Who is Lyn May?
Lilia Mendiola de Chi, known better by her professional name Lyn May, was born in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, on 12 December 1952 (some sources mistakenly write 1945) – her zodiac sign is Sagittarius, she holds Mexican nationality and is of part-Chinese descent. She’s an actress and an exotic dancer, who has appeared in close to 50 movies and TV series, while she’s perhaps still known best for her portrayal of La Venada, the lead character in the 1981 adventure thriller movie “Las Braceras”. It was directed by Fernando Duran Rojas, also starred Martiza Olivares and Roberto Montiel, and follows Marcela and Rosario who are trying to avoid corrupt policemen, and cross the border from Mexico to the USA.
What’s wrong with her face?
It’s widely believed that it was Lyn’s fear of growing old that made her undergo various plastic surgery. She found an unprofessional surgeon who injected baby oil into her cheekbones, which then deformed her face, and made it look the way it does today; she has since tried various medications and other surgery to fix this, but hasn’t been very successful.
Lyn has spoken about what has happened to her, and stated that she knows that she’s today sometimes ridiculed because of her face, but that she has learned that it cannot be undone, and that she now has to accept her new look.
Early life and education
Lyn was raised in Acapulco by her parents about whom nothing’s known, as Lyn respects her family’s privacy; because she hasn’t spoken of having any siblings, many of her fans believe her to be an only child.
She grew up being interested in dancing, and was nine when she started taking lessons. Lyn sold souvenirs to tourists during her teenage years, and in that way helped her parents financially. She studied at a local high school, and was interested in numerous activities during her four years there, including playing volleyball with the school’s team, being on the cheerleader’s team, and practicing acting with the school’s drama club.
She matriculated in 1970, and started working at a restaurant as a waitress, but soon became an exotic dancer, and then launched her acting career five years later.
Roles in movies
Lyn made her debut film appearance in the 1975 musical comedy drama “Tivoli”, and a couple of her following roles were in the 1977 romantic comedy drama “Las Ficheras: Bellas de Noche II Parte”, then in 1978 the drama “Pasajeros en Transito” and the musical comedy drama “Carnival Nights”.
She gained some recognition in 1981, when she starred alongside Adalberto Martinez and Grace Renat in the comedy “Cuentos Colorados”, written and directed by Ruben Galindo, and which follows a man who’s the owner of a massage parlor, while his family knows nothing of it. Lyn appeared in numerous other movies in the ‘80s, with some of the most popular amongst these having been the comedy “Las Nenas del Amor”, the romantic comedy “En el Camino Andamos” both in 1983, and the 1987 comedy “Entre Vecinos te Veas”.
The year 1991 saw her appear in three movies: the action comedy drama “Fin de Semana en Garibaldi”, the crime thriller “Tragico Carnaval” and the comedy “Mala Leche”. Because the film industry was in decline in Mexico in the ‘90s, Lyn stopped appearing in movies nearly entirely, and has since appeared in only two: the 1995 comedy “Los Cargadores”, and the 1996 musical comedy “Vamos al Baile”.
She’s currently shooting for the upcoming action thriller comedy “Cerdo”.
Roles in TV series
Lyn made her debut TV series appearance with her portrayal of Vedette, in five episodes of the musical comedy “Variedades de Media Noche” in 1977, and her following role came 14 years later, when she played La China in a 1991 episode of the drama “Yo No Creo en los Hombres”.
It starred Saby Kamalich, Martha Navarro and Bruno Rey, and follows the love life of a woman who doesn’t trust men.
Lyn’s third TV series role was in the 2003 episode “Duetto: The Concert at the Roman Colosseum” of the series “Great Performances”, and in 2008, she played Bailarina in the episode “Los Escandalos de Incognito” of the comedy “Incognito”.
Her two most recent roles have been in a 2016 episode of the comedy “Nosotros los Guapos”, and the 2021 episode “La Toalla del Mojado 2” of the comedy “Vecinos”.
Other credits
Lyn worked as a choreographer on the 1978 movie “Carnival Nights”.
She has made a guest appearance in numerous talk-shows, including “Y usted… ¿Qué Opina?”, “La Parodia” and “Sexos en Guerra”, while she was also the star of the 2016 documentary movie “Beauties of the Night”.
Marriages and relationships
Lyn is more or less open when it comes to talking about her love life, and it’s widely known that she’s been married twice, and been in many other relationships.
She married her first husband straight out of high school; he was a Mexican sailor whom she had met while working as a waitress – she divorced him after five years because of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Lyn has also stated that she once had an affair with a former Mexican president, without naming him, but it’s widely believed that it was Jose Lopez Portillo.
Lyn next married the businessman Antonio Chi Su in 1989; they eventually opened a Chinese restaurant together in Mexico City, but the marriage ended in 2008 when Antonio died, four years after he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
She next married businessman Guillermo Calderón Stell in 2008, but they divorced in 2012.
As of January 2022, Lyn is engaged to the 29-year-old Mexican musician Marcos D1; it has been reported by media that she is pregnant, but Lyn has denied these rumors, which seem highly unlikely as she’s now 69!
Lyn’s daughters
Lyn has three daughters who prefer to be left out of media, which is why only little about them is known. She gave birth to her two daughters while she was still married to the Mexican sailor, and it was only in 2016 that Lyn revealed that she has a third daughter; the girl’s date of birth and the identity of her father remain undisclosed.
Hobbies and other interests
Lyn is highly active on Instagram, and seems to be enjoying the attention which she’s receiving from her close to 300,000 followers; she’s uploaded close to 500 pictures onto the network, most of which have been taken during her everyday life.
She’s still an avid dancer, and occasionally teaches Tahitian dance at Plaza Caribe Hotel in Cancun, Mexico.
Lyn loves to travel, and her career has taken her all around the world, however, she still likes living in Mexico City the most.
She was physically quite active in her 20s and 30s, and worked out at the gym nearly every day, while her only recreation today is dancing; she’s still following a strict diet, meaning that she avoids eating fast food and anything with sugar in it.
Age, height and net worth
Lyn’s age is 69. She has long black hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs).
As of January 2022, her net worth has been estimated at more than $1 million.
