Laura Bozzo is a Perusian former lawyer and talk show host who made a name for herself on Laura and Laura en America. The 72-year-old started her TV career on a feminist show, Las mujeress tienen ka palabra in the mid 90s before moving fully into hosting her own shows in later years. Through her career exploits, she caught the attention of Spanish language media giants Televisa and Telemundo who extended her shows coverage to the United States. Arguably one of the most successful TV personalities in Peru amd Latin America, things did not always go smoothly for her due to the many controversies and several clashes with the law.
Away from this, the talk show queen is a proud mother of two children whom she shares with her ex-husband, Mario de la Fuente.
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She Traces her Descent to Three Countries
As you would easily find, she was born Laura Cecilia Bozzo Rotondo in Callao, Peru on August 19, 1951. Notably, her parents are Miguel Bozzo Chirichignio, an engineer father and Victoria Luisa Rotondo Mendoza. Both parents trace their heritage to Italy, Spain and Qieche. Considering this background and her later life experiences, she holds an Italian and Peruvian citizenship.
Regarding her educational achievements, Laura has experienced education in different countries. First she studied law and political science at the Female University of Sacred Heart and Federico Villareal University in her Peru as well as Central University of Venezuela.
Bozzo Started Her Career as a University Teacher…
Following the completion of her studies, Laura started taking classes at the tertiary level in various Universities. With her background in law and political science, she found a niche teaching subjects that are related to the field.
Also, she organized various programs to promote the cultural heritage of Peru. Notably, she became the representative of Instituto Nacional de Cultura and by 1992, she became council woman or regidora of metropolitan Lima.
…And Became Famous as a TV Host
Laura’s classroom background did not give her acclaim till she switched to mainsream media in 1994 as a host on Las mujeres tienen la palabra, a feminist show. Three years later, she assumed the role of a conductor on Panamericana Television on Intimadades, a reality show. At this point, she was considered a known face on screen.
She Became Famous as the Host of Laura en America
Though she had been popular as a local TV host in Peru, this changed when she was hired by America Television to host Laura en America in 1998. Unlike in previous years, this show drew the attention of viewers across Latin America as well as the US where the network aired it. Within the same year, Telemundo started showing the show on their network, thus marked her entrance as an international screen goddess.
Apparently, the show held the attention of viewers due to what has been described as sensational drama and bizzare stories about poor people. In fact, guests were known to start a fight while on set, unsurprisingly, this led to a comparism between it and the American Jerry Springer Show.
After her contract ended with Telemundo she moved the show to Televisa in 2006. Between then and 2011, her reigning days as a talk show host started declining such that her numerous attempts to enter other markets did not give her as much popularity. So far, she has hosted new shows including;
- Telemundo/America Television-Laura en accion(2007-2008)
- Televisa
- TV Azteca/Azteca America-Laura de todos: sin miedo a la verdad
- Televisa-Laura
- Telefutra-Laura
In 2013, she finally made her comeback with Laura on Telefura which became a hit.
See Also: Alyssa McKay: Unknown Facts About Her
Her Marriage Lasted for 20 Years
Away from her time on screen, the TV personality enjoyed a family life. She got married to Mario de la Fuente who was a lawyer in 1980. The pair were together through her career rise till 2000 when they divorced.
Though the marriage ended the way it did, the pair welcomed two adorable daughters, Alejandra de La Fuente and Victoria de La Fuente Ayers.
The Peruvian Screen Goddess is not a Stranger to Controversies
Throughout her career and private life, Laura has mostly been trailed by controversies and criticism as seen;
Laura Bozzo Dated a Man who was 24 Years her Junior
Shortly after her divorce in August 2000, the then 49-year-old Bozzo started a highly publicised affair with Cristian Zuarez, a musician. Considering that Cristian was 24 years her junior, it led to alot of criticism.
Moreso, the Argentinian singer had been in the middle of a prior scandal which made Televisa replace Federico Wilkinson with Gabriel Vasquez Woodman as producer on Laura. Reportedly, Wilkinson who served as coproducer with Laura had made up an alleged story that Zuarez was cheating on Laura with Karina Alvarez. Though she and her lover never revealed any details about the incident, they remained together till 2017.
The 72-year-old was Placed Uncer House Arrest for Three Years
As early as 2002, she was prosecuted for receiving money to support president Alberto Fujimori’s 2000 reelection bid. Apparently, the pair had been linked since 1998 when many speculated that he was the one funding her Solidaridad de Familia, a charity organization she founded to help families in Peru and other Latin American countries to access legal, medical and psychological help.
Thus, after she was arrested and prosecuted for her illicit association with Fujimori, she was placed on house arrest which lasted till 2005. In 2006, the judiciary was forced to release her because of loopholes in the case including their failure to press charges against her on time.
Regardless of this, her sentencing was changed to appearance which would cover a period of four years. However she did not go to jail because of the three years she had served under house arrest.
The Authenticity of Laura Bozzo’s Show has Been Questioned
For a woman who stole the hearts of many with her ‘real life’ scenes in her show, many have questioned the truth of what plays out on screen. The show is known to have explored family relationships and drawn conclusions of imfidelity which led to quarels as mentioned earlier. While these are sensational topics, speculations have been going on about the truth about what truly happened.
In one case, a lawyer named Freddy Escobar started a 2008 investigation into the use of a minor to give proof of family violence. Apparently, this led to the cancellation of Laura en accion by America Television and on Telemundo in 2008.
The Lawyer Turned TV Presenter Faced a Social Media Backlash for Using Official Mexico Helicopter
For someone who has been in the media eyes for many years, many were not comfortable with her using official Mexico helicopter during a telecast that would allegedly benefit her show in 2013. Needless to say, many were aggrieved by her lack of concern for the rescue efforts during the Hurricane Manuel which affected many.
To show their disapproval, many took to Facebook and Twitter to protest with the tags, #LauraBozzoFueraDeMexico and #LauraBozzoMexicoNoTeQuiere. At the forefront of the criticism was the Mexican journalist, Carmen Aristegui who first published the story on Proceso, a political journal.
To complicate matters, Laura decided to contest the allegations and this made many sign petition on Change.org for her removal from Mexican TV. The petition was made by the civil group, Creammos Mexico A.C.
She Evaded an Arrest for Tax Evasion in Mexico
In 2021, she made waves again and this time around, it was for evading appearance for tax evasion. According to reports, a Mexican judge ordered that Bozzo be detained after she failed to appear to face the charges.
It turned out that she left Mexico and considering the serious nature of such crimes, the Interpol was requested to help in finding her.
As of writing this report, not much has been heard of the case but a look at her social media updates shows that Laura is enjoying ffun moments with her family and grand children.
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