Milena Santander León (March 25, 1963), better known as Milena Santander, is a leading Venezuelan actress.^[1]

Santander was born in Caracas and studied at the San José de Tarbes School in La Florida. Since she was a child she had a vocation for the arts, participating in all the school's events. She completed high school in the United States and then returned to Venezuela, studying advertising at the Instituto Universitario Nuevas Profesiones.

During her youth Santander was modelling, and on one occasion, Arquímedes Rivero interviewed her to get her to join the cast of The Lady in Pink as an extra. Shortly after this production she worked on Mi amada Beatriz.

Shortly after, Santander's career took with at RCTV where she was cast in Alma mía, Rubí rebelde, Amanda Sabater, El engaño and Santa y Bárbara. She joined Venevisión to act in Quirpa, and later in The Forgiveness of Sins, Samantha, Lovers of the Full Moon, Rice Pudding and The Perfect Woman, among others.

According to Santander, her favorite television roles were "Neneta" in My Beloved Beatriz, for being the first of her career and "Amanda Sabater" thanks to the success of the villain in the plot. She also enjoyed portraying "Prudencia" in Ciudad Bendita, because she laughed out loud with her witticisms, the evil "Evangelína" in Quirpa, and the famous "Finita" in Guerra de Mujeres for catapulting her into the acting world, becoming recognized and loved by Venezuelan audiences. Also relevant was her character of "Presentación Valdés" in the telenovela La mujer perfecta with her typical phrase "¡Arrástrame!".^[2]