Francisca Lewin

María Francisca Lewin Castellano (born 26 September 1980) is a Chilean film, theater, and television actress.

Early life and education
Francisca Lewin was born in Santiago in 1980, the daughter of Ángela Castellano, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University's School of Nursing. She is the distant cousin of actress Blanca Lewin.

She studied acting at the Theater School of the Pontifical Catholic University, graduating in October 2002, with the production Hombre pobre todo es trazas by Pedro Calderón de la Barca.

Television and film career
A year after graduating, Lewin landed a leading role in the TVN youth telenovela titled 16 (TV series). She later appeared in its sequel, 17 (TV series).

In 2005, she joined TVN, to play Doménica Capo in the Italian immigrant television series Los Capo. For this performance, she received the APES Awards for Best Supporting Actress.

Also that year, she acted in the Alberto Fuguet film Se arrienda, alongside Luciano Cruz-Coke. The film premiered in October 2005 at the Valdivia International Film Festival. In an interview on the Canal 13 morning show Viva la mañana, in its entertainment segment, Alfombra roja, Lewin said:

"The first time I saw the complete film was in Valdivia, but I only dedicated myself to analyzing it. The second time was different and I enjoyed it. I followed the story of Luciano, everything that happened to him, and I liked it a lot."

She established herself in soap operas in 2006, playing the ambitious Andrea Riquelme in the successful Cómplices (Chilean telenovela), a role that took Lewin out of her previous roles as a "tender" girl.



In 2007, she appeared in three television projects on the state channel. Corazón de María (telenovela) is a telenovela in which Lewin plays a young transplanted woman, Elisa, who has a complicated family history. Mi primera vez (TV series) is an anthology series that revolves around the loss of virginity of its protagonists. In it, Francisca appears in the chapter "Gonzalo", where the protagonist, played by Matías Oviedo, is a virgin schoolboy who tries to persuade his girlfriend (Lewin), also a virgin, to have sex. Finally, she appeared in the sitcom Hotel para dos, directed by Nicolás Acuña, where she plays a teenager who inherits a hotel, along with her mother, her stepsister, and the latter's mother.

In 2008, she joined the cast of the telenovela Viuda Alegre, where she played the role of Javiera Balmaceda/Sabina Díaz.

On 18 June 2009, the film Teresa (2009 film), starring Lewin and directed by Tatiana Gaviola, was released in theaters.

In the same year, Francisca starred with Álvaro Rudolphy in the nightly television series Conde Vrolok, playing Emilia Verdugo.

In 2010, she starred in La familia de al lado, a production in which she portrays Carola Fabres, the black sheep of the Fabres family and lives in the shadow of her older sister, Ignacia. "The parents do not treat Carola well, not like Ignacia, who has always been her favorite. That is why she rebels and takes refuge in alcohol and drugs," Lewin explained.

In 2011, she dedicated herself fully to theater in the Guillermo Calderón play Villa+Discurso, and in 2012 she appeared in the feature film Educación física with Pablo Cerda.

In 2014, Lewin continued her professional rise with Las 2 Carolinas, directed by Vicente Sabatini. She played Carolina Salazar, the innocent young woman who arrives in Las Condes to work as a personal assistant to the voracious and ruthless owner of a fashion store.

Advertising
During 2006, Lewin ventured into advertising, becoming one of the main faces of the Ripley department store.

In 2007, she was hired by Ingesa S.A. to be the face of Skechers sneakers, a position previously held by actress Carolina Varleta. The manager of Ingesa commented that Lewin was chosen because she is "talented, charismatic, and arouses great sympathy among the youth. She is close to the people, simple, and far from show business."

Personal life
In May 2016, Lewin voiced her support for the Democratic Revolution party.

In March 2018, she announced that she was having her first child with her partner, the actor and dramatist Guillermo Calderón.