She 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 July 14, 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 completed her secondary education in Posadas.
She studied Journalism at the University of Palermo in Buenos Aires; her undergraduate thesis focused on the “interdiscursive tension between Néstor Kirchner and Clarín from 2003 to 2007.” She met Alberto Fernández, then former Chief of Cabinet to Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, while researching for her thesis.
Professional Career
Yáñez’s media career began at age 17, co-hosting a children’s program on Channel 3 of Rosario; she later also acted in small theater productions in Rosario.
She continued presenting various programs on Channel 3 until 2004. She also co-hosted Estrictamente Personal, a program about sexuality topics, on Channel 6 of Cablevisión. After graduating from university, Yáñez worked for several national and international news agencies, including Infobae, Página/12, América TV, C5N, CNN+, and La Razón of Spain.
In 2018, she began co-hosting the talk show Incorrectas on América TV with Moria Casán and later starred in the theater play ¡Otra vez papá! Después de los 50, alongside Manuel Wirzt.
First Lady of Argentina
On December 10, 2019, her partner Alberto Fernández was elected President of Argentina.
She has expressed her intention to use her position as a platform for social work, especially regarding Argentine children and families. Yáñez has adopted the title “First Lady” despite criticism from intellectuals and feminist activists aligned with the government, such as Dora Barrancos.
From January to February 2020, Yáñez accompanied Fernández on his first international tour as President of Argentina, beginning in Jerusalem, Israel, on January 24, 2020, where the presidential couple met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu, and later traveled to Berlin and Paris.
In Paris, she met with UNESCO authorities to receive information on the organization’s education, inclusion, and childhood programs.
In March 2020, Yáñez participated alongside Chief of Cabinet Santiago Cafiero and Minister of Women Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta in the reopening of the Bicentennial Hall of Argentine Women at the Casa Rosada.
Later, in April 2020, Yáñez organized and hosted Unidos por Argentina, a televised event aimed at raising funds for the Argentine Red Cross to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic; the event raised more than 500,000 US dollars during its 7-hour broadcast.
On April 23, 2020, Yáñez filed charges against a news agency from La Plata for defamation, harassment, and gender-based discrimination.
Personal Life
Yáñez has been in a relationship with Alberto Fernández since 2014. Since Fernández’s election, the couple has lived at the Quinta de Olivos; before that, they lived in an apartment in the Puerto Madero neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Fernández and Yáñez own four Border Collies: Dylan, Prócer, Keila, and Blue.
On September 23, 2021, the presidential medical unit announced that Yáñez was expecting her first child.