Acclaimed as a major international actress, Paz Vega has starred in dozens of films in Europe and the Americas. After her debut on the role of Laura for six seasons in “Seven Lives” (Telecinco,) one of Spain’s longest running sitcoms, the Seville born actress makes her leap to the silver screen, attracting the attention of European audiences in 2001 when she won the Goya for Best New coming Actress and the prestigious Chopard Award for Best Actress at the Cannes International Film Festival for her role as Lucia in “Sex and Lucia” by Julio Medem,. Also in 2001, Paz starred in “Only Mine” by Javier Balaguer and was nominated for yet another Goya, this time for Best Actress, marking a milestone in the history of the respected Spanish awards: for the first time, an actress was nominated twice for different roles in one edition.
In 2002, Paz appears in “Talk to Her” by Pedro Almodóvar. The film received the Academy Award for the Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, among other prestigious awards. In 2013, she repeats her collaboration with the celebrated Spanish director in in “I’m So Excited.” In 2003, she gives life to Vicente Aranda’s “Carmen”, based on the homonymous novel by Prosper Mérimée. Since Carmen, Paz has played several emblematic characters of European History, from Saint Teresa of Avila in “Teresa” by Ray Loriga (2007) to Maria Callas in Olivier Dahan’s “Grace”, which opened the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, to Mary of Hungary in “Emperor,” opposite Adrian Brody.
After starring in Columbia Picture’s local language romantic comedy, “Say I Do,” she caught the attention of James L. Brooks, who invited her to co-star in “Spanglish” opposite Adam Sandler, for which she won the Best Female Newcomer prize of the Phoenix Film Critics Society for her role as Flor. Since “Spanglish,” Paz Vega has been directed by acclaimed filmmakers such as Frank Miller, Danis Tanovic, Oliver Parker, Michelle Placido, and the Taviani brothers and shared billboard with fellow actors such as, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andie McDowell, Eva Mendes, Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Tim Roth, Christopher Lee and Morgan Freeman, to name a few. She also starred in the Jada Pinkett Smith’s directorial debut, “The Human Contract,” produced by Will Smith.
Paz Vega has performed in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian, in the United States, as well as in several European and Latin American countries. She has recently appeared in the Romantic Comedy “All Roads Lead to Rome,” opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and Claudia Cardinale,
alongside Cuba Golding Jr. and Michael Madsen in “Big Time in Hollywood FL”, produced by Ben Affleck, as well as “Beautiful and Twisted” opposite Candice Bergen and Rob Lowe, both on American TV. In 2016, Paz will star in Mexico’s acclaimed Director’s, Manolo Caro’s new Comedy “The Immoral Life of the Ideal Couple (La Vida Inmoral de La Pareja Ideal)” to be released in the second semester, and is the Spanish Voice for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games’ Campaign, alongside her peers Uma Thruman and Juliette Binoche, who respectively land their voices to the campaign in English and French. She is currently shooting Spain’s audience leader, Telecinco’s, 8 episode series, “Forgive me (Perdóname)”
Based in Los Angeles since 2008, Paz has not forgotten her Spanish and European roots. The province of Andalucía and the cities of Seville and Malaga have repeatedly recognized her tireless work representing her native region and city throughout the world. Paz has been awarded the Medal of Andalucía, the Seville Medal and the prestigious Seville Gold Medal and has recently been granted the Malaga Sur Award for Lifetime achievement, at the 2016 edition of the Malaga Film Festival. She has also served as Jury Member in many International Festivals, including the prestigious Horizon’s Sidebar of the Venice International Film Festival (2015).