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Tonantzin Carmelo
Tonantzin Carmelo Academy 9-2021 (cropped).jpg
Tonantzin Carmelo in 2021
Born 1976 (age 48–49)
Occupation Actress

Tonantzin Carmelo is an American actress known for her exciting roles in movies, TV shows, and plays. She gained recognition for her part in the Steven Spielberg miniseries, Into the West. For this role, she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, which is a big honor in acting.

Recently, Tonantzin has been busy filming new TV series. In 2021, she worked on The English for the BBC and La Brea for NBC. In 2024, she joined the cast of Dark Winds on AMC. She also started filming NCIS Origins for CBS, playing a character named Tish Kwa'la.

Early Life and Education

Tonantzin Carmelo grew up in Orange County, California, which is in southern California. She has both Indigenous and Latina family roots. When she was younger, she loved participating in Native dances and music. She even traveled across North America with cultural groups, sharing her heritage. She also became a skilled dancer and performed with a modern dance group called Daystar.

Tonantzin went to the University of California, Irvine. There, she earned a degree in Environmental Studies and also studied Dance. While in college, she started acting in plays and independent films.

Acting Career Highlights

Tonantzin Carmelo began her professional acting journey in a musical theater show. It was produced by Carmen Zapata at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts and toured around the Los Angeles area.

In 2007, she played the main character, Shayla Stonefeather, in the thriller movie Imprint.

Besides acting, Tonantzin is also a choreographer, which means she creates dance routines. Her dance work has been shown in the Amazon TV series, Undone, and in an opera called Sweetland. She is also a singer and has recorded three albums with the band Trio del Alma for Canyon Records.

In 2012, Tonantzin spoke to the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. She talked about how Native Americans are shown in Hollywood movies.

Tonantzin has also lent her voice and acting skills to several video games. These include popular titles like Dead Space, The Crew, Lego Marvel's Avengers, and Cyberpunk 2077.

She has a long-standing connection with Native Voices at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. She has performed on stage there and has also been part of their advisory board. Tonantzin is also a member of the Tongva Language Committee for Revitalization, helping to bring back the Tongva language.

Awards and Nominations

Tonantzin Carmelo has received several awards and nominations for her acting. On January 5, 2006, she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role as Thunder Heart Woman in Into the West. This award recognizes outstanding performances by actors.

She also won the Best Actress award at the American Indian Film Festival and was nominated for Best Actress at the Hoboken International Film Festival for the same role. In 2015, she was called "An Indie Darling to Crave" at the Sundance Film Festival for her role as Teresa in the film Entertainment.

Here is a list of her awards and nominations:

Awards
Year Film Award
2012 Shouting Secrets FirstGlance Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2008 Imprint Hoboken International Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2007 Imprint American Indian Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2006 Into the West Outstanding Actress Performance in a TV Movie/Special (Lead)
2006 Into the West Western Heritage Award, Bronze Wrangler
Nominations
Year Film Nomination
2011 Shouting Secrets Nominated - American Indian Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2006 Into the West Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress
Western Heritage Award shared with cast and crew
2006 Into the West Nominated – Gold Derby TV Award, TV Movie/Mini Supporting Actress
2005 Into the West Nominated – OFTA Television Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries

Film and Television Roles

Tonantzin Carmelo has appeared in many films and TV shows. Here are some of her roles:

Film and Television
Year Title Role Notes
2024 NCIS: Origins Tishmal Kwa’ la TV series
2022 The English Touching Ground TV series
2022–present Spirit Rangers Buffalo / Orchids (voice) TV series
2021–2024 La Brea Paara TV series; Recurring role (season 1); Main role (season 2); Guest role (season 3)
2020 El Camino de Xico Carmen
2020 A Soldier's Revenge Alpana
2019 Undone Tonantzin TV series
2019 The Chosen One Dr. Lúcia Santiero (English voiceover) TV series
2019 The Son Nascha TV series
2018 Z Nation Kuruk TV series
2018 Animal Kingdom Anna TV series
2018 White Fang Film (voiceover)
2016 Teen Wolf Skinwalker / Black Night TV series
2015 Entertainment Teresa
2014 Child of Grace Kaya
2014 The Activist Anna Ward
2011 Periphery Isabella
2011 Shouting Secrets Caitlyn
2010 American Dad! Sooleawa'uha (voice) Episode: "There Will Be Bad Blood"
2010 Red Carpet Report Herself TV series short
2009 Shadowheart Miakoda Video
2009 Dark Blue Gina TV series
2009 American Experience Awashunk TV series documentary
2007 Unearthed Nodin
2007 CSI: Miami Adrienne Veston TV series
2007 Imprint Shayla Stonefeather
2005 Into the West Thunder Heart Woman TV mini series
2003 Dragnet Erika Sanchez TV series
2003 187 Shadow Lane Christina
2002 King Rikki Anita

Video Game Roles

Tonantzin Carmelo has also voiced characters in several video games:

Year Title Role Note
2008 Dead Space Kendra Daniels
2014 The Crew Roxanne
2016 Lego Marvel's Avengers Maya Lopez / Echo
2020 Cyberpunk 2077 Joss Kutcher
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