María Eugenia Suárez Riveiro (born 9 March 1992), better known as China Suárez or La China, is an Argentine actress, singer, and model.
Contents
Early life
María Eugenia Suárez Riveiro was born on March 9, 1992, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the daughter of Guillermo Suárez and Marcela Riveiro Mitsumori. She has an older brother named Agustín Suárez. Her maternal grandmother, Marta Mitsumori, was born in Argentina, and is of Japanese descent.During her childhood, Suárez attended the Instituto Corazón de María up to her third year of secondary school and completed her secondary studies at ESBA Barrio Norte. She also attended Divino Corazón de Jesús, located in Palermo, Buenos Aires.
Career
Suárez made her debut as an actress when she was eleven years old in the television series Rincón de luz (2003), created by Cris Morena, in which she was part of the children's cast. In 2004 she had a small role in the television series Floricienta playing the younger sister of Muni Seligmann's character. A year later she appeared in Amor mío (Argentina) and in 2006 in the sitcom Amo de casa.
Between 2007 and 2010 Suárez played Jazmín "Jaz" Romero in the television series Casi Ángeles, also created by Cris Morena, and the theatrical adaptations of the show. From the series arose the musical group Teen Angels, of which Suárez was a member. At the beginning of 2011, Suárez left the band and later received the Kids Choice Awards Argentina of "favorite actress" for her work in Casi Ángeles.
Between 2011 and 2012 Suárez was part of the cast of Los Únicos, produced by Pol-ka. She later starred with Nicolás Pauls in the miniseries 30 días juntos, aired on Cosmopolitan TV (Latin America).
In 2013 Suárez went back to working with Pol-ka in the comedy Solamente vos, where she worked with her costar from Casi Angeles, Lali Espósito. In 2014 she co-starred in the telenovela Camino al amor with Mariano Martínez, Sebastián Estevanez and Carina Zampini. Also in 2014, she was invited to star in the second season of Tu cara me suena, aired on Telefe, where she imitated Nicole Kidman from the movie Moulin Rouge! along with fellow actor Fernando Dente. Suárez also starred in the music video for Hoy, by David Bisbal.
In 2015 Suárez made her first appearance on the big screen with the film adaptation of the book Abzurdah. She also recorded her own version of the song Trátame suavemente, by Soda Stereo, for the movie. For her performance she received the Premio Sur for as Best New Actress. On July 18, 2015, Suárez served as the ambassador for Argentine cinema at the Premios Platino. In 2015, she also launched her own clothing line, which includes jackets, blouses, pants, tops, dresses, purses and necklaces.
In 2016 Suárez starred in the romantic comedy El hilo rojo, with costar Benjamín Vicuña and director Daniela Goggi. She also voice acted the role of Meena in the Argentinian version of the animated film Sing.
Personal life
In the early 2010s, Suárez was in a relationship with Argentine television and film producer Nacho Viale, the grandson of television host Mirtha Legrand. The relationship began around 2010 and received significant attention in Argentine entertainment media. The couple separated in 2012.
From 2012 to 2013, Suárez was in a relationship with Argentine then married actor Nicolás Cabré During that period, Cabré was married to actress Eugenia Tobal. The separation between Cabré and Tobal in 2012 occurred amid widespread media speculation regarding the relationship between Cabré and Suárez while the actors were working together on the television series Los Únicos. Suárez and Cabré later confirmed their relationship publicly and had one daughter together, born in 2013.
The couple subsequently separated. In that period, La China Suárez briefly dated Spanish singer David Bisbal From 2015 to 2021, Suárez was in a relationship with Chilean actor Benjamín Vicuña, with whom she has two children.
Several Argentine entertainment media outlets have noted that Suárez's personal relationships and related controversies such as the "Wandagate" and the "Motorhome" have attracted significant media attention and contributed to her public profile.
In October 2021, Suárez became involved in the widely publicized controversy known as Wandagate, involving Wanda Nara and Mauro Icardi. Years later, commentators revisited the episode, noting that the situation attracted renewed public discussion in the Argentine press and on social media due to Wandagate. The affair involved Argentine media personality, TV presenter, model, singer and sports agent Wanda Nara, her second husband Mauro Icardi, model María Eugenia Suárez and Chilean actor Benjamín Vicuña.
According to French and international coverage, in 2021, Icardi was playing for Paris Saint Germain F.C. and living with his wife and manager Wanda Nara in Paris. During that period, Nara publicly accused him of having an extramarital relationship with María Eugenia Suárez after discovering explicit messages from Suárez on his phone. According to Argentine and European reports, the alleged encounter took place in Paris while Nara was traveling in Milan for work commitments. The scandal exploded after Nara posted a cryptic Instagram message implying betrayal. French and international sports media quickly connected the post to rumors circulating within PSG's locker room environment, transforming what might have been a private marital crisis into a global media spectacle.
The Transnational Family Dispute and Judicial Leverage
China Suárez and Mauro Icardi intensified public and legal scrutiny after being spotted on a luxury shopping excursion together at Crayon Posadas, an upscale children's boutique located inside the Posadas Plaza Shopping mall in Misiones.
The high profile sighting occurred amidst escalating legal friction, directly following news that Icardi was fighting massive alimony and child support demands from Wanda Nara. By openly gathering luxury shopping bags at one of the region's premier high end retailers, the pair fueled intense media backlash, providing opposing legal counsel with highly visible, documented evidence of Icardi's financial solvency and immediate liquidity. In Argentine family courts, such public displays of luxury spending serve as critical circumstantial evidence that can directly undermine a debtor’s claims of financial hardship during ongoing support disputes.
Meanwhile, the legal reality of Mauro Icardi’s free agency combined with China Suárez’s employment fluctuations creates a distinct family law dynamic affecting her previous partner, Benjamín Vicuña. Vicuña’s primary legal leverage does not stem from Suárez's career status, but from the geographic stability of their shared minors. The official expiration of Mauro Icardi’s multi million euro contract with Galatasaray marked a massive turning point for Vicuña, effectively dismantling Suárez’s legal justification for anchoring the children in Istanbul.
Prior to Icardi becoming a free agent, Vicuña faced severe parental friction. Suárez repeatedly subverted their judicially mandated custody schedule arbitrarily extending the children's time in Turkey, missing legal return dates to Argentina, and going as far as to unilaterally enroll the minors in Turkish schools without Vicuña’s required parental consent. The logistical arrangement reached a boiling point when a major media scandal erupted revealing that Suárez had left the children in Turkey solely in the care of hired nannies while she traveled to Europe with Icardi, directly violating her parental duty of care.
With Icardi's contract officially over and no legitimate employment binding the family to Turkey, Vicuña successfully halted these cross border violations, legally securing his children's return to their habitual residence and schooling in Argentina. Ironically, Mauro Icardi's refusal to sign for his daughter's passports legally established Argentina as the Habitual residence for his biological daughters.
Forced Retirement and commercial boycott
Following the expiration of his contract with Turkey's Galatasaray S.K. on June 30, 2026, the professional career of Mauro Icardi entered a period of profound uncertainty, leaving him formally as a free agent. Despite his goalscoring record, the Argentine forward has experienced severe difficulties signing with a new club due to the heavily negative impact of his off field profile. Various European analysts and specialized media outlets have publicly discouraged his signing; a report published by the sports portal Viola Nation on August 21, 2026, labeled the player a "one man walking soap opera," strictly advising against his transfer to Italy's Serie A.
The article emphasized that constant off pitch distractions, including a complex international legal battle over divorce, child support, and custody of his daughters, travel restrictions, litigation over unpaid rent in Istanbul, and intense media exposure alongside his current partner, actress Eugenia "China" Suárez have buried his professional prospects, turning him into a high risk institutional asset for any top tier club.
Meanwhile, several commercial brands in Argentina have distanced themselves from actress and influencer María Eugenia "China" Suárez.
While the situation is often described as an informal "commercial boycott" or the "end of her era as an influencer," the retreat is heavily driven by overwhelming social media backlash and corporate risk management rather than an official, coordinated ban.
Following the massive 2021 celebrity scandal involving TV host, actress and singer Wanda Nara and footballer Mauro Icardi, a few major brands immediately rescinded or chose not to renew their contracts with China Suárez to avoid public controversy.
Suárez subsequently launched legal lawsuits against these companies, claiming that their termination of her contracts caused massive financial and reputational damage.Entertainment journalists on Argentine networks like El Diario de Mariana (DDM) reported that Suárez had virtually lost all of her national brand sponsorships. Marketing and commercial teams reportedly stopped booking her to avoid permanent drama.
