Fernanda Romero Issue #37

The Mexican pop star makes Hollywood crossover

By Nona Willis Aronowitz
Published: September 1st, 2008 | 9:42am

Fernanda Romero’s name may not ring a bell, but the popstar-turned-actress has been in the spotlight for almost a decade. Raised in Mexico City, Fernanda began her career at 16 with the Mexican pop music group Fryzzby, an entourage laden with a dozen fresh-faced, buoyant teens. But Romero is far more versatile these days.

The 25-year-old has been tearing up Hollywood and the modeling world, co-starring in The Eye alongside Jessica Alba and Parker Posey, and posing for designer Kira Plastinina. She’s got the psycho thriller The Burning Plain (with Charlize Theron) and horror film Drag Me To Hell on the horizon. She’s even recorded some new music.

Romero never dreamed to be a celebrity hyphenate — it just kinda happened. “The music career came as a surprise to me,” she says. “A manager approached me after I shot a commercial in Mexico City. Until then, the only time I would sing was in the shower!” When Romero began touring, her parents were skeptical. “My father sat me down and told me, ‘Take advantage and have fun, but when you finish high school, it’s over,’” she says. “My parents never saw [show business] as a career. They were like, ‘Be a doctor!’”

Now that Romero is supporting herself, her parents see it a little differently. “It’s hard for a woman to be independent in a Third World country, so they think it’s fantastic that I can have control over my own life. That’s not very common where I come from.”

Romero credits her Hollywood crossover as pushing her to be a confident woman who makes her own decisions. She moved to L.A. to become a fashion designer, and wound up co-creating the Rock & Republic fashion line. Pretty soon, she was scooping up movie roles and landing major modeling contracts. “My impact is definitely in a bigger proportion now. American culture goes out to so many communities and spreads literally all over the world.” Still, Romero is glad she got her start in Mexico and hopes to return one day to do some TV, she says. The loyalty is palpable there. “The Mexican audience has been with me since day one.”

—