Biography for
Carmen Maura More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

15 September 1945, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Birth Name

Carmen García Maura

Height

5' 3½" (1.61 m)

Mini Biography

Descendant of the conservative Spanish politician Antonio Maura, Carmen lead an art gallery and appeared in various roles in night- clubs. With Tigres de papel (1977) she had her first successful appearance on the movie screen and thereafter she worked at the theatre, the movies and in TV productions. Although she played dramatic roles, too, her most important genre has always been the comedy, e.g. Coarse Salt (1984), Sé infiel y no mires con quién (1985) or Dear Nanny (1986). She has worked regularly with the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, from the film Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom (1980) (taking in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) for which she was awarded the European Film Award "Felix" as best actress) to, currently Volver (2006/I).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Volker Boehm

Spouse

Francisco Forteza

(1964 - 1970) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Great-grand-niece of the President of the Goverment of Spain Antonio Maura.

Fluent in French and some English, but almost always does her interviews in her native Castellano (Spanish).

Won the "Goya Award" (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar) in 1989, 1991, 2001 and 2007.

Headed an art gallery and performed in night-clubs before starting her acting career.

Her role as transsexual on Law of Desire (1987) made her a gay icon.

Mother, with Francisco, of Carmen and Pablo.

Her ex-husband, Francisco, is a lawyer.

Was originally offered the role of Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas's housemaid in The War of the Roses (1989) that was ultimately played by German actress Marianne Sägebrecht.

Has a granddaughter called Carla (b. 2003).

Had a brief affair with Fernando Colomo. They remain very good friends.

Personal Quotes

On strategy: All the great decisions in my life have been made in less than half an hour.

Where Are They Now

(July 2010) Filming a new Spanish adaptation of "The Golden Girls" (1985).