Carmen Maura
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Born: | September 15, 1945 Madrid, Spain |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Actress |
Carmen García Maura (September 15, 1945, in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish actress. She is a descendant of the conservative Spanish politician Antonio Maura.
[edit] Career
Carmen Maura headed an art gallery and appeared in various nightclub acts. With Tigres de papel (1977) she made her first successful film appearance, and thereafter she worked in the Spanish theatre, films and TV productions. Although she played dramatic roles, her most important genre has always been comedy, e.g. Sal gorda (1984), Sé infiel y no mires con quién (1985) or Tata mía (1986).
Carmen Maura regularly worked with the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. The first film they made together was the anarchic Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (1980). They went on to collaborate on five more movies together, the last of which was Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988), for which she was awarded the European Film Award "Felix" for best actress.
She and Almodóvar broke up professionally (and most likely personally) during the 1990s, but they joined forces again in 2006 for Volver. 'Volver' means 'Return' in Spanish, and one of the many returns the title alludes to is Carmen Maura's return to Almodovar's movies. The female cast of "Volver," Carmen Maura included, won a collective prize for Best Actress at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
She became a gay icon for the role of a transsexual she played in Almodóvar's La ley del deseo, strengthening her image as strong woman who is never afraid to break the boundaries and portray female struggle and strength.
From 1964 to 1970, she was married to Francisco Forteza, with whom she has two children.
[edit] Awards
Cannes Film Festival
- 2006-Won: Best Actress for Volver tied with Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo and Chus Lampreave.
Goya Awards
- 2007-Won: Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Volver (2006)
- 2001-Won: Best Actress in a Leading Role for La comunidad (2000)
- 2000-Nominated: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Lisboa (1999)
- 1994-Nominated: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Sombras en una batalla (1993)
- 1991-Won: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Ay Carmela (1990)
- 1989-Won: Best Actress in a Leading Role for Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988).
Fotogramas de Plata
- 2001-Won: Best Movie Actress for La comunidad (2000).
- 1999-Won: Best TV Actress for A las once en casa (1998).
- 1994-Nominated: Best Movie Actress for Sombras en una batalla (1993)
- 1993-Nomintaed: Best Movie Actress for "La reina anónima" and also Entre el cielo y la tierra (1992)
- 1991-Won: Best Movie Actress for ¡Ay Carmela! (1990)
- 1991-Nominated: Best TV Actress for La mujer de tu vida (1990)
- 1989-Won: Best Movie Actress for Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988)
- 1988-Nominated: Best Movie Actress for La ley del deseo (1987)
- 1987-Nominated: Best Movie Actress for Tata mía (1986) and also Matador (1986)
- 1986-Nominated: Best Movie Actress for Sé infiel y no mires con quién (1985)and Extramuros (1985)
- 1985-Won: Best Movie Actress for ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto? (1984)
- 1982-Won: Best Perfomance in a Television series for Esta noche (1991)
