Global InformationVirginia Vallejo information
Virginia Vallejo | |
|---|---|
 Vallejo in 1987 | |
| Born | Virginia Vallejo García 26 August 1949 Cartago, Cauca Valley, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouses | Fernando Borrero
(m. 1969; div. 1971)David Stivel
(m. 1978; div. 1981) |
| Parent(s) | Juan Vallejo Jaramillo Mary García Rivera |
| Relatives | Jaime Jaramillo (granduncle) |
| Website | virginiavallejo |
Virginia Vallejo García (born 26 August 1949) is a Colombian author, journalist, television and radio director, anchorwoman,[1] model, columnist, socialite, and political asylee in the United States of America.
She is one of the most relevant media personalities of her native country, known for her interviews of presidents, politicians, international celebrities, musicians, authors and scientists.[2] She has been international editor of television newscasts and also anchorwoman, when she won twice the prize as the best anchorperson of Colombia.[3] Her programs for TV Impacto, her own company, obtained the highest ratings compared to her competition.[4] She was image and model of Di Lido pantyhose, with commercials made in Venice, Rio de Janeiro, San Juan, Bogotá and Cartagena de Indias.[5] She has been invited by foreign governments, like Israel and Taiwan, to cover historical events.[3] Virginia was the only Colombian journalist in charge of the radio transmission of the “Wedding of the century” of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles and Diana, in London in 1981,[6] and the first journalist to interview Pablo Escobar in 1983, when he was only a rookie politician.[7] She made other many type of television programs, like musical shows with the most famous singers and orchestras of her time.[8] Due to her voice, education, beauty and elegance, Vallejo has become an icon of the Colombian media, and thanks to her unique story, a contemporary legend.[9] She is now a bestseller author, translated to many languages.[10]
On 18 July 2006, the DEA took her out of Colombia in a special flight to save her life and cooperate with the Department of Justice in high-profile cases, after she had signaled several Colombian presidents and politicians as beneficiaries or accomplices of the leading cocaine cartels.[11][12]
In 2007, she published her first book, Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar, which led the Colombian Supreme Court to reopen the cases of the Palace of Justice siege in 1985, and the assassination of the presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán in 1989.[13] The book was translated to fifteen languages and made into a movie in 2018, with the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz in the role of the journalist.[10][14]
Since 2006, Virginia Vallejo lives in Miami, Florida.[15] In 2009, she became a columnist of a Venezuelan opposition newspaper, and, in 2019, television journalist for the international channel Actualidad RT.[16] In January 2024, she announced the upcoming release of her first novel of a trilogy, a saga inspired in the recent history of Colombia and her personal life.[17][18]
- ^ Virginia Vallejo, anchorwoman 1994 on YouTube
- ^ Interviews by Virginia in 90’s Video on YouTube
- ^ a b "Biography of Virginia Vallejo". Virginia Vallejo, Official Website. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Julio César, Gómez-Romero (23 November 2015). "Historia de la programadora TV Impacto" [History of the company "TV Impacto"] (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ Virginia in Cartagena de Indias to Di Lido Video on YouTube
- ^ Virginia Vallejo (29 July 1981). "Broadcasting the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, 1981". Caracol Radio (Podcast). Voces Caracol. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
- ^ "Interview of Pablo Escobar by Virginia Vallejo". Al Ataque. January 1983. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "El Show de Las Estrellas" [Virginia Vallejo presenta El Show de las Estrellas] (in Spanish). 1984. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2017 – via YouTube.
- ^ León Giraldo, Diego; Estupiñan, Cristina (3 June 2014). "Virginia Vallejo: 'Voy camino a convertirme en una leyenda'" [Virginia Vallejo: 'I'm on my way to becoming a legend']. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar translated to 15 languages". virginiavallejo.com. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Goodman, Joshua (18 July 2006). "Pablo Escobar's Ex-Lover Flees Colombia". Fox News. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Juan Álvaro Castellanos (16 July 2006). "Interview to Virginia Vallejo about Luis Carlos Galán case". La Voz de América (Podcast). La Voz de América. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ Relea, Francesc (14 October 2007). "El narcoestado soñado por Escobar tiene más vigencia que nunca". El País. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Movie Loving Pablo in IMDb". Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Virginia Vallejo's home in Miami". Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "RT Spanish launches new show with Virginia Vallejo". 28 February 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ Carrillo, Alex (4 December 2022). "Virginia Vallejo, Trataron de matarme en el año 2009" [I suffered an attempt on my life in 2009]. Diario El Universo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "Virginia anuncia nuevos libros en el 2024" [Virginia announces new books in 2024]. Facebook (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 January 2024.