Emma Suárez facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emma Suárez
Suárez in 2017
Born	Emma Suárez Bodelón (1964-06-25) 25 June 1964 (age 61) Madrid, Spain
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1979–present

Emma Suárez Bodelón (born on June 25, 1964) is a famous Spanish actress. She has won many awards, including three Goya Awards, which are like the Oscars in Spain.

Emma started acting as a child in the movie Memoirs of Leticia Valle in 1979. As she grew up, she became a professional actress in both movies and plays. Her first main role as an adult was in The White Dove. She became very well-known and respected in Spanish cinema during the 1990s. She starred in films like Cows (1992), The Red Squirrel (1993), Earth (1996), and The Dog in the Manger (1996). For The Dog in the Manger, she won her first Goya Award for Best Actress.

She continued her successful career in the 2000s and 2010s. Some of her notable films from these years include Hours of Light (2004), Under the Stars (2007), The Mosquito Net (2010), Julieta (2016), and The Next Skin (2016). In 2017, she won two Goya Awards for her work in Julieta and The Next Skin. Since then, she has appeared in films like April's Daughter (2017), Josephine (2021), and The Rite of Spring. She has also starred in TV series such as La zona, Néboa, and Intimacy.

Early Life and First Roles

Emma Suárez Bodelón was born in Madrid, Spain, on June 25, 1964. Her family wasn't involved in acting. When she was 14, her dad saw an ad for a movie audition in a newspaper. He encouraged her to try out, and she got the part! This was her first role in Memoirs of Leticia Valle (1979), where she played the main character.

From age 15 to 25, Emma gained experience by acting in plays. Some of these plays included El cementerio de los pájaros and Bajarse al moro. She also had early roles in films like Double Feature (1984) and Dear Nanny (1986).

She became even more well-known after appearing in the music video for Joaquín Sabina's song "Así estoy sin ti". In 1989, she starred in Isabel Coixet's first movie as a director, Too Old to Die Young. That same year, she also starred with Antonio Banderas in The White Dove. She also appeared in Imanol Uribe's fantasy film La luna negra. Even though Too Old to Die Young wasn't a big hit, Emma won the Sant Jordi Award for Best Spanish Actress in 1990. In 1990, she acted alongside Antonio Banderas again in the drama Against the Wind.

Becoming a Star in the 1990s

Emma Suárez's career really took off with her roles in three films by director Julio Medem. These films were Cows (1992), The Red Squirrel (1993), and Earth (1996). In Cows, she acted for the first time with Carmelo Gómez. They became a famous acting duo in Spanish movies. In The Red Squirrel, she played a young woman who lost her memory after a motorcycle accident. Her performance in this film earned her first Goya Award nomination. After this movie, she even turned down an offer from Steven Spielberg to star in The Mask of Zorro. In Earth, she played a quiet and disciplined woman.

In 1994, Emma also appeared in the romantic comedy Souvenir. She played a flight attendant named Rita.

Suárez then starred in The Dog in the Manger (1996), directed by Pilar Miró. This movie was based on a play from 1618. Emma had to say all her lines in verse, which is like poetry, and she trained hard for it. For her role as Diana, Countess of Belfor, in The Dog in the Manger, Emma won her first Goya Award for Best Leading Actress.

In 1998, she played a tough fighter in the comedy Time Out. In 1999, she starred as Delfina in The City of Marvels, a movie based on a famous novel. She also played a straight woman who falls for a gay man in the romantic comedy-drama I Will Survive.

Recent Roles and Awards

Emma Suárez (left) with fellow actress Ana Risueño [es] at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (c. 2005).

In 2001, Emma starred in the film Dama de Porto Pim, set during World War II. For her role as a single mother dealing with her problems in Under the Stars (2007), Emma received another Goya Award nomination. She also played a bounty hunter in the Mexican film Todos los días son tuyos (2007).

In 2010, Suárez appeared in The Mosquito Net, a film about a family in Spain. She played an artist who was struggling with a lot of pain. Emma said this was one of her most challenging roles. She was nominated for a Goya Award and a Gaudí Award for this role. She also won a Forqué Award for Best Actress.

Suárez (waving right hand) attending the Cannes presentation of Julieta along with Michelle Jenner, Daniel Grao, Adriana Ugarte, Pedro Almodóvar, and Inma Cuesta in May 2016.

In Pedro Almodóvar's film Julieta, Emma Suárez played the main character, Julieta, along with Adriana Ugarte. The film was shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Emma won her second Goya Award for Best Leading Actress for playing Julieta, a 55-year-old teacher thinking about secrets she has kept from her daughter. At the same awards ceremony, she also won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Next Skin. This was a big achievement, winning two Goya Awards in one night!

In 2017, she starred in April's Daughter, which was also shown at Cannes. Critics praised her performance, saying she made her character very believable.

Suárez played a woman trying to get a lot of money quickly in the thriller 70 Big Ones (2018).

In 2019, Emma returned to the horror genre in The Influence, where she played a scary mother. She also starred in the Spanish-Greek film Window to the Sea, playing a woman with cancer who rethinks her life during a trip to Greece.

Her TV work in the 2010s includes La zona, for which she won a Feroz Award. In 2020, she starred as agent Mónica Ortiz in the mystery TV series Néboa. In December 2020, she received the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts from the Spanish government, a special honor for artists.

In 2021, she starred in the drama film Josephine, playing a mother who starts a relationship with a prison guard. This role earned her another nomination for the Goya Award for Best Leading Actress. In 2022, her supporting role as a mother in The Rite of Spring earned her a nomination for the Feroz Award.

In 2023, she starred in Someone Who Takes Care of Me and the fantasy comedy The Tenderness. In 2024, she appeared in Dismantling an Elephant. In 2025, she performed in the play El cuarto de atrás and starred in the TV thriller The Gardener.

Selected Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1979	Memorias de Leticia Valle (Memoirs of Leticia Valle)	Leticia Valle	First feature film role
1984	Sesión continua (Double Feature)
	El jardín secreto [es]
1986	Tata mía (Dear Nanny)
1989	Demasiado viejo para morir joven [es] (Too Old to Die Young)	Evax
	La blanca paloma [es] (The White Dove)	Rocío
	La luna negra [es]	Lola
1990	Contra el viento (Against the Wind)	Ana
	A solas contigo (Alone Together)	Gloria's sister
1992	Vacas	Cristina
	Orquesta Club Virginia (Club Virginia Orchestra)	María
1993	La ardilla roja (The Red Squirrel)	Lisa
1994	Sombras paralelas [ca]	Alteria
	Souvenir	Rita
1995	Una casa en las afueras (A House on the Outskirts)	Yolanda
1996	Tu nombre envenena mis sueños (Your Name Poisons My Dreams)	Julia Buendía
	El perro del hortelano (The Dog in the Manger)	Diana, Countess of Belfor
	Tierra (Earth)	Ángela
1998	Golpe de estadio (Time Out)	María
1999	La ciudad de los prodigios (The City of Marvels)	Delfina
	Sobreviviré (I Will Survive)	Marga
2000	Besos para todos (Kisses for Everyone)	Vicky
2001	Visionarios (Visionaries)	Carmen Molina
	Dama de Porto Pim [es]	Lucía
2002	El caballero Don Quijote (Don Quixote, Knight Errant)	Duchess
2003	Sansa
2004	Horas de luz (Hours of Light)	Mari Mar
2007	Bajo las estrellas (Under the Stars)	Nines
	Todos los días son tuyos [es]	La Rubia
2008	La casa de mi padre [es]	Blanca
2010	Herois (Forever Young)	Gloria
	La mosquitera (The Mosquito Net)	Alicia
2011	¿Para qué sirve un oso?	Natalia
2012	Buscando a Eimish [ca]	Valeria
2014	Murieron por encima de sus posibilidades (Dying Beyond Their Means)	Ana
2015	Novatos [ca]
2016	Julieta	Julieta Arcos
	Las furias (The Furies)	Ana
	La propera pell (The Next Skin)	Ana
	Falling	Alma
2017	Las hijas de Abril (April's Daughter)	Abril
2018	70 binladens (70 Big Ones)	Raquel
2019	Una ventana al mar [eu] (Window to the Sea)	María
	La influencia (The Influence)	Victoria
2020	Invisibles (The Invisible)	Elsa
2021	Josefina (Josephine)	Berta
2022	La consagración de la primavera (The Rite of Spring)	Isabel
2023	Alguien que cuide de mí (Someone Who Takes Care of Me)	Cecilia
	La ternura (The Tenderness)	Queen Esmeralda
2024	Desmontando un elefante (Dismantling an Elephant)	Marga
2025	The Birthday Party
TBD	Hora y veinte
	Ancestral
	Emergency Exit
	Fragmentos

Television

Awards and Honors

Emma Suárez holding her Alice Guy film award at the closing gala of the 2023 CiBRA Festival.

Emma Suárez has received many awards for her acting. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Emma Suárez para niños