# Leonor Watling

Leonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling (born 28 July 1975) is a Spanish film actress and singer.

## Early life

Leonor Ceballos Watling was born on 28 July 1975 in Madrid, to a Spanish father from Cádiz and an English mother, the youngest of four siblings (two brothers and two sisters). Her first vocation was that of dancer, but a knee injury made this impossible.

## Career

Watling began her acting career in theatre. She earned her feature film debut with a performance in Pablo Llorca's Jardines colgantes (1993). After that she participated in several TV series, such as Hermanos de leche, Farmacia de guardia or Querido maestro, but her most successful role was in the series Raquel busca su sitio with Cayetana Guillén Cuervo. In 1998, she was nominated for a Goya award for her role in La hora de los valientes, and was named as one of European film's 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion in 1999. In 2002, she was nominated again for a Goya for her role in My Mother Likes Women.
Watling dubbed Anne Hathaway as the voice of "Red Pucket" (Little Red Riding Hood) in Hoodwinked (2005). She also took part in The Oxford Murders, alongside Elijah Wood and John Hurt.
In 2006, Watling starred in the Paris, Je T'aime segment "Bastille" as Marie Christine. The anthology film was directed by many famous directors who each had to produce a five-minute film set in Paris, the city of love. Spanish writer-director Isabel Coixet wrote and directed the segment "Bastille", and Watling starred alongside Sergio Castellitto and Miranda Richardson as Sergio's younger lover, with whom he plans to run away after ending his relationship with his wife Miranda.
She combines film performances with her work with the band Marlango, in which she is the vocalist and sings mostly in English.
She appeared in the TV series Pulsaciones.

## Personal life

Watling is in a relationship with Oscar-winning Uruguayan musician Jorge Drexler, with whom she has a son, Luca, born in January 2009, and a daughter, Lea, born in July 2011.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1993 | Jardines colgantes (Hanging Gardens) | |
| 1997 | Todas hieren [ca] | Beatriz |
| 1998 | Grandes ocasiones (Great Occasions) | Bárbara |
| 1998 | La primera noche de mi vida (The First Night of My Life) | Paloma |
| 1998 | La hora de los valientes (A Time for Defiance) | Carmen |
| 1999 | No respires (el amor está en el aire) (Do Not Breathe, Love is in the Air) | Muriel |
| 2000 | La espalda de Dios [cy; es] (God's Back) | |
| 2002 | Son de mar (Sound of the Sea) | Martina |
| 2002 | A mi madre le gustan las mujeres (My Mother Likes Women) | Elvira |
| 2002 | Hable con ella (Talk to Her) | Alicia Roncero |
| 2002 | Deseo (Desire) | Elvira |
| 2002 | My Life Without Me | The other Ann |
| 2003 | En la ciudad (In the City) | Cristina |
| 2003 | El elefante del rey (The Elephant King) | |
| 2003 | Mauvais esprit [fr] | Carmen |
| 2004 | La mala educación (Bad Education) | Mónica |
| 2004 | Crónicas (Chronicles) | |
| 2004 | Inconscientes (Unconscious) | Alma |
| 2005 | The Secret Life of Words | |
| 2005 | Malas temporadas (Hard Times) | Laura |
| 2005 | Tirante el Blanco (White Tie) | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | |
| 2006 | Salvador (Puig Antich) (Salvador) | Cuca |
| 2006 | El carnaval de Sodoma [cy] (Carnival of Sodom) | |
| 2007 | Teresa, el cuerpo de Cristo (Theresa: The Body of Christ) | Doña Guiomar de Ulloa |
| 2008 | The Oxford Murders | Lorna |
| 2009 | Unmade Beds | |
| 2010 | Viaje mágico a África [es] (Magic Journey to Africa) | Hada ('fairy') |
| 2010 | Lope (Lope: The Outlaw) | Isabel |
| 2011 | Lo mejor de Eva (Dark Impulse) | Eva |
| 2012 | If I Were You | Lucy |
| 2013 | The Food Guide To Love [it] | |
| 2016 | Risen | |
| 2017 | Muse | |
| 2022 | No mires a los ojos (Staring at Strangers) | Lucía |
| 2023 | Chinas (Chinas, a Second Generation Story) | Sol |
| 2024 | Anatema (Anathema) | Sor Juana |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997–98 | Querido maestro [es] | Silvia | |
| 2000 | Raquel busca su sitio | Raquel | Leading role |
| 2006 | La habitación del niño [es] (The Child's Room) | Sonia | TV movie |
| 2017 | Pulsaciones | Blanca Jiménez | |
| 2018 | Asesinato en la Universidad | Lara Cabanes | TV movie |
| 2018–20 | Vivir sin permiso (Unauthorized Living) | Berta Moliner | |
| 2020– | Nasdrovia | Edurne | Leading role |
| 2021 | La templanza (The Vineyard) | Soledad Montalvo | Leading role. Younger version of the character performed by Carla Campra |
| 2021 | Besos al aire (Blowing Kisses) | Doctora Cabanas | Leading role. Two-part television miniseries |
| 2022 | No me gusta conducir (I Don't Like Driving) | Iria | |
| 2024 | Citas Barcelona | Joana | |

#### Other

* "Somos Anormales", music video by Residente (2017)

## Discography
### With Marlango

* Marlango (2004)
* Automatic Imperfection (2005)
* The Electrical Morning (2007)
* Life in the Treehouse (2010)
* Un Día Extraordinario (2012)
* El Porvenir (2014)
* Technicolor (2018)

### Collaborations

* Miguel Bosé – Duet in "Este mundo va" from the album Papito
* Jorge Drexler – Backing vocals in "El otro engranaje" from the album 12 segundos de oscuridad
* Diego Vasallo [es; eu; ru] – Backing vocals in "La vida mata" from the album Los abismos cotidianos
* Fito Páez – Duet in "Pétalo de sal" and "Creo" from the album No sé si es Baires o Madrid
* Jorge Drexler – Duet in "Toque de queda" from the album Amar la trama

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1999 | 13th Goya Awards | Best Leading Actress | A Time for Defiance | Nominated |
| 2003 | 17th Goya Awards | Best Leading Actress | My Mother Likes Women | Nominated |
| 2003 | 53rd Fotogramas de Plata | Best Actress (film) | My Mother Likes Women | Won |
| 2003 | 12th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Leading Role | My Mother Likes Women | Nominated |
| 2004 | 59th CEC Medals | Best Supporting Actress | My Life Without Me | Won |
| 2004 | 13th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Actress in a Minor Role (film) | My Life Without Me | Won |
| 2020 | 24th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Television Actress in a Minor Role | Unauthorized Living | Nominated |
| 2023 | 10th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series | I Don't Like Driving | Nominated |