Background:

Mexican actress Cecilia Suarez first gained recognition for playing Andrea in the Mexican box office hit “Sex, Shame & Tears” (1999), written and directed by Antonio Serrano. She continued to give noteworthy performances in “Sin ton ni Sonia” (2003) and “Pink Punch” (2004), from which she nabbed an Mexican MTV Movie nomination each, and “Blue Eyelids” (2007), where she picked up a Lleida Latin-American Film Festival Award and a Silver Ariel nomination for her starring turn as Marina Farfán. On the small screen, Suarez was nominated for an International Emmy Award for her role as La Bambi in the television series “Capadocia” (2008). The graduate of US' Illinois State University has also appeared in American films like “Spanglish” (2004, with Adam Sandler), “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” (2005, with Tommy Lee Jones) and “The Air I Breathe” (2007, with Kevin Bacon) and the US television shows, such as “For the People” (2002), “Boston Legal” (2007) and “Medium” (2009). She won a Mexican Association of Theater Critics Award for her work on the stage play “Popcorn” (1999).   

As for her personal life, Suarez dated fellow actor Gael García Bernal in early 2000s. In April 2010, she and then companion Osvaldo de León welcomed a son, Teo de León. The couple separated in August 2010.    


Valedictorian

Childhood and Family:

Cecilia Suarez was born on November 22, 1971, in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She attended Illinois State University in the United States to study theater in 1991. She graduated class valedictorian in 1995 and received the Jean Sharfenberg award. She also trained at John Malkovich's acting school in Chicago. She is the younger sister of director, writer and producer María Fernanda Suarez.    

In April 2010, Cecilia gave birth to her first child, son Teo de León. She and the father of her son,Osvaldo de León, parted ways in August 2010.
   

Sex, Shame & Tears  

Career:

Cecilia Suarez kicked off her acting career in 1991, when she went into the Theater Faculty of the Illinois State University. After completing her acting degree in 1995, she performed in theater productions like “'The Macbeth Project” (1994), in which she starred as Lady Macbeth, “The Crucible” (1995), “Henry IV, Part II” (Illinois Shakespeare Festival, 1995-1996), “Everyman” (1995-1996) and “Santos & Santos” (1996).

After returning back to Mexico in 1997, Suarez appeared in the short films “Nic Habana,” “Table Dance” (both 1997) and “Wash and Wear” (1998) which was directed by her sister María Fernanda Suarez, Gerardo Pardo and  Sergio Guerrero, respectively. She also played Pily in the Mexican soap opera “Mi pequeña traviesa” (1997), opposite Michelle Vieth, Héctor Soberón and Enrique Rocha, and Alicia Olmedo in the television miniseries “La casa del naranjo” (1998), directed by Alejandro Gamboa.

Suarez's breakthrough film role came when she was cast as Andrea in “Sexo, pudor y lágrimas” (“Sex, Shame & Tears”, 1999), an adaptation of the successful play of the same name, which was written Antonio Serrano, who directed the film himself. The film was a huge box office success in Mexico, and won five Silver Ariels from the Mexican Academy of Film, including Best Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Source  and Best Set Design. The film was released in the United States on October 1, 1999.

Suarez gained further success on the stage thanks to her portrayal of Scout in a  Mexican production of the play “Popcorn” (1999). She was awarded the Best Actress in a Comedy Award by the Mexican Association of Theater Critics for the role. Meanwhile, on the small screen, she appeared in the television show “Cuentos para solitarios” (1999). 

In the new millennium, Suarez co-starred with Demián Bichir and Luis Felipe Tovar in  the crime movie “Todo el poder” (2000), directed by Fernando Sariñana, played the leading role of Pilar in “Moctezuma's Revenge” (2002), opposite Juan Carlos Remolina and Max Kerlow, and was cast alongside Juan Manuel Bernal and Mariana Gajá in Carlos Sama's comedy, “Sin ton ni Sonia” (2003), where she received a Mexican MTV Movie nomination in the category of Favorite Actress for her performance as Renée. In “Cuban Blood” (2003), the directorial debut of Juan Gerard, she appeared with Harvey Keitel and then boyfriend Gael García Bernal. She also acted in several television programs like “Todo por amor” (2000, as Carmina García Dávila), “Lo que callamos las mujeres” (2001, as Elena), “Fidel” (2002, as Celia Sanchez) and the US Lifetime TV production's, “For the People” (2002, as Asst. Dist. Atty. Anita Lopez).

In 2004, Suarez was cast as Alicia in the boxing film “Pink Punch” (“Puños rosas”), directed and co-written by Beto Gómez, and starring Jose Yenque, Rodrigo Oviedo and Marius Biegai. She earned a Mexican MTV Movie nomination for Favorite Actress for her performance. She made her Hollywood film debut in James L. Brooks' “Spanglish” (2004), starring Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, and Téa Leoni. The film was met with a mixed critical reception and was a box office disappointment. The same year, she also co-starred with Miguel Ángel Fuentes, Laura Gonzalez and Jesús Ochoa in the short film “Charros,” directed by Jorge Riggen.

Next up for Suarez, she worked in such films as “Isy” (short, 2005), “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada” (2005), a Cannes award winning American drama film directed by Tommy Lee Jones, written by Guillermo Arriaga, and starring Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio Cedillo, and Dwight Yoakam, “Travesía” (short, 2005), Luis Estrada's “Un mundo maravilloso” (“A Wonderful World,” 2006), “Sólo Dios sabe” (“Only God Knows,” 2006), with Diego Luna, Alice Braga and Damián Alcázar, “Flash Lesson” (short, 2007), “Gente bien... atascada” (short, 2007) and “The Air I Breathe” (2007), the directorial film debut of Korean American filmmaker Jieho Lee, where she co-starred with Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emile Hirsch, and Forest Whitaker. For her starring role as Marina Farfán in Ernesto Contreras' “Blue Eyelids” (“Párpados azules,” 2007), she won the Best Actress Award at the 2008 Lleida Latin-American Film Festival and was nominated for the Silver Ariel for Best Actress.

In 2007, Suarez made a guest appearance as Maria Delgadillo in an episode of “Boston Legal” called “Duck and Cover.”

In 2008, Suarez landed the role of Aurelia 'La Bambi' Sosa in the television series “Capadocia,” whose cast also included Ana de la Reguera, Juan Manuel Bernal and Dolores Heredia. She was nominated for a 2009 International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actress for the role. She would reprise the role in the 2010 series “Capadocia 2.” In between, Suarez appeared in the television series “Mujeres asesinas” (2008, as Ana Figeroa), “Locas de amor” (2009, as Juana Vázquez) and CBS' supernatural drama series, “Medium” (2009, as Maria Vargas). In addition, she appeared as Bárbara Kurtz on Mariana Chenillo's critically acclaimed comedy/drama film, “Nora's Will” (2008), starring Fernando Luján, Enrique Arreola and Ari Brickman.  

2010 saw Suarez play Amadita in the drama film “Hidalgo - La historia jamás contada,” directed by Antonio Serrano. The cast also included Demián Bichir, Ana de la Reguera and Miguel Rodarte. Besides, she appeared as Leona Vicario in the television series “Gritos de muerte y libertad” (2010). In the following year, she portrayed Carmen Romero in the biographical television series “El Encanto del Aguila,” starring Gerardo Trejoluna, Andrés Montiel and Ari Brickman, and starred in Lucia Carreras' drama film, “Nos Vemos, Papá” (“See You, Dad”), along with Verónica Langer and Gabriela de la Garza.


Awards:

Lleida Latin-American Film Festival: Best Actress, “Blue Eyelids” 2008
Mexican Association of Theater Critics: Best Actress in a Comedy, “Popcorn,” 1999
Show Less