I've wanted to cut my hair for years. I finally did it.
En un gesto que cruza lo personal y lo público, Gianella Marquina —influencer peruana e hija de Melissa Klug— se cortó el cabello tras años de postergarlo y lo donó a una causa benéfica, convirtiendo un cambio estético en un acto de intención genuina. Su vida transcurre en dos mundos paralelos: el de las redes sociales, donde cobra $200 por historia patrocinada, y el del derecho penal, donde se prepara para ejercer como abogada. En ella se refleja una generación que no elige entre la pantalla y la vocación, sino que aprende a sostener ambas.
- Marquina sorprendió a sus seguidores con un corte radical que rompió con la imagen que había cultivado durante años en Instagram.
- La decisión no fue impulsiva: llevaba tiempo queriendo hacerlo y eligió donar el cabello, cargando el gesto de un significado que va más allá de la estética.
- Su vida cotidiana exige un equilibrio tenso entre exámenes universitarios, prácticas en un estudio de derecho penal y compromisos con marcas que la buscan por su alcance millonario.
- Junto a sus hermanas Samahara y Melissa Lobatón, forma un trío de influencers con tarifas diferenciadas —$150, $200 y $450 por historia— que revela la economía interna del mundo digital familiar.
- Marquina insiste en que ninguna de las dos vidas —la pública ni la profesional— está en pausa: las gestiona en paralelo, aunque algunos días pesen más que otros.
La semana pasada, Gianella Marquina publicó en Instagram una foto con el cabello recién cortado. No era solo un cambio de look: llevaba años queriendo hacerlo y había decidido donar el largo a una organización benéfica. Era, escribió, un sueño cumplido.
Marquina es la hija mayor de Melissa Klug, figura pública peruana de amplia trayectoria, y ha construido su propio espacio en las redes junto a sus hermanas Samahara y Melissa Lobatón. Las tres superan el millón de seguidores y trabajan como influencers: las marcas les pagan por promocionar productos en sus historias de Instagram. Samahara cobra $150 por historia, Melissa —la menor— $450, y Gianella $200. Una campaña con las tres juntas costaría $450 por persona.
Pero la vida de Marquina no se agota en el feed. Está en el último año de la carrera de derecho y ciencias políticas, y realiza sus prácticas preprofesionales en un estudio de derecho penal —el área que más le apasiona y que eligió de forma deliberada. Cuando le preguntaron si había reducido su actividad como influencer para concentrarse en los estudios, fue clara: no, sigue con ambas cosas. Hay días más exigentes que otros, pero mantiene el equilibrio.
El corte de cabello, en ese contexto, adquiere otro peso. Fue un acto para sí misma, desconectado del algoritmo y de las métricas. En una vida que transcurre en parte ante las cámaras y en parte en la seriedad del derecho, fue un pequeño pero significativo momento de elección propia.
Gianella Marquina posted a photo of her newly shorn hair to her Instagram followers last week, and the image carried a weight beyond the usual aesthetic surprise. She had cut it short after years of wanting to do so, and she was giving it away—donating the length to charity. It was something she had dreamed about for a long time, she wrote. Now it was done.
Marquina is the eldest daughter of Melissa Klug, a well-known Peruvian public figure, and she has built a substantial following of her own. Her sisters, Samahara and Melissa Lobatón, have done the same. Together, the three have become fixtures in the influencer economy, posting outfits, endorsing brands, setting trends. They have each accumulated more than a million followers. Companies pay them to promote products in their Instagram stories. The rates vary: Samahara charges $150 per story. Melissa, the youngest, commands $450. Gianella sits in the middle at $200 per story. If a brand wanted all three sisters to promote something simultaneously, the cost would be $450 per person.
But Marquina's life extends beyond the feed. She is in her final year of law school, studying law and political science, and she has been doing her pre-professional internship work. More specifically, she has been working at a criminal law firm. When asked recently whether she had stepped back from influencer work to focus on her studies, she was direct: no, she was still doing both. Some days were harder than others—days when exams piled up or university assignments demanded her attention—but she was managing the balance.
What drew her to law, she explained, was criminal law in particular. The field fascinated her. That was why she had chosen to work in a penalist's office, gaining real experience in the area that most interested her. It was a deliberate choice, not a side hustle squeezed between posts. The work mattered to her in a way that went beyond the metrics of engagement and sponsorship.
The haircut, then, was not just a style change. It was a marker of something else—a moment when Marquina did something for herself, something that had nothing to do with the algorithm or the brand deals or the carefully curated image. She had wanted to cut her hair for years. She had finally done it. And she had given it away. In a life lived partly in public, partly in the serious work of becoming a lawyer, it was a small act of intention.
Notable Quotes
It was my dream, and I fulfilled it— Gianella Marquina, on Instagram
I'm still working and studying. Criminal law fascinates me, which is why I'm working at a criminal law firm— Gianella Marquina
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
So she's an influencer earning real money per post, but she's also in law school. How does that actually work day to day?
It doesn't always work smoothly. She said herself that some days the university workload is so heavy she barely has time to think about Instagram. But the influencer income is real—$200 per story is significant—so she's not abandoning it.
And she's specifically working at a criminal law firm, not just studying?
Yes. She's doing her pre-professional internship there. It's not just theory. She's in an actual office, working in the field she wants to practice in.
Why criminal law? That's a specific choice.
She said it fascinates her. That's the language she used. It's not just a career path—it's something that actually pulls her attention.
The haircut donation—does that fit into this picture somehow?
It's hard to say it's connected directly, but it does suggest someone who's thinking about things beyond the image. She'd wanted to do it for years. Finally did it. Gave the hair away. That's not an influencer move.
So she's not just performing a life for followers?
Not entirely. She's building something real—a legal career, actual work experience. The influencer part pays for it, maybe, but it's not the whole story.