Beginnings Luz Jiménez's acting studies were conducted in the mid-1960s at the of the
University of Chile. However she left her studies incomplete. "I left the theater for a love. I got married and then I had my four daughters". Later, she resumed her studies at the
Catholic University's , graduating in 1979. During the 1970s she worked as a secretary in the vice-rectory of the university after the censorship of university theaters during
Augusto Pinochet's
military dictatorship. She began her career between 1955 and 1960, participating in the various university and independent theater companies, acting in works such as
El fin de febrero (1958) by
Alejandro Sieveking,
La princesa Panchita,
Ocúpate de Amelia, and
¿Cuantos años tiene un día? by the
Ictus Theatre company.
1979–1990 Collective theater and world tour In 1979, Jiménez starred with
Myriam Palacios, Soledad Alonso, and
Loreto Valenzuela in the play '''' by David Benavente, directed by Raúl Osorio. It was created by Benavente and the Theater Research Workshop (TIT) at Santiago's Teatro Ángel. The work constitutes a milestone in the history of Chilean theater during the period of the dictatorship, given that it deals with the theme of unemployment of the time and machismo from the point of view of three women settlers who try to overcome poverty by weaving burlap in a workshop given by the
Vicariate of Solidarity. The success of the play led her to make an international tour of America and Europe.
Collaboration with Sonia Fuchs After participating in numerous plays, Jiménez debuted on television in 1981 with the first original telenovela on TVN, '
, directed by Claudio Guzmán and produced by . In the telenovela she shared the stage with and . This turned out to be a shaky experience for the established theater actress, but it served as a rapid introduction to television. After this opportunity the actress achieved a great friendship with Fuchs, collaborating on all her productions until 1991. Next she would work with Malú Gatica, Loreto Valenzuela, and Alfredo Castro in ' (1984), in which she played a peasant woman faithful to her employer played by Gatica. Later she was part of the cast of
La torre 10 (1984). She obtained a starring role in
Marta a las ocho, along with
Sonia Viveros and , playing Amneris, a woman characterized by her soft tone of voice, elegance, and taste for opera music. The result was excellent. It not only satisfied the public, but also TVN. In the following years, she acted in the melodramas '
(1985), ' (1986), '
(1986), and the miniseries '. In 1987 she appeared in '''', where she played Lucrecia Ferrer, a sober and elegant writer of famous novels who falls in love with an executive played by
Eduardo Barril. After participating in numerous telenovelas, Luz Jiménez had her first big role with a leading character: Kiki Blanche in
Bellas y Audaces (1988), directed by and in which she shared credits with actresses such as Sonia Viveros, , and debutante
Ana María Gazmuri. Director Vicuña declared: "We tried many figures and we bet on her. For her charisma and great sweetness. It was not an easy role and she did it very well". In 1989 she took the part of one of the central characters of the highly successful series
Teresa de los Andes, where she played a religious leader of a convent where
Sister Teresa was played by
Paulina Urrutia. According to the actress herself, this was one of the best characters she has played on television.
1991–1995 Training of new actors At the beginning of 1990, she withdrew temporarily from television to teach and train new actors. Between 1991 and 1995 she would join the faculty of The Theater Club of director Fernando González. Among her students were the actors
Carolina Fadic,
Tamara Acosta,
Aline Küppenheim,
Álvaro Morales, and
Francisca Gavilán. Jiménez clarified, "What I have tried most to convey to you is that acting is a vocation, an inevitable passion that goes beyond the ego and that harbors a true curiosity about life, a desire to tell, a love for the game". According to Tamara Acosta, "She (Luz) was my first acting teacher. She was very important in my training; she had that wonderful thing about the warmth of putting together a team".
1997–2014 Collaboration with Sabatini and TVN's golden age After a period without major projects, Jiménez regained public favor in 1997 after participating in
Oro Verde, again under the direction of Vicente Sabatini, where she gave life to a gossipy woman in charge of a popular hairdresser's in the fictional town of Los Robles in
Caburga. The actress shared scenes with Álvaro Morales,
José Soza, and
Maricarmen Arrigorriaga. The following year, she obtained a secondary role in
Amándote on
Canal 13, directed by Ricardo Vicuña. In 1999, she played Doña Mirta Jaramillo in
La Fiera, a woman who believes in the myths and legends of
Chiloé. The character had the hope that
El Caleuche would return her husband who was missing in the ocean after a shipwreck. The actress managed to give an exceptional interpretation of the character, and was positioned as one of the most charismatic actresses of the year. In 2016, she declared "this character has always been in my heart". At the beginning of the decade, she moved to
Mejillones with the Sabatini team to join the cast of
Romané (2000). In the telenovela she played the
Roma character Mama Pasca Antich, the respected sister of the king of the ethnic colony, who fights against the pain and abandonment of her only son who went to the capital for an unrequited love. In the melodrama she shared credits with
Juan Falcón,
Claudia di Girolamo,
Héctor Noguera, and
Luis Alarcón. Like her previous character, she counts this as one of her best roles in television. In 2001 she participated in
Pampa Ilusión, filmed at
Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, where she played a southern prostitute named La Poroto, who together with her young colleague arrive at the fictional Pampa Ilusión office, hired to work in a clandestine brothel of a blind man who owns the place's only grocery store. She shared credits with José Soza,
Ximena Rivas,
Pablo Schwarz, and . Later came the comedy
El circo de las Montini (2002) with
Violeta Vidaurre, in which she played a sweet poodle trainer in the circus. In 2005 she starred with
María Izquierdo and Ximena Rivas in the play
Madre by Rodrigo Pérez. In 2007, she participated in
Corazón de María, where she played a reading and writing teacher for adults who did not have opportunities. The same year, she made an outstanding appearance in the drama ''
, portraying an elderly inmate and sharing credits with Claudia Di Girolamo and Paulina García. She also participated in the series Héroes, Los 80, and '' on Canal 13. In the latter she acted sharing credits with
Benjamín Vicuña. She was also acting director at the School of Theater of the
University of the Andes, which took first place in the National Festival of University Theater (FESTESA). In 2010, Jiménez was hired by the Dramatic Area of
Chilevisión under the direction of Vicente Sabatini, to play María Loreto Erdoíza y Aguirre in the historical bicentennial production
Manuel Rodríguez. In an interview she said, "It is an honor to play this role. Manuel Rodríguez was very brave, very detached, and consistent. Maybe there are new guerrillas out there, I do not know, but it is very nice to listen to Viva Chile in that way; something trembles in here". The following year, she participated in
La Doña (2011) as
Águeda Flores, maternal grandmother of
La Quintrala and one of the most powerful women of Chilean society in the 15th century. In the same year, she participated in
Los archivos del cardenal, where she played a country woman looking for her grandson who was arrested and
disappeared by the
DINA. This role brought her critical applause and recognition on social networks for her moving and respectable performance. According to
Daniela Ramírez, "Working with Luz is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me", while
Pablo Illanes posted on his Twitter account, "Luz Jimenez is an extraordinary actress". She played another moving role in the
Matías Bize film
The Life of Fish. It went on to win a
Goya Award in the category of Best Spanish-Language Foreign Film. Her next films were the romantic drama
Gloria (2013) by
Sebastián Lelio, along with
Paulina García, and the Chilean-French autobiographical film
The Dance of Reality (2014) by
Alejandro Jodorowsky. In 2014, she played a small supporting role in
Las 2 Carolinas. At the launch of the telenovela, in
Puente Alto, Jiménez was applauded by the public, where she received a deafening ovation. The actress declared, "For me it was a very big impact. I never expected it; it impressed me. I had never experienced something like that, an ovation for me; it fills me with joy, emotion, and gratitude". She next appeared in the series
Zamudio (2015), where she met for the first time with the director . In the psychological drama, which also starred
Daniel Muñoz, Francisca Gavilán, and Nicolás Rojas, she played the grandmother of
Daniel Zamudio. Around the same time, she starred in the music video "Presentiemiento" by Prehistöricos.
2015–present Theater tours and awards In 2015, she was recognized with an award for cinematic, theatrical, and television career at the first La Serena Film Festival. The same year, she joined the company Niño Proletario and performed with José Soza,
Paola Lattus, and Ángel Lattus in
El otro, directed by Luis Guenel. The play is based on the book
El infarto del alma by
Diamela Eltit and
Paz Errázuriz, about the theme of possible love within a psychiatric hospital. The production was presented in unconventional places in the country and toured Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In 2016, she starred in
Fulgor with the same company, based on immigration and labor abuse. After a good reception in Chile, the play was presented to 150,000 spectators at
FiraTàrrega in Spain. In the same year, she performed with
Tomás Vidiella and Jaime McManus in the film
La memoria de mi Padre, directed by Rodrigo Bacigalupe. After two years she returned to television, participating in
Os Dias Eram Assim (2017) on Rede Globo, performing with the Brazilian actor . In 2017, she took on an international tour with
El otro, performing with the company Niño Proletario in France, at Jean Vilar Theater, Paul Éluard Theater, La Ferne du Buisson, Théatre de la Ville, and Jean Arpo Theater. The same year, she starred in the teaser
Los Carcamales with
Sergio Hernández,
Julio Jung, and , telling the story of a group of elderly people living in a nursing home facing Alzheimer's and theft of their pensions. The project received the largest grant delivered by the
National Television Council of Chile (CNTV) for its production in 2018. == Filmography ==