Fabiola Yáñez


Fabiola Andrea Yáñez is an Argentine journalist and actress. She is the current First Lady of Argentina, as the domestic partner of President Alberto Fernández, with whom she has been since 2014.

Early life and education

Fabiola Andrea Yáñez was born on 14 July 1981 in Villa Regina, Río Negro Province, although she grew up in Alem, Misiones Province. Through her mother, she is of Chilean descent. Her family moved to Misiones when she was a teenager, and she finished high school in Posadas.
She studied journalism at the University of Palermo, in Buenos Aires; her licenciate dissertation was on the "interdiscursive tension between Néstor Kirchner and Clarín from 2003 to 2007." She met Alberto Fernández, then Néstor and Cristina Kirchner's former chief of cabinet, while doing research for her dissertation.

Career

Yáñez's media career began when she was 17, when she co-hosted a children's program in Rosario's Canal 3; she later acted in small stage productions in Rosario as well. She continued to host a number of shows in Canal 3 until 2004. She also co-hosted Estrictamente personal, a show dealing with sexuality topics on Cablevisión's Canal 6. After graduating from university, Yáñez worked for a number of domestic and international news agencies, including Infobae, Página/12, América TV, C5N, CNN+ and Spain's La Razón.
In 2018 she began co-hosting in Moria Casán's América TV talk show, Incorrectas, and later starred in the stage show ¡Otra vez papá! Después de los 50, alongside :es:Manuel Wirzt|Manuel Wirzt.

First Lady of Argentina

On 10 December 2019, following her partner Alberto Fernández's election as President of Argentina, she became the country's first lady. She has stated that she wishes to use her position as a platform for social work, especially in respect to Argentine children and families. Yáñez has embraced the title of First Lady despite criticism from government-aligned feminist activists and intellectuals, such as Dora Barrancos.
In March 2020, Yáñez participated alongside Chief of Cabinet Santiago Cafiero and Women's Minister Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta in the re-inauguration of the Argentine Women's Bicentennial Hall in the Casa Rosada. Later, in April 2020, Yáñez organized and hosted Unidos por Argentina, a TV event oriented toward raising funds for the Argentine Red Cross to aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic; the event raised over $88 million ARS during its 7-hour duration.
On 23 April 2020, Yáñez pressed charges against a La Plata-based news agency for libel, harassment and gender-based discrimination.