She was a drug smuggler, a mother, a prisoner, and a poet. For decades, Mirtha Jung’s story got lost behind Hollywood’s version of her life. But the real Mirtha—the one who rebuilt her life from nothing, stayed sober for 44 years, and wrote her own truth—is far more interesting than any film could capture.
Quick Reference: Mirtha Jung Biography
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Birth Name | Mirtha Calderon Del Val |
| Birth Date | December 3, 1952 |
| Birthplace | Cuba |
| Age (2025) | 72 years old |
| Nationality | Cuban-American |
| Marriage to George Jung | 1977–1984 |
| Daughter | Kristina Sunshine Jung (born August 1, 1978) |
| Notable Work | Co-author of “Recovery from Blow” (2018) |
| Profession | Poet, Author, Entrepreneur |
| Years Sober | 44+ years (since 1981) |
| Prison Sentence | 3 years federal prison (1979–1981) |
| Film Portrayal | Penélope Cruz in “Blow” (2001) |
| Current Status | Private life, maintains low public profile |
| Net Worth | Estimated $150,000–$300,000 |
| Social Media | @the_real_mirthajung (Instagram) |
Who Is Mirtha Jung?
Most people know Mirtha Jung as “George Jung’s ex-wife”—the supporting character in the 2001 film “Blow.” But that label misses the entire point of her life. She’s not just connected to a famous drug trafficker. She’s a woman who made terrible choices, faced real consequences, and spent the last 44 years proving that people can actually change.
Born in Cuba in 1952, Mirtha grew up during a time of massive political upheaval. Her early years shaped who she’d become—someone resourceful, tough, and ready to survive by any means necessary. She wasn’t born into crime; she walked into it with her eyes open, understanding the risks. That matters, because it means she owns her choices rather than playing victim.
From Cuba to Colombia: The Road to Danger
Mirtha’s childhood in post-revolution Cuba wasn’t easy. Economic hardship and limited opportunities pushed thousands of Cubans to seek better lives elsewhere. For Mirtha, that meant moving to Colombia in her teens. She worked as a waitress, but she was also observant and smart. She noticed opportunities in the booming cocaine business taking over Colombia during the 1970s.
Before she ever met George Jung, Mirtha was already connected to the Medellín Cartel—one of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. This is a detail that most articles gloss over, but it’s crucial. She wasn’t an innocent woman corrupted by a bad man. She was already operating in that world when they met. She brought experience and connections to their partnership. She was an active participant, not a passive bystander.
Meeting George Jung: The Partnership That Changed Everything
In February 1975, Mirtha met George Jung at a wedding in Colombia. George was 34; Mirtha was 24. He was already deep into cocaine smuggling, flying massive quantities of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Their connection was instant and intense. They shared ambition, appetite for risk, and a hunger for the wealth that came with the drug trade.
They married in 1977. By then, they were operating as partners in his smuggling operation. Mirtha had the local connections; George had the transportation network. Together, they moved cocaine across borders and watched money pile up in ways that seemed impossible. They lived a lifestyle most people only see in movies—mansions, expensive cars, cash flowing everywhere. For a few years, they had it all, or so it seemed.
Motherhood in the Middle of Chaos
August 1, 1978: Their daughter Kristina Sunshine Jung was born. By this time, Mirtha was both a mother and an active drug smuggler. She was also a cocaine addict. Pregnancy and addiction don’t mix well. Doctors warned her that her drug use threatened her baby’s health. She knew it was dangerous. Most women would have quit right then. Mirtha was trapped—by her addiction, by her lifestyle, by the choices she’d already made.
This is where her story gets complicated. She loved her daughter, but she was also caught in a system that didn’t make it easy to escape. She was pregnant, addicted, and running cocaine across international borders. That reality shows she wasn’t innocent, but it also shows she was human—flawed and struggling even while doing wrong.
Prison, Rock Bottom, and the Choice to Change
In the late 1970s, federal agents caught up with Mirtha. She was arrested for possession of a dangerous amount of cocaine. The court sentenced her to three years in federal prison. This is the part the movie “Blow” skips over completely. Hollywood gave George Jung a redemption arc while keeping Mirtha’s actual redemption hidden.
Prison broke something in her—or maybe it fixed something. During those three years locked away from her daughter, Mirtha decided she was done. She participated in rehabilitation programs. She processed her addiction. She thought about Kristina growing up without her mother. And she made a decision that would shape the rest of her life: she was going to get clean and stay clean.
She was released in 1981, at age 29, determined to rebuild. What’s remarkable isn’t just that she got sober—it’s that she stayed sober. For 44 years. That’s not one moment of strength. That’s every single day choosing recovery over the pull of addiction. That’s 44 years of discipline, commitment, and showing up for her daughter.
Leaving George: The Divorce That Mattered
In 1984, six years after marrying George, Mirtha divorced him. People assumed she left because their relationship had fallen apart. The truth was more deliberate than that. She made a choice: she couldn’t stay with a man who refused to leave the drug trade. George wanted to keep smuggling. Mirtha wanted out—completely out. She wanted to be the mother her daughter deserved. So she left.
This is where Mirtha’s agency matters. She didn’t drift away from her old life. She walked away from it, even from the man she loved, because she had a bigger priority: raising her child without crime and addiction destroying that relationship.
The Life After: Poet, Writer, Entrepreneur
After prison, Mirtha rebuilt herself. She became a poet, a writer, and an entrepreneur. Specific details about what she did during those decades aren’t widely known—she protected her privacy fiercely. But the fact that she went from convicted felon to self-sufficient woman in a world that makes that incredibly hard says something about her determination.
She raised Kristina, maintained her sobriety, and built a life that didn’t depend on notoriety. When your past is as public as Mirtha’s, choosing anonymity is powerful. She didn’t chase fame or work the talk-show circuit. She chose a quiet life.
‘Blow’ and Unexpected Fame
The 2001 film “Blow” changed everything. Suddenly, people were interested in Mirtha’s story. Actress Penélope Cruz played her character on screen. Mirtha watched her life dramatized, edited, and simplified for entertainment. Some things the film got right—the fashion, the 1970s setting, the basic facts. Other things it got very wrong. The movie didn’t show her arrest. It didn’t show her redemption. It attributed her strength to George instead of crediting her with her own transformation.
Director Ted Demme treated Mirtha with respect. He became her friend. His unexpected death just months after the film came out triggered something in her. She realized the world had a version of her story that wasn’t true. And she had a chance to tell it herself.
Her Book: ‘Recovery from Blow’
In 2018, Mirtha and her adult daughter Kristina published a memoir called “Recovery from Blow.” By then, Kristina was grown—a businesswoman and writer herself. They’d worked through the pain of those early years when Mirtha was in prison. They’d rebuilt their relationship. And they chose to document their journey together.
The book isn’t a redemption fantasy. It’s honest about what Mirtha did, what she lost, and what it actually took to build a different life. It’s her perspective on the movie, her experience in prison, her decision to leave George, and her decades of recovery work. It’s Mirtha telling her own story on her own terms.
44 Years Sober: What Recovery Really Looks Like
Since 1981, Mirtha has not used drugs. That’s not a small thing. Most people in the criminal justice system face barriers to rebuilding that most of us can’t imagine. They have criminal records that limit job options. They face social stigma. They battle addiction in a world that’s actively against them. Mirtha faced all that—and she succeeded anyway.
Recovery isn’t dramatic. It’s not a movie scene where someone hits rock bottom and bounces back in two hours. It’s a thousand small choices, every single day, to keep moving forward. It’s dealing with cravings, memories, and shame without turning to drugs. It’s building an identity that isn’t defined by your worst moments. That’s what 44 years of Mirtha’s life has looked like.
Where She Is Today
Mirtha is 72 years old now, living a private life. She maintains a small social media presence through Instagram, but she’s not chasing attention. She’s built boundaries between her past and her present. Her relationship with Kristina is steady. She’s been sober for longer than she was ever addicted. She’s not wealthy, but she’s secure. She owns her life.
What she’s not doing matters too. She’s not profiting off sensationalism. She’s not selling her story to the highest bidder. She chose to tell it once, truthfully, through her book. The rest is hers to keep.
The Real Mirtha Jung
Mirtha Jung’s story doesn’t fit neatly into Hollywood narratives about redemption. She’s not a hero who overcame adversity. She’s not a villain who got what she deserved. She’s a woman who committed crimes, served time, and then spent 44 years proving she could be something different. She’s a mother who chose her daughter over her lifestyle. She’s a daughter of the cocaine wars who walked away and stayed away.
Her legacy isn’t about being famous or infamous. It’s about showing that change is possible—not easy, not quick, but genuinely possible. In a world obsessed with redemption stories, Mirtha’s quiet, 44-year commitment to staying clean and building a life worth living might be the most powerful redemption story of all.
The film “Blow” introduced people to Mirtha Jung. But her real story—the one she lived through prison, sobriety, motherhood, and decades of slow, steady rebuilding—is the one worth paying attention to.
