Maria-Adelaida-Puerta_0_HyCbrStTD7l.html)
After *La Mariposa* she stopped appearing in Colombian national television productions. She explained the reason directly: she kept being offered roles tied to drug trafficking, and having played a prostitute, a hitwoman, and a money launderer, she considered her trilogy with those characters complete.[6](https://www.elespectador.com/revista-vea/famosos/que-paso-con-maria-adelaida-puerta-protagonista-de-sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso/) She has also described the cost of the sudden fame after Catalina, including a period of intimidation and a paranoia episode caused by public attention that led her to shut herself in at home.[10](https://www.elpais.com.co/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-habla-con-el-pais-sobre-su-vida-y-su-trabajo.html)
## Mexico years and return
Puerta moved to Mexico in search of work, staying about seven years, and worked there in television and theater while also teaching yoga and sound healing.[5](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-vuelve-con-la-perris-a-el-capo-OG20154758) Her Mexican credits include *Guerra de ídolos* ([Telemundo](https://www.edgepedia.org/telemundo), 2017), *La hija pródiga* (Azteca Uno, 2017–2018), and *La Viuda Negra II* (RTI).[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) She returned to Colombia in early 2023 to film the fourth season of *El Capo*, this time for the streaming platform Paramount+, and said she was settling back in the country.[5](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-vuelve-con-la-perris-a-el-capo-OG20154758)
## Recent work and other activities
Her subsequent credits include *Klass 95* (Caracol, 2023), *A grito herido* (Caracol–Amazon, 2022), and the role of Amaranta Buendía in *100 años de Soledad* (Dynamo, 2024).[4](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/) In 2022 she served as a judge for the Redvolucionarias TIC category of the SmartFilms festival, a Ministry of ICT category for short films made with cell phones by Colombian women.[11](https://mintic.gov.co/chicassteam/801/w3-article-238147.html) She has spoken about the series' social meaning, saying that art builds memory and that recounting these stories helps prevent their repetition.[11](https://mintic.gov.co/chicassteam/801/w3-article-238147.html)
## References
1. [María Adelaida Puerta – Mexpedia](https://mexpedia.org/index.php/Maria_Adelaida_Puerta)
2. ['Sin tetas no hay paraíso': esto hace hoy en día María Adelaida Puerta, EL TIEMPO](https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-que-fue-de-la-vida-de-la-primera-protagonista-674452)
3. [Maria Adelaida Puerta – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1690463/bio/)
4. [Maria Adelaida Puerta – Diana Camacho Artistas (SITCO)](https://sitcoartistas.com/portfolio-items/maria-adelaida-puerta/)
5. [María Adelaida Puerta regresa a El Capo, ¿vuelve La Perris?, EL COLOMBIANO](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-vuelve-con-la-perris-a-el-capo-OG20154758)
6. [¿Qué pasó con María Adelaida Puerta, protagonista de 'Sin tetas no hay paraiso'?, El Espectador](https://www.elespectador.com/revista-vea/famosos/que-paso-con-maria-adelaida-puerta-protagonista-de-sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso/)
7. ['Sin tetas no hay paraíso', 19 años de la famosa serie, Tropicana FM](https://www.tropicanafm.com/2025/sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-19-anos-de-la-famosa-serie-que-marco-la-television-colombiana-452397.html)
8. [María Adelaida Puerta, ¡sin mentiras!, EL COLOMBIANO](https://www.elcolombiano.com/amp/historico/r_nueva_portada_oct7_2006-AVEC_AO_4166302)
9. [María Adelaida Puerta, Clarín](https://wwwgcp.clarin.com/espectaculos/Maria-Adelaida-Puerta_0_HyCbrStTD7l.html)
10. [María Adelaida Puerta habla con El País sobre su vida y su trabajo, EL PAÍS Colombia](https://www.elpais.com.co/entretenimiento/maria-adelaida-puerta-habla-con-el-pais-sobre-su-vida-y-su-trabajo.html)
11. ['La tecnología da dignidad a las mujeres': María Adelaida Puerta, jurada de Redvolucionarias TIC, MinTIC](https://mintic.gov.co/chicassteam/801/w3-article-238147.html)
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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 › Colombian, Andean, and Central American actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 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