Early life

Maura was born in Madrid to Salvador Garcia Santa-Cruz and Carmen Maura Arenzana. 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 other great grandfather from her mother´s side was the artist Bartolome Maura Montaner, brother of Antonio Maura, a former prime minister of Spain on five occasions and a noted orator.

Maura studied philosophy and literature at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. From 1964 to 1970, she was married to a lawyer, Francisco Forteza, with whom she has two children, Carmen and Pablo.

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. 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.

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 transsexual she played in Almodóvar's Law of Desire, strengthening her image as a strong woman who is never 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 has won recently the "Locarno Excellence Award" for all her cinematographic career.

Maura has worked under the orders of major directors like Almodovar, Ford Coppola, Amos Gitai, Yasmina Reza, Alejandro Agresti, Carlos Saura, Étienne Chatiliez and Alex de la Iglesia.

Filmography

• 1969 - El espíritu (Juan Tamariz).
• 1971
  • El hombre oculto (Alfonso Ungría)
  • Mantis (Luis Mamerto López-Tapia)
• 1973
  • Un casto varón español (Jaime de Armiñán)
  • El asesino está entre los trece (Javier Aguirre)
• 1974
  • Don Juan (Antonio Mercero)
  • Tanata (Luis Mamerto López-Tapia)
• 1975
  • Leonor (Juan Luis Buñuel)
  • El love feroz (José Luis García Sánchez)
  • La encadenada (Manuel Mur Oti)
  • Vida íntima de un seductor cínico (Javier Aguirre)
• 1976
  • El libro de buen amor II (Jaime Bayarri)
  • La mujer es cosa de hombres (Jesús Yagüe)
  • Una pareja como las demás (Miguel Ángel Díez)
  • Ir por lana (Miguel Ángel Díez)
  • Pomporrutas imperiales (Fernando Colomo)
  • La petición (Pilar Miró)
• 1977 - Tigres de papel (Fernando Colomo)
• 1978
  • Los piadosos y los pícaros (Curro Jiménez: Season 3, Episode 11)
  • Los ojos vendados (Carlos Saura)
  • De fresa, limón y menta (Miguel Ángel Díez)
  • Folle... folle... fólleme Tim! (Pedro Almodóvar)
  • Mi blanca Varsovia (Javier Quintana)
  • What's a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (Fernando Colomo)
  • Menos mi madre y mi hermana (Jaime Villate)
• 1980
  • Gary Cooper, que estás en los cielos (Pilar Miró). With Mercedes Sampietro.
  • El hombre de moda (Fernando Méndez Leite)
  • Pepi, Luci, Bom (Pedro Almodóvar)
• 1982 - Femenino singular (Juanjo López)
• 1983
  • El Cid cabreador (Angelino Fons)
  • Dark Habits (Pedro Almodóvar). With Marisa Paredes, Chus Lampreave and Julieta Serrano.
• 1984
  • What Have I Done to Deserve This? (Pedro Almodóvar). With Ángel de Andrés López, Kiti Manver and Chus Lampreave.
  • Sal gorda (Fernando Trueba)
• 1985
  • Sé infiel y no mires con quién (Fernando Trueba). With Ana Belén, Santiago Ramos, Antonio Resines, Verónica Forqué and Chus Lampreave.
  • Extramuros (Miguel Picazo)
• 1986
  • Tata mía (José Luis Borau). With Imperio Argentina, Alfredo Landa and Miguel Rellán.
  • Delirios de amor (Cristina Andreu, Luis Eduardo Aute, Antonio González Vigil and Félix Rotaeta).
  • Matador (Pedro Almodóvar). With Assumpta Serna and Antonio Banderas.
• 1987 - Law of Desire (Pedro Almodóvar). With Eusebio Poncela and Antonio Banderas.
• 1988
  • Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar). (Goya Award). With Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano and María Barranco.
  • 2.30 A.M.
• 1989 - Bâton Rouge (Rafael Moleón). With Victoria Abril and Antonio Banderas.
• 1990
  • ¡Ay, Carmela! (Carlos Saura). (Goya Award). With Andrés Pajares and Gabino Diego.
• 1991
  • Chatarra (Félix Roteta)
  • How to Be a Woman and Not Die in the Attempt (Ana Belén). With Antonio Resines.
• 1992
  • La reina anónima (Gonzalo Suárez). With Marisa Paredes.
  • Sur la terre comme au ciel (Marion Hänsel)
• 1993
  • Sombras en una batalla (Mario Camus). (Goya Award Nominated). With Tito Valverde.
  • Louis, enfant roi (Roger Planchon)
• 1994
  • Cómo ser infeliz y disfrutarlo (Enrique Urbizu)
• 1995
  • Happiness Is in the Field (Étienne Chatiliez)
  • El palomo cojo (Jaime de Armiñán)
  • Pareja de tres (Antoni Verdaguer). With Rosa María Sardá.
  • El rey del río (Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón)
• 1996
  • Amores que matan (Juan Manuel Chumilla). With Juanjo Puigcorbé.
• 1997
  • Elles (Luís Galvao Teles)
  • Alliance cherche doigt (Jean-Pierre Mocky)
  • Tortilla y cinema (Martin Provost)
  • Vivir después (Carlos Galettini)
• 1998
  • Alice y Martin (André Téchiné)
• 1999
  • Lisbon (Antonio Hernández). (Goya Award Nominated). With Sergi López and Federico Luppi.
• 2000
  • La comunidad (Alex de la Iglesia)(Goya Award) (Silver Seashell). With Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Terele Pávez and Sancho Gracia.
• 2001
  • El palo (Eva Lesmes). With Adriana Ozores, Maribel Verdú and Malena Alterio.
• 2002
  • 800 balas (Alex de la Iglesia). With Sancho Gracia and Terele Pávez.
  • Valentín (Alejandro Agresti)
• 2004
  • Entre vivir y soñar (David Albacente and Alfonso Menkes, 2004)
  • Al otro lado
  • La promesa With Ana Fernández.
• 2005
  • Killers on Holiday
  • Free Zone (Amos Gitai). With Natalie Portman.
  • Reinas (Manuel Gómez Pereira). With Marisa Paredes, Verónica Forqué and Mercedes Sampietro.
• 2006
  • Nos chères têtes blondes (Charlotte Silvera)
  • Volver (Pedro Almodóvar)
• 2007
  • Que parezca un accidente (Guillermo de la Guardia)
  • El menor de los males (Antonio Hernández)
• 2008
  • La Virgen Negra (Ignacio Castillo)
  • The Garden of Eden (John Irvin)
• 2009
  • Tetro (Francis Ford Coppola)
• 2010
  • Le Mac
  • Chicas
  • Las Chicas de Oro (TV) (The Golden Girls)
• 2012
  • Paulette
• 2013
  • Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi

Awards

Cannes Film Festival

• 2006-Won: Best Actress for Volver together with Penélope Cruz, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo and Chus Lampreave.

Locarno International Film Festival

• 2007-Won: Locarno Excellence Award

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

• 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)

César Award

• 2012-Won: César Award for Best Supporting Actress for Les femmes du 6e ètage
• 1996-Nominated: César Award for Best Supporting Actress for Le bonheur est dans le pré

[ Source: Wikipedia ]