María Celeste is a Venezuelan telenovela written by Valentina Párraga and produced by Venevisión in 1994. The series lasted for 152 episodes and was distributed internationally by Venevisión International. Sonya Smith and Miguel de León starred as the protagonists with Fedra López as the antagonist. Synopsis Maria Celeste is the daughter of Cesar Augusto, a '70s rock musician, and Celina, the beautiful young daughter of Don Patricio Hidalgo de la Torre, a wealthy landowner. After leaving the comforts of home, she finds herself very lonely after her husband's death. Celina dies in a strange accident leaving her daughter with her best friend, Martirio Paniagua. Martirio adopts Maria Celeste as her own and she grows up with her adoptive sister, Irania. While looking for a job, Maria Celeste arrives at the Hidalgo Consortium. By coincidence, she meets her prospective boss, Dr. Santiago Azpurua, who is also Don Patricio's godson. Don Patricio discovers his granddaughter's existence and begins to search for her. When he finds Martirio and the two girls, he brings them to live with him. But Irania manipulates the situation to appear as the heiress and her mother becomes her accomplice unwillingly. Maria Celeste will be the target of doubts and lies, weaving a web of confusion and deceit. After a brief romance with Santiago, they break up after Irania makes believe Maria Celeste is having an affair with Horacio. In her distress, Maria Celeste decides to leave the Hidalgo residence although she is aware of her roots. She arrives at Caribe Lezama's ranch who hires her as his assistant, and makes his fortune available to her so she can plot her revenge. The final showdown will be decisive as Don Patricio discovers the truth and finds Maria Celeste's forgiveness. Santiago calls off his wedding to Irania and sets out to find his true love, Maria Celeste. She, in turn, is engaged to Caribe out of gratitude. But Caribe realizes she does not love him and lets her go so she can be with Santiago. Truth, love, passion, intrigue and lies heavily influence the outcome of this story. Cast Sonya Smith as María Celeste Paniagua Miguel de León as Santiago Azpurua Fedra López as Irania Paniagua Adolfo Cubas as Horacio Aroldo Betancourt as Manaure Rafael Briceño as Patricio Hidalgo Ernesto Balzi as Tiberio Orangel Delfín as Rodolfo Mauricio González as Cupertino Carolina Motaas Jimena Belén Díaz as Martirio Paniagua Angélica