Ana María Polo González

She is a renowned Cuban-American lawyer and television presenter with a doctorate in economics and law.

As a child, at only two years old, she emigrated with her family to Miami, and later established her new home in Puerto Rico, where in addition to completing elementary and secondary school, she discovered her artistic talent by participating in several musical productions such as Godspell and Showboat, as well as being part of the "Jubilee" choir, which was invited by Pope Paul VI to sing in the Basilica of St. Peter as part of the celebrations of the Holy Year of 1975.

Polo was born in Cuba, grew up between Puerto Rico and Miami, and studied in Puerto Rico at the Academia del Perpetuo Socorro.

In 1975, when she was part of the Academy's choir, she sang to Pope Paul VI in the city of Rome. She married at a young age, lost a son, and separated a few years later. She had an adopted son, Peter, and remarried in 2001.

She studied at Florida International University, where she received a bachelor's degree in Political Science, and later studied and received her law degree from the University of Miami.

As a lawyer, she specialized in Family Law and is authorized to practice in the state of Florida. In what she describes as her most terrible experience as an arbitrator, she witnessed the murder of a woman by her ex-spouse, right after she divorced the couple. Polo was not harmed by the murderer.

Ana María Polo has mentioned on more than one occasion her rejection of issues such as domestic violence and injustice, especially when they affect people of low socioeconomic status or those discriminated against in any way.

She is a breast cancer survivor, which is why she became a spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen foundation and conducts awareness campaigns throughout Latin America and the United States regarding this health disorder.

Currently, she resides in Miami Beach with her husband, her dog, and her favorite pastimes include reading, playing guitar, singing, and traveling.

Ana María Polo began appearing on television on February 21, 2001, in her daily show Sala de Parejas, broadcast by Telemundo, where she resolved various cases between couples as an arbitrator. She is known for yelling at guests who are disrespectful toward her, another person in the courtroom, or the law.

Polo does not act as a judge on the show, but rather as an arbitrator who resolves conflicts between litigants, who voluntarily come to the show. The litigants sign irrevocable contracts before appearing on the program, committing to comply with the decision that Polo determines. These decisions are legally binding and can be enforced.

In the Sala de Parejas broadcast on September 11, 2002, the show was dedicated to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In that episode, Polo did not present any litigant couples. Instead, she spoke with family members of some victims and sang a song dedicated to them toward the end of the show.

On April 14, 2005, her show was renamed Caso Cerrado and the format was altered regarding the number of cases she could receive per program, and new sections were also included in the show, where she helps educate the audience about a variety of topics related to Law. Along with the new format, a song was created for the program, whose lyrics were written by her herself.

During 2008 she had a special relationship with Chile, visiting the country on three occasions. On such trips, she was always invited to various programs on Mega (the channel broadcasting Caso Cerrado in Chile since January 2008), such as ¿Sabes más que un niño de 5º básico?, Mucho gusto, Mira quién habla, and Morandé con compañía.

However, on her second trip (made in October) she confirmed a new visit for late November of that year, but this time to host one of the sections of Teletón 2008 as one of Mega's three representatives. At the same time she took the opportunity to record the Chilean version of Caso Cerrado.

Previously, she had been invited in 2005 by the De pe a pa program of Televisión Nacional de Chile.

Throughout 2010 and after her return to "real" cases, she continues recording Caso Cerrado while hosting a new program called "Persiguiendo Injusticias" also for the Telemundo network. She also had special participation in the program created to aid families affected by the earthquake "Chile ayuda a Chile," and her program "Caso Cerrado" released a new edition called "Caso Cerrado Edición Estelar" which has been very successful internationally, and which shares another edition called "Caso Cerrado Los Ángeles," from Los Angeles, California.

In 2011, Ana María Polo, in celebration of the 10 years that the "Caso Cerrado" program has been on the air, performed an acoustic version of Lady Gaga's song "Born This Way," a song that she considers expresses her feelings about the time achieved.