Sarah Mintz with her two sons. Photo: Screenshot/Reshet 13.

A Colombian actress and former telenovela star who converted from Catholicism to Judaism spoke to Israel’s Reshet 13 on Thursday about her new life as an Orthodox Jew living in Israel.

Sarah Mintz, 45, was born Maritza Rodríguez Gómez. In 2001 in Los Angeles, the Spanish-language soap opera star met Emmy Award-winning Mexican television producer Joshua Mintz, a Conservative Jew who “went to shul two days a year,” he said. She said the couple grew together spiritually, married in 2005 and together with their twin boys, Akiva and Yehuda, moved to Jerusalem in April.

“For more than 26 years I had a career as a television host, actress, model, in the theater on the red carpets — what didn’t I do? But it doesn’t compares to what I have today,” said Sarah, who wears a wig and only modest attire.

When asked how she felt living in Israel during the recent clashes between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, she said “I wasn’t scared. The first thing I said to myself was ‘this is the best place to be. I’m in God’s hands.’ And that’s how I have felt from the moment I stepped foot in Israel.”

She then grew emotional discussing the moment when she stood in front of the rabbinic court in Israel to complete her conversion to Judaism.

“The rabbis asked me: Are you sure?” she recalled. “I’m proud to be Jewish, it’s a joy for me, it’s easy — it’s like being born again without dying. It’s being in the right place. It’s wonderful.”

Mintz was most recently the star of the Telemundo show “Silvana sin lana” and the television series “El Señor de los Cielos.” She now describes herself on Instagram as a “Jewish orthodox fashion and lifestyle influencer.” She did not rule out continuing her acting career in Israel, but said she would have to finish learning to speak Hebrew first.

Watch her entire interview with Reshet 13 below.