Kate del Castillo Negrete Trillo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkejd del kasˈtiʝo neˈɣɾete ˈtɾiʝo]; born October 23, 1972) is a Mexican-American actress. At the age of 19, del Castillo became known for her lead role in the telenovela Muchachitas for Televisa in 1991. Afterwards, she continued her career in film and television in Latin America, playing the leading roles in telenovelas, including Alguna vez tendremos alas (1997), La Mentira (1998), Ramona (2000), and Bajo la misma piel (2003–04).
In 2011, del Castillo earned worldwide recognition for playing the lead role in the Telemundo series La Reina del Sur. In 2017, she went to star in the Netflix political drama series Ingobernable playing First Lady of Mexico Emilia Urquiza. del Castillo made her Hollywood debut playing a female leading role in the 2007 drama film Under the Same Moon and later appeared in supporting roles in films No Good Deed (2014), The 33 (2015), El Chicano (2019), and Bad Boys for Life (2020).
Del Castillo was born in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the daughter of Kate Trillo Graham and Eric del Castillo, a legend of Mexican cinema and a soap opera actor himself. Del Castillo has two siblings: a sister, the journalist Verónica del Castillo, and a half-brother, Ponciano, from her father's side.
