Yo soy Betty, la fea (English: I am Betty, the Ugly one), often referred to simply as Betty, la fea, is a Colombian telenovela created by Fernando Gaitán. It aired from 25 October 1999 to 8 May 2001 on RCN. Ana María Orozco stars as the titular character, alongside Jorge Enrique Abello, Natalia Ramírez, Lorna Cepeda, Luis Mesa and Julián Arango.
It is the first telenovela to have been remade worldwide and has been regarded as bringing the telenovela to new levels of success. The story's appeal to global audiences has been credited to it being centered around the life of an unattractive character rather than that of a typical attractive character.
Contents
Plot
Taking place mainly in Bogotá, Colombia, Yo soy Betty, la fea is essentially a Cinderella comedy about the rise of poor, ugly 'Betty' Beatriz Pinzón Solano and the fall of rich, handsome Armando Mendoza. Armando is a very incompetent playboy with a scheme to turn a huge profit as the new president of Eco Moda, a famous clothing manufacturing company, alongside the new vice-president Mario Calderon. However, his scheme is doomed for his faulty mathematics. Betty, his secretary (and economics wizard), is in love with him despite his engagement to Marcela Valencia. She helps Armando deceive the board of directors as he loses money and brings the company to ruin. The story has three movements: 1) Armando's foolish destruction of Eco Moda, 2) Betty's flight from the disgrace and her temporary new job in Cartagena where she undergoes an emotional and physical transformation, and 3) Betty's return to Eco Moda, where she is installed as new CEO.
Cast
Main
Ana María Orozco as Beatriz "Betty" Aurora Pinzón Solano; A rather uncouth woman but very skilled in economics with a good CV. Later becomes a CEO assistant and economist. She is the pride of her parents. She is in love with Armando Mendoza.
Jorge Enrique Abello as Armando Mendoza Sáenz; Eco Moda's CEO. A somewhat irresponsible playboy with only basic knowledge in industrial engineering who presents a risky and ambitious proposal with which he wins the presidency of Eco Moda. When he manages it, it brings the company to the brink of bankruptcy, thus Betty steps in to help. Despite being a completely superficial playboy, he sincerely falls in love with Betty, seeing beyond her ugliness.
Natalia Ramírez as Marcela Valencia; Armando's fiancée and Eco Moda's stockholder and retail manager. Despite her dislike of Betty, she is not actually a bad person, but a woman full of pride, classism and lacks dignity, and she loves Armando. She later willingly gives up on him as she discovers he actually loves Betty.
Lorna Cepeda as Patricia Fernández; Marcela's best friend and secretary. A divorced woman, refined and superficial, as well as materialist, she is looking for a rich husband. Armando hates her because she is a dumb blonde and knows that Marcela wants her as Armando's secretary to watch over his infidelities.
Luis Mesa as Daniel Felipe Valencia; Marcela's brother. Male chauvinist and arrogant, shareholder of Eco Moda. He rivals and dislikes Armando and unlike him, he is realistic and the only one worried about his company. He has an affair with Patricia.
Julián Arango as Hugo Lombardi; Eco Moda's fashion designer. Openly gay and arrogant, who despises ugliness. He dislikes almost everyone at Eco Moda and especially hates Eco Moda's secretaries, whom he nicknames 'The Ugly Cuartel', with the exception of Inesita who is perhaps the only person he actually cares for. Arango was married to Ana María Orozco during the recording.
Ricardo Vélez as Mario Calderón; Armando's best friend and Eco Moda's commercial vice president. A staunch playboy, inveterate enemy of commitments and fatherhood, he is strangely enough a rather neutral figure.
Recurring
Alberto Valdiri as "Gordito" González, Bertha's husband.
Angeline Moncayo as Karina Larson. Formerly a model and Armando's ex-mistress.
Carlos Serrato as Gustavo Olarte, Eco Moda's ex-financial vice president. Daniel's right hand.
César Mora as Antonio Sánchez, Betty's lawyer.
Claudia Becerra as Mónica Agudelo.
Diego Vivanco as Rolando "el Chesito su mercé", Hugo's boyfriend.
Germán Tóvar as José Ambrosio Rosales; lawyer, Antonio's colleague.
Hugo Perez as Rafael Muriel, Inesita's ex-husband.
Iván Piñeros as Jimmy Fuentes (Aura María's son).
Lorena McAllister as Diana Medina.
Luis Enrique Roldán as Juan Manuel Santamaría, penalist Eco Moda's lawyer.
Miguel Ángel Báes as a 2nd systems engineer.
Paulo Sánchez Neira as Miguel Ortíz, Eco Moda's ex-systems engineer at the service of Olarte.
Rubén Óliver as Miguel Robles, corrupt president of Rag Tela.
Sebastián Sánchez as Miguel. (2001)
Scarlet Ortiz as Alejandra Zingg.
Yesenia Valencia as Susi.
Sequels and spin-offs
Ecomoda
The success of Yo soy Betty, la fea led to its first sequel titled Ecomoda. It premiered first on Univision on 2 December 2001, concluding on 2 June 2002. Some scenes from the first episode were filmed in Buenos Aires, and some scenes for the opening sequence were filmed in Miami, Florida. In Colombia, the series premiered on 21 May 2002.
Betty Toons
Betty Toons is an animated television series that features Betty as a child with her friends. It aired on RCN Televisión between 2002 and 2003. In the U.S., Betty Toons previously aired Saturday mornings on most affiliates of Telefutura (now UniMás), as part of the Toonturama block from 2006 to 2008.
Betty, la fea: la historia continúa
In July 2023, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video had ordered a second sequel series. The series, titled Betty, la fea: la historia continúa premiered on 19 July 2024.
International remakes
*The Mexican Telenovela "El amor no es como lo pintan" was accused of being a plagiarism of the "Yo soy Betty, la fea".**Remake of "El amor no es como lo pintan".