# Helena Rojo

María Elena Enríquez Ruiz (18 Aug 1944 - 3 Feb 2024), known as Helena Rojo, was a Mexican actress and model.

## Biography

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, she began her career as a model in 1961. Toward the end of the decade, she studied drama with renowned Mexican directors Carlos Ancira and José Luis Ibáñez, making her film debut in 1968 in the film El Club de los suicidas. That same year, Rojo appeared in her second film, Los Amigos. She continued working as a model and appearing in small film roles in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In 1969, she signed an exclusivity contract with Productora Cinematográfica Marte. Later, she began expanding her acting career into television and theater. In 1974, her first television role was the lead in the telenovela Extraño en su pueblo.
Rojo's cinematic career led her to work with the most important Mexican film directors of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Felipe Cazals, Arturo Ripstein, Rafael Corkidi, Alberto Bojórquez, Marcela Fernández Violante, and Jorge Fons.
Rojo worked with international talents, such as German director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski, with a role in the film Aguirre, the Wrath of God. She also appeared in the film Foxtrot (1976), directed by Arturo Ripstein, alongside actors Charlotte Rampling, Peter O'Toole, and Max von Sydow.
In 2006, she appeared in the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, playing a mother who tries to steer her son away from the stepmother who has eyes for him in a "faux" telenovela watched on TV by the main character's family.
Rojo died after a battle with cancer on 3 February 2024, at the age of 79.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Character | Note |
| 1968 | Los amigos | | Film |
| 1970 | Las bestias jóvenes | | Film |
| 1970 | El club de los suicidas | | Film |
| 1970 | Cruz de amor | Vicky | Film |
| 1971 | Siempre hay una primera vez | Isabel | Film |
| 1971 | Eye for an Eye | Rina Pittman | Film |
| 1971 | Una vez, un hombre... | Susana | Film |
| 1972 | End of the Party | Elena | Film |
| 1972 | Victoria | | Film |
| 1972 | Queen Doll | Carmen | Film |
| 1972 | Indio | | Film |
| 1972 | Mirage | | Film |
| 1972 | Angels and Cherubs | Angela | Film |
| 1972 | El payo - un hombre contra el mundo! | Lupe | Film |
| 1972 | Aguirre, the Wrath of God | Inez | Film |
| 1973 | The Cubs | Tere | Film |
| 1973 | Aquellos años | Carlota | Film |
| 1973 | Los Perros de Dios | Laura | Film |
| 1975 | Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary | Greta | Film |
| 1975 | The House in the South | Elena | Film |
| 1975 | Darker Than Night | Pilar | Film |
| 1976 | The Great Adventure of Zorro | Helena | Film |
| 1976 | The Far Side of Paradise | Alexandra | Film |
| 1978 | The Children of Sanchez | | Film |
| 1979 | Crónica íntima | | Film |
| 1980 | La Sucesion | Mariana | Film |
| 1980 | Misterio | Silvia | Film |
| 1981 | Noche de juerga | Dolores | Film |
| 1982 | En el país de los pies ligeros | | Film |
| 1983 | Pajaros de ciudad | | Film |
| 1988 | Don't Panic/Dimensiones ocultas | Mrs. Smith | Film |
| 1988 | Reto a la vida | Elena | Film |
| 1988 | Lovers, partners & Spies | Duchess | Film |
| 1990 | El motel de la muerte | | Film |
| 1992 | Muerte ciega | Alisa | Film |
| 1992 | Una Luz en la escalera | Adriana Bernal | Film |
| 1992 | Los Años de Greta | Nora | Film |
| 1992 | Mas alla del deseo | Josefa | Film |
| 1993 | Guerrero negro | Eva | Film |
| 1994 | Una luz en la escalera | Adriana | Film |
| 1994 | Luces de la noche | Tina | Film |
| 2008 | Amor letra por letra | Fabiola | Film |
| 2009 | Borderline | Shanti | Film |
| 2010 | Catarsis | La madre | Film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Character | Note |
| 1974 | Extraño en su pueblo | Isaura | Main role |
| 1976 | Mañana será otro dia | Paola | Supporting role |
| 1977 | La venganza | María Olivares/Alejandra Balmaseda | Lead role |
| 1978 | La hora del silencio | Bárbara | Main role |
| 1981–1982 | Extraños caminos del amor | Isabela | Main role |
| 1984–1985 | La traición | Antonia Guerra | Main role |
| 1992 | Las secretas intenciones | Antonieta Alcantara | Main cast |
| 1995–1996 | Retrato de familia | Cecilia Mariscal | Main role |
| 1997 | Gente bien | Rebeca Balmori | Main cast |
| 1998–1999 | El privilegio de amar | Luciana Duval | Main role |
| 2000 | Ramona | Doña Ramona Gonzaga Viuda de Moreno | Main cast |
| 2000 | Abrázame muy fuerte | Damiana / Juliana Guillen | Main cast |
| 2003 | Amor real | Doña Augusta Curiel de Penalver y Beristain | Main cast |
| 2004–2005 | Inocente de ti | Rebeca/Raquel Linares Robles | Main cast |
| 2005–2006 | Peregrina | Sabina | Supporting role |
| 2006–2007 | Mundo de Fieras | Miriam de Rivas del Castillo | Main role |
| 2007 | Amor sin maquillaje | Inés Rivera | Supporting role |
| 2008–2009 | Cuidado con el ángel | Cecilia de Velarde | Main cast |
| 2009–2010 | Corazón salvaje | Leonarda Montes de Oca de Vidal | Main cast |
| 2010–2011 | Triunfo del amor | Herself | Guest star |
| 2010 | Locas de amor | Norma | |
| 2012 | Por Ella Soy Eva | Eugenia Mistral de Caballero | Main cast |
| 2014 | The Color of Passion | Milagros Fuentes de Escalante | Main cast |
| 2016 | Corazón que miente | Sara Sáenz Vda. de Castellanos | Main cast |
| 2016–2017 | La candidata | Natalia de San Román | Main cast |
| 2017 | El vuelo de la victoria | Maria Isabel Viuda de la Peña | Recurring role |
| 2019 | Por amar sin ley | Lucia Carvajal | Guest star (season 2) |
| 2019 | El corazón nunca se equivoca | Dora Ortega Fabela | Main cast |
| 2021 | Te acuerdas de mí | Alicia Limantour | Guest star |
| 2022 | Esta historia me suena | Emma | Episode: "Torero" |
| 2022 | María Félix: La Doña | Señora Russek | |
| 2023 | Amores que engañan | Lorena | Episode: "El preferido de mamá" |
| 2023 | Vencer la culpa | Ángeles Román | Main cast |
| 2024 | El Conde: Amor y honor | Guadalupe de Gaitán | Guest star (Filmed in 2022) |

## Theater performances

* Mujeres de Ceniza (Women of ashes)
* Dios mio hazme viuda por favor (God please make me a widow)
* Las muchachas del club (The Club Girls)
* Cuentas muertas (Dead accounts)
* El cartero (The Mailman)
* Bajo cero (Below zero)
* 10, el marido perfecto (10, The Perfect Husband)
* Lecciones para casadas (Lectures for Married Women)
* Se infiel y no mires con quien (Be Unfaithful with Whomever)
* Cena de Matrimonios (Dinner with Married Couples)
* Me enamoré de una bruja (I fell in love with a Witch)
* La mujer del pelo rojo (The Redheaded Woman)
* Pecado en la isla de las cabras (Sin on the Isle of Goats)
* La Ronda de las Arpías (Song of the Harpies)
* Una oferta inmoral (Indecent Proposal)
* Yo miento, tú mientes, todos mentimos (I Lie, You Lie, We All Lie)

## Ariel Awards

* Won – 1972 Best Supporting Actress Ariel Award from the Mexican Academy of Film, for her role in Fin de Fiesta
* Nominated – 1973 Best Actress Ariel Award from the Mexican Academy of Film, for her role in Los Cachorros
* Won – 1981 Best Actress Ariel Award from the Mexican Academy of Film, for her role in Misterio
* Nominated – 1992 Best Actress Ariel Award from the Mexican Academy of Film, for her role in Muerte Ciega

## TVyNovelas Awards

* Nominated 1985 – Best Leading Actress – La Traición
* Nominated 1996 – Best Leading Actress – Retrato de Familia
* Won 1999 – Best Leading Actress – El privilegio de Amar
* Won 2001 – Best Senior Actress – Abrázame muy Fuerte
* Won 2005 – Best Antagonistic Actress – Inocente de Ti
* Nominated 2006 – Best Senior Actress – Peregrina
* Won 2007 – Best Senior Actress – Mundo de Fieras
* Won 2009 – Best Senior Actress – Cuidado con el ángel
* Nominated 2010 – Best Senior Actress – Corazón Salvaje
* Nominated 2013 – Best Senior Actress – Por ella soy Eva
* Nominated 2015 – Best Senior Actress – El Color de la Pasión
* Won 2017 – Best Senior Actress – La Candidata