Danna Paola has gone global. This past year, the Mexican pop superstar toured the US for the first time, attended Paris Fashion Week on behalf of Mugler, and was recently named as MAC makeup's new global brand ambassador. At the same time, Danna is working hard on completing her next album, on which she faces the demons of child stardom and explores her path into adulthood, including recently cutting ties with a “controlling” management team.
"This era is about darkness and being your brightest self in the darkness," the 28-year-old multi-hyphenate star tells Teen Vogue over Zoom from her home in Mexico City. "This album talks a lot about the darkness and how I found myself through a fall where I felt lost, where I felt my career was over, and when I felt that I didn't want to do this anymore."
Paola first became a staple in Latinx homes in the US and Mexico as a children's telenovela actress. After appearing on a Mexican spin-off of Sesame Street at 4 years old, she landed her first leading role in Amy, La Niña De La Mochila Azul in 2004, playing a girl who becomes a mermaid. She then moved onto the Televisa series Atrévete A Soñar; she also sang the show's sweet theme song "Mundo De Caramelo" about living in a carefree Candyland.
"Being a child star was really nice, fun, playful, but at the same time, I realize I missed out on a lot of things as a kid," she says. "I grew up with cameras. I remember doing my homework and having my parties on the set. Now I understand why I have a lot of anxiety being among a big group of people or why I have a bit of agoraphobia in certain places. Now with a lot of therapy, I can have an emotional balance and stable mental health about my work and my personal life. Now I can separate the two. Before I couldn't do that. I'm very happy to have survived being a child star."
As Paola moved through her teens, she decided to step away from the telenovelas and her burgeoning music career. She found solace in playing the fallen witch Elphaba in Mexico's first Spanish-language production of the Broadway musical Wicked. Her performance in the role, which included an incredible live rendition of "Defying Gravity," even drew praise from the show's composer Stephen Schwartz. Paola was able to take her skills as an actress and singer to new heights; she describes the experience as her “school of art in performance.”
"With that character at that moment in my life, I started believing in my power as an actress and singer," she says. "That character helped me mature in many ways in my life. On a personal level, that character gave me a lot of strength and helped me become a woman. [Elphaba] has inspired my new era, that when you get your heart broken a lot, you become the villain of other people's stories, but at the end of the day, you're choosing yourself and fighting for yourself."
To grow more as an artist and creative, Paola decided to leave Mexico to move to Spain. After finding a casting call in her junk mail for the Netflix series called Elite, she sent in her audition and landed the role of resident bad girl Lucrecia. Through the series about sex-crazed high schoolers trying to cover up their crimes, she reached a global audience.
"Elite literally changed my world," she says. "When I started, I was going through a very difficult moment in my life. I had ended a very tumultuous relationship. On top of that, I felt lost. Lucrecia let me be the villain that I always wanted to be for the first time. She showed me how to be strong, how to say no, how to empower myself as a woman, and that I don't need man by side to feel valuable.”
From her exposure on Elite, Paola's music career started booming as well. To process this wild time in her career, she looked to music as an outlet. Paola turned rumors about her romantic relationships created by the tabloids into her breakthrough hit "Mala Fama." She playfully name-checked fellow Latinx singers like Maluma, future collaborator Sebastián Yatra, and Ozuna as men that she's been linked to. The tongue-in-cheek song has amassed over 300 million streams on Spotify.
"I'm like, 'Damn, I can't even have a friend because now he's my boyfriend in the f*cking magazines and press,’" she recalls. "One day I went to the studio fed-up. I wanted to write a song about not caring about the infamy around me. If they say I'm a f*ck girl, then I'm going to be a f*cking f*ck girl. It was a really powerful song for me."
Throughout her career, Paola has also used her platform to support the LGBTQ+ community. She has released colorful songs that have become queer anthems like "Agüita," which was written by lesbian artist Javier Mena, and the defiant "TQ y YA." Back in July, Paola appeared as a guest judge on the first season of Drag Race México. "I've been extra my whole life, so I believe part of my character as a singer is inspired a lot by drag queens," she says with a smile.
"I was brought up by the LGBTQ+ community," she adds. "I'm very grateful that they're my family. They're a safe space for me. I've had their unconditional love and support since I was a little girl. Today my gratitude comes out 100 percent in being an ally and defending love at any cost. I want to make people understand that love is universal.”
Paola is now more hands-on with her career. She co-produced the euphoric lead single "XT4S1S" with her boyfriend Alex Hoyer for her upcoming album. Earlier this year, she also co-produced the confessional synth-pop track "Tenemos Que Hablar." Danna revealed through the music video that she cut ties with a team that she says extended full control over her life, including forcing her to dye her hair blonde two years ago.
"I believe you can learn from each situation in your life to help you evolve and not be stuck there," she says. "I'm grateful to have experienced that because that gave me the tools for me to be who I am now. At the same time, I wish I was stronger and braver to change the things in my life that I was putting up with for a long time because of fear. Today, I feel very brave to be able to tell my story from a healthy place and through my art."
In September, Paola wrapped-up her very first tour of the US. She channeled Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera concerts from the 2000s as she belted out her hits while executing fierce choreography. "I'm creating something special with my career as a singer that I've completely left behind acting because this is a 24-7 job," Paola says. Now she is focused on finishing up her next album while dropping her last name to reintroduce herself.
"This album talks about the catharsis I went through," she says. "You are the architect of your own life and you have the ability to create the best version of yourself. Now I can say that I've found myself as a woman. It's very healing. It's a relief. I feel like I'm in my best moment as a person and as an artist. Danna is a really strong name. I want to show to the world who that person is now."
