Carmen Maura

María del Carmen García Maura (born 15 September 1945) is a Spanish actress. In a career that has spanned six decades, she has starred in films such as Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, ¡Ay Carmela!, Common Wealth, and Volver. With three wins, she holds the record for most Goya Awards for Best Actress (for a total of four wins). She also won a Cesar Award in 2012 and a Cannes Film Festival Award in 2006.

Early life

Carmen García Maura was born in Madrid on 15 September 1945 to Salvador García y Santa-Cruz and Carmen Maura y Arenzana.^[1][2] Her great-grandfather was the Count of Fuente Nueva de Arenzana, who lived in the Palace of Arenzana in Madrid, currently the embassy of France. Her great grandfather from her mother's side was artist Bartolomé Maura y Montaner, brother of statesman Antonio Maura.

Maura studied philosophy and literature at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. From 1964 to 1970, she was married to lawyer Francisco Forteza, with whom she has two children, Carmen and Pablo. Later she had a long relationship with Antonio Moreno Rubio, that ended in 1995 when she discovered he had defrauded her, causing bankruptcy.^[3]

Career

Maura began her career as a cabaret singer. Maura's film career was launched in 1970 with an appearance in the film The Man in Hiding. This was followed by a major role in the 1977 film Tigres de papel. Although Maura has played dramatic roles, she is often noted for her comedic roles in films like Sal gorda (1984), Sé infiel y no mires con quién (1985) or Tata mía (1986).

Maura appeared in the first film by Pedro Almodóvar, Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón, in 1980. They went on to collaborate on five additional films in the 1980s, the last of which was Women on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), for which she was awarded the European Film Award "Felix" for best actress.

Maura and Almodóvar appeared to have had a falling out after Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.^[4] They did not work together for over a decade, but joined forces again in 2006 for Volver. 'Volver' means 'Return' in Spanish, and one of the many returns the title alludes to is Maura's return to Almodovar's movies. The female cast of "Volver" won a collective prize for Best Actress at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.^[5]

Maura also appeared in 800 Bullets where she played the mother of the boy who is the main character of the story. Kevin Severson is her son.

Maura is cited as a gay icon for the role of a transgender person that she played in Almodóvar's Law of Desire,^[6] strengthening her image as a strong woman who is not afraid to break through boundaries.

Maura has won more Goya Awards for Best Leading Actress than any other actress in the history of Spanish film. She won the "Locarno Excellence Award" in 2007 for the entirety of her cinematographic career.

Maura has worked with major directors like Almodovar, Francis Ford Coppola, Amos Gitai, Yasmina Reza, Alejandro Agresti, Carlos Saura, Étienne Chatiliez and Álex de la Iglesia.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Cannes Film Festival

César Award

European Film Awards

Goya Awards

Locarno Festival

San Sebastián International Film Festival

Silver Condor Awards

Fotogramas de Plata

• 2007-Nominated: Best Movie Actress for Volver (2006)
• 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-Nominated: 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 Performance in a Television series for Esta noche (1981)

Honours

• France: Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (1996).
• Spain: Dame Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise (09/10/2015).^[12]

References

1. ^ Pérez-Maura y de la Peña, Alfonso (2018). "Vidas en plenitud: Miguel, Bartolomé, y Francisco Maura y Montaner". Memòries de la Reial Acadèmia Mallorquina d'Estudis Genealógics, Heràldics i Històrics. 28: 129. ISSN 1885-8600
2. ^ "Diez pistas para conocer a Carmen Maura". Diez Minutos. 27 September 2015. Archived 1 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
3. ^ "Carmen Maura, la diva del cine europeo a la que violaron, arruinaron y le quitaron a sus hijos" (in Spanish). ELMUNDO. 2020-09-15. Archived 2020-10-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
4. ^ Joe Meyers, Connecticut Post (2007-09-02). Almodovar box set a must for film buffs Archived September 12, 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
5. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Volver". festival-cannes.com. Archived 2011-08-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
6. ^ The Guardian (August 13, 2006). 'Sex was my way of coping with death' (interview with Pedro Almodóvar). Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
7. ^ Willem, Linda M. (ed.) (2003). Carlos Saura: Interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. p. XXXIII. ISBN 1-57806-493-7.
8. ^ Stiletano, Marcelo (8 March 2024). "Carmen Maura está en la Argentina y filma una película de terror producida por el director de La sociedad de la nieve". La Nación. Archived 5 July 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
9. ^ "'Deudas', la serie de Carmen Maura, ya tiene fecha de estreno en ATRESplayer PREMIUM" (in Spanish). Diez Minutos. 13 January 2021. Archived 8 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
10. ^ "Candidatos al Cóndor de Plata". La Nación. 8 January 2014. Archived 25 December 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
11. ^ ""Valentín", la más premiada en los Cóndor de Plata". El Día. 6 May 2004. Archived 2023-12-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
12. ^ "Boletín Oficial del Estado". Archived 2016-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-06-25.

External links

• Carmen Maura at IMDb
• Bilingual forum created by young fans