Mónica Janette Santa María Smith (Lima; December 6, 1972 — March 13, 1994) was a Peruvian model and TV hostess.

Born in Lima, she was one of the two original presenters of Nubeluz, a popular Peruvian children's TV show during the first half of the 1990s, for which she was also known as the Dalina chiquita.

[1] She attended the Colegio Nuestra Señora del Carmen, a Catholic private school in the district, as did her sisters Liz and Sandra.

[3] Santa María started her studies at the Centro de Desarrollo Gerencial, a teaching centre of the University of the Pacific in June 1990.

[5] She developed depression and attempted suicide for the first time in late 1991 by overdosing on medicine, being taken to the British American Hospital [es] and starting a treatment, which included the consumption of barbiturates to be able to sleep, after her release.

[8] The success of Nubeluz caused her to develop psychological stress and worsened her depression due to her lack of privacy, leaving the show in 1993 to spend more time with Heredia in the US.

Despite this, Heredia had to make constant business trips to Peru, which led her to return to the show alongside Gomelsky, Lilianne Braun and Xiomara Xibillé.

[4] Her mental state developed into a bipolar disorder[4][5] which was never properly treated, as she attempted a psychiatric treatment at the Clínica San Borja in January 1994, but was unable to handle the situation and left three hours later.

Angered by the response, she publicly left the party on a taxi that took her to her parents' house, where she noticed that she had forgotten a suitcase at Heredia's red Mitsubishi car, parked at his residence.

[4] Santa María had been a point of attention during the event, signing autographs for her fans present at the party, which included children.

[4] Her family members altered the crime scene hoping to hide that she had committed suicide, claiming to local reporters that an accident had taken place when she was cleaning the pistol, allegedly purchased by her to protect herself after being mugged.