Maria Bakalova facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Bakalova
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| Мария Бакалова | |
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Bakalova in 2024
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Maria Valcheva Bakalova
4 June 1996 Burgas, Bulgaria
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| Alma mater | National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Awards | Full list |
Maria Bakalova is a talented actress from Bulgaria. She was born on June 4, 1996. Maria has won many awards for her acting, including a Critics' Choice Movie Award. She has also been nominated for other big awards like an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Maria grew up in Burgas, Bulgaria. She started her acting career in Bulgarian movies while studying at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. She often played serious roles in films like Transgression (2017) and The Father (2019). Maria became very well known after starring in the 2020 movie Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. This film helped her get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Since then, Maria has acted in different types of movies. These include Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) and The Apprentice (2024), where she played Ivana Trump. She has also lent her voice to characters, such as Cosmo the Spacedog in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). She also voiced a character in the DC Universe series Creature Commandos (2024).
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Maria Bakalova's Early Life and Career
Growing Up in Bulgaria
Maria Valcheva Bakalova was born on June 4, 1996, in Burgas, Bulgaria. Her mother, Rumyana Bakalova, was a nurse, and her father, Valcho Bakalov, was a chemist. Maria started taking singing lessons and playing the flute when she was about six years old. She also sang in a choir that traveled around Europe.
When Maria was 12, she began acting classes. She focused on drama theater and also studied the flute at the National School of Music and Stage Arts in Burgas. She was a very good student. Maria once said she was "super-disciplined" and loved reading books, especially by authors like Fyodor Dostoevsky when she was a teenager. She also enjoyed books by Gabriel García Márquez and Mikhail Bulgakov. Maria was inspired to become a film actress after watching the movie The Hunt. She looks up to directors like Thomas Vinterberg, Susanne Bier, and Pedro Almodóvar.
Maria later moved to Sofia to study drama at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. While she was a student, she performed in many plays, including Les Liaisons dangereuses and The Trial.
First Steps in Film
Maria's first movie role was a small part in the 2017 comedy-drama film XIIa. In the same year, she got her first main role in Transgression. In this film, she played Yana, a young girl with an unusual relationship. She got the role after a classmate signed her up for an audition during her first year at university. The film was shown at several film festivals and later became available on HBO Max. In 2018, Maria won the Best Actress award at Toronto's Alternative Film Festival for her performance.
During her third year of studies, Maria helped filmmakers Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov. They taught the only film acting class at her academy. She traveled with them to film sets to learn how they worked. One of the directors asked her to audition for a small part in their film The Father (2019). She got the role and filmed a short scene as a younger version of a character. The Father won an award at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. It was also chosen to represent Bulgaria at the 93rd Academy Awards.
Maria was very interested in Danish movies. She used some of her university scholarship money to take her parents to Denmark. She even visited a film studio there, hoping to work on a movie. She then starred in the 2020 comedy-drama Last Call. She played Alexandra, a girl who was struggling. Critics liked her performance, saying she brought "warmth and lyricism" to the film.
Maria Bakalova's Hollywood Success
Breakthrough with Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
In 2020, Maria Bakalova became widely known for her role as Tutar Sagdiyev in the movie Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. She played the daughter of the fictional reporter Borat Sagdiyev, alongside Sacha Baron Cohen. When she first auditioned, the project was very secret, which made her a little worried.
The film became very popular, especially before the 2020 United States presidential election. A scene involving Maria's character and Rudy Giuliani received a lot of media attention. Critics praised Maria's acting, with many saying it was one of the best performances of the year. Matt Fowler from IGN said Maria was "the film's fantastic find" and that she was "every bit Sacha Baron Cohen's on-screen equal." Justin Chang, a film critic, called her performance "terrific."
For her role, Maria won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She was also nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globe Awards. Maria was the first Bulgarian actress to be nominated for these major awards.
Recent Film Roles
After Borat, Maria played Sonja in Women Do Cry (2021). Sonja is a 19-year-old girl who learns she has HIV. The film was well-received by critics at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. In the same year, Maria became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is the group that gives out the Academy Awards.
In 2022, Maria starred in the horror film Bodies Bodies Bodies with Amandla Stenberg and Pete Davidson. The film received good reviews. Her next role was in The Bubble (2022), which had many famous actors like Karen Gillan and Pedro Pascal. This film received mostly negative reviews, and some critics felt Maria's talents were not fully used.
Maria also voiced Cosmo the Spacedog in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022). She then starred in the romantic comedy The Honeymoon (2022), which was her first time also producing a film. In this movie, she played Sarah, whose honeymoon is interrupted by her husband's friend and an Italian gangster.
Maria appeared in the film Fairyland (2023), which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. She returned as Cosmo the Spacedog in the superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), also doing the motion capture for the character. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was one of the highest-grossing films of 2023, making it Maria's most successful film at the box office.
In 2024, Maria starred in Electra and had a cameo in Unfrosted. She also played Ivana Trump in The Apprentice (2024), which was shown at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Maria also reunited with the directors of The Father for the black comedy Triumph (2024), which she also produced. This film marked her return to Bulgarian cinema after her success in Hollywood. It was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the 97th Academy Awards.
Maria Bakalova has several upcoming projects. She joined the cast of the action thriller film Dirty Angels and will also star in the sci-fi comedy drama O Horizon. In April 2024, she was cast in the Apple TV+ action adventure film Mayday.
Maria Bakalova's Filmography
Movies
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Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | XIIa | Milena | |
| Transgression | Yana | ||
| 2019 | The Father | Young Valentina | |
| 2020 | Last Call | Alexandra | |
| Borat Subsequent Moviefilm | Tutar Sagdiyev | ||
| 2021 | Women Do Cry | Sonja | |
| 2022 | Bodies Bodies Bodies | Bee | |
| The Bubble | Anika | ||
| The Honeymoon | Sarah | Also producer | |
| 2023 | Fairyland | Paulette | |
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Cosmo the Spacedog (voice) | ||
| 2024 | Electra | Francesca | |
| Unfrosted | Rada Adzhubey | ||
| The Apprentice | Ivana Trump | ||
| Triumph | Slava Platnikova | Also producer | |
| Dirty Angels | The Bomb | ||
| 2025 | O Horizon | Abby | |
| The Bad Guys 2 |
Pigtail (voice) | In production | |
| TBA | Mayday |
TBA | Post-production |
Television Shows
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Borat's American Lockdown & Debunking Borat | Tutar Sagdiyev | Episode: "Borat's American Lockdown" | |
| 2022 | The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special | Cosmo the Spacedog (voice) | Television special | |
| 2023 | Marvel Studios: Assembled | Herself / Cosmo the Spacedog | Episode: "The Making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" | |
| 2024–2025 | Creature Commandos | Princess Ilana Rostovic (voice) | 7 Episodes |
Awards and Nominations
Maria Bakalova won a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020). She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards for the same film. Additionally, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globe Awards for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
See also
In Spanish: Maria Bakalova para niños
- List of Bulgarian Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of European Academy Award winners and nominees
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
