Maria Full of Grace

Background:

“It is amazing. None of us ever expected (‘Maria Full of Grace’) to be so big. It was a film that was made with all the love in the world and it is being so well received. We would have never expected it.” Catalina Sandino Moreno

A budding actress, Catalina Sandino Moreno is famous as the first Colombian to be nominated for an Oscar after starring as a drug mule in the highly successful Maria Full Of Grace (2004) for writer/director Joshua Marston. For her amazing performance, she was handed countless awards, including an Independent Spirit Award, a Seattle International Film Festival Award, a Berlin International Film Festival Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award as well as a Chicago Film Critics Association Award.

The recipient of the 2005 ShoWest International Star of the Year has since appeared in a production of Shakespeare’s “King John” and films Journey to the End of the Night (2006), Paris, je t'aime (2006) and Fast Food Nation (2006). Moreno is scheduled to play roles in the forthcoming Ethan Hawke’s The Hottest State (2007), The Heart of the Earth (2007) and Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

5’ 6½” Moreno was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 2005. She has shared her time outside the limelight with David Elwell since 2002, whom she married in 2006.


Marketing Student

Childhood and Family:

In Bogotá, Colombia, Catalina Sandino Moreno was born on born April 19, 1981 to a pathologist mother. She was educated in Saint George’s School and studied advertising at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. Developing a love for theater and stage at an early age, Catalina attended the Ruben Di Pietro theatre academy while still in high school. After moving to New York City, she further honed her craft at the Lee Starsberg Institute.

Catalina married long-time companion David Elwell on April 15, 2006. Before the marriage, the couple had lived together for almost four years.


From Bogotá to NYC

Career:

“I love theater. Theater is the most amazing thing ever. I want to keep learning and I think that by doing as much theater as I can, it will make me a better actress for film.” Catalina Sandino Moreno

A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Catalina Sandino Moreno was attracted in stage and theater at a young age. She studied acting at Ruben Di Pietro theatre academy in Bogotá for four years. There, she participated in several plays such as “Acuerdo para Cambiar de Casa” by Griselda Gambaro, “Laughing Wild” by Christopher Durand and “The Dark Room” by Tennessee Williams.

Her breakout screen role arrived when filmmaker Joshua Marston cast an unknown Moreno in the title role of Maria Full of Grace (2004), screened at Sundance. Filmed in her homeland of Bogotá, the commanding and touching film was a hit on the international festival circuit. As for Moreno, her heartbreaking portrayal of a disobedient Columbian girl who chooses to become a drug mule won her a number of accolades, most notably an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She also took home such awards as a Seattle International Film Festival, a Berlin International Film Festival, an Imagen, an Independent Spirit and a Premios ACE for Best Actress, an Online Film Critics Society and a Gotham for Best Breakthrough Performance, a Chicago Film Critics Association for Most Promising Performer as well as a Los Angeles Film Critics Association for New Generation, an award she shared with the director Joshua Marston.

“...if you do theater in Colombia you’ll die from hunger. Now I’m living in New York City. It’s changed my whole point of view on everything. Being independent, having a little apartment, cooking. In Colombia you live with your parents until you’re twenty-five and get a job and then get married.” Catalina Sandino Moreno

After the promising debut, the up-and-coming actress made her way to New York City to further pursue her dreams. A student of NYC’s Lee Starsberg Institute, she quickly hit the New York stage by playing the role of Spanish princess Blanche in the Frog & Peach Theatre Company’s production of Shakespeare’s “King John.” Recently, she was cast opposite Brendan Fraser and Scott Glenn in drama/thriller film Journey to the End of the Night (2006) and acted in the German/French production Paris, je t'aime (2006), playing Ana. The same year, she had a supporting role in the Cannes Film Festival-premiered Fast Food Nation, directed and co-written by Richard Linklater. Among her costars are Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and singer Avril Lavigne.

Moreno is set to team up with Mark Webber, Sonia Braga, Michelle Williams, Laura Linney and Jesse Harris in The Hottest State (2007), Ethan Hawke’s adaptation of his own novel. Additionally, she will play roles in Spanish period drama The Heart of the Earth (2007), a tragedy about a 19th-century wallop that was the first ecological protest, and the Mike Newell-directed Love in the Time of Cholera (2007). The latter film will cast the actress opposite Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt and Giovanna Mezzogiorno.


Awards:

- ShoWest: Special Award, International Star of the Year, 2005
- Premios ACE: Best Actress, Maria Full of Grace, 2005
- Online Film Critics Society: Best Breakthrough Performance, Maria Full of Grace, 2005
- Independent Spirit: Best Female Lead, Maria Full of Grace, 2005
- Imagen: Best Actress – Film, Maria Full of Grace, 2005
- Berlin International Film Festival: Silver Berlin Bear, Best Actress, Maria Full of Grace, 2004 (tied with Charlize Theron for Monster (2003))
- Chicago Film Critics Association: Most Promising Performer, Maria Full of Grace, 2004
- Gotham: Breakthrough Award, Maria Full of Grace, 2004
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association: New Generation, shared Joshua Marston (director), Maria Full of Grace, 2004
- Seattle International Film Festival: Golden Space Needle, Best Actress, Maria Full of Grace, 2004