Biography
Who is Adriana Barraza?
Early life and real name
Adriana Barraza González was born in Toluca, Estado de Mexico, on March 5, 1956. Her father was a farmer named Eduardo Barraza Carral, and her mother was Celia González Flores. Her mother passed away from a heart condition called myocarditis when Adriana was ten years old. She grew up with a sister named María Eugenia Barraza and three brothers named Eduardo, Porfirio, and José. Later, Adriana studied acting through the Fine Arts School at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua.
In 1985, Adriana moved to Mexico City to work as a theatre director. During her time there, she began working on the Mexican television show Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real alongside host Silvia Pinal. She also joined the cast of several telenovelas during this decade, playing characters such as Elvira in Bajo un Mismo Rostro, Madre Clara in La Paloma, and Flora in Imperio de Cristal. In 1997, she took on the role of Nurse Clara Dominguez in Alguna Vez Tendremos Alas.
Career highlights
In 1999, director Alejandro González Iñárritu cast Adriana as the mother of Gael García Bernal's character in Amores perros. The film received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2006, she collaborated with Iñárritu a second time in the movie Babel. Her performance in Babel earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Adriana also appeared in several other feature films, including Henry Poole Is Here, Drag Me to Hell, And Soon the Darkness, From Prada to Nada, and Thor. In 2014, she starred in the movie Cake opposite Jennifer Aniston. On television, she took on a recurring role as Guadalupe Elizalde on the FX series The Strain. She also directed television episodes for shows such as Locura de Amor, Nunca Te Olvidare, and El Manantial.
Acting coaching work
In Mexico, Adriana partnered with director Sergio Jiménez, known as El Profe, to create the Actors Workshop in Mexico City. Together, they taught and developed their own version of Method acting, earning her the title of Master Barraza. She frequently directed telenovela episodes and coached the actors performing in them.
She also worked for Telemundo as an acting instructor, teaching accents to performers from across Latin America to give them a Mexican sound appropriate for their characters. Also, she worked as a professional acting coach for various films and television shows, including the American production Spanglish. Currently, she operates her own acting school in Miami, Florida, titled Adriana Barraza's Black Box.
Family and personal life
Adriana gave birth to her daughter, Carolina Valsagna, in 1975 when she was eighteen years old. The biological father abandoned her, but her first husband, Carlos Valsagna, whom she married in 1978, adopted Carolina and gave her his last name. Her second husband is Arnaldo Pipke. Instructors at her acting school in Miami include her husband Arnaldo and her daughter Carolina. Throughout her life, Adriana has also experienced two heart attacks.
Birthday and age
Adriana Barraza was born on March 5, 1956, which makes Adriana 70 years old today. That birthday falls under the Pisces sign. Adriana shares the date with 48 other famous people.
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