# Catalina Sandino Moreno

Catalina Sandino Moreno (born 19 April 1981) is a Colombian actress, most notable for receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as sharing the Silver Bear with Charlize Theron, for her performance as lead role in Maria Full of Grace (2004).
Other credits include Fast Food Nation (2006), Love in the Time of Cholera (2007), Che (2008), The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), Roa (2013), A Most Violent Year (2014), Falling Skies (2014), American Gothic (2016), Custody (2016), The Affair (2015–2019), The Quarry (2020, Barbarians (2021), From (2022), Silent Night (2023), and Ballerina (2024).

## Early life

Sandino Moreno was born 19 April 1981 in Bogotá, Colombia. She grew up in a middle-class family, her father is a veterinarian and her mother a pathologist. She attended an English-taught school, Saint George's School in Bogotá, Colombia. Before becoming an actress, she studied advertising.

## Career
### 2004–2010

In 2004, she landed a main role in the film Maria Full of Grace, where she was among 800 other girls casting for the lead role as María Alvarez, a Colombian girl who works in a flower plantation when she was pregnant and then as a drug mule. For her performance in the film, she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Also, she won the Silver Bear at Berlin International Film Festival shared with Charlize Theron,
After the impact of her Oscar nomination, she waited three years for a role that appealed to her. She elaborated in an interview with V magazine, that she felt a responsibility, as an actress, Colombian immigrant, and as a person, to perform reality, so that people learn, believing it was important to show people what is happening in the world.
In 2005, she moved to New York City to study dramatic arts and for continue with her success career at the moment, and was invited to join AMPAS. In 2006, she played roles in independent film Fast Food Nation, with Patricia Arquette, and Paris, je t'aime, where she starred as a young immigrant mother in the segment "Loin du 16e". In 2007, she starred as Hildebranda Sánchez in Love in the Time of Cholera, based in novel of the same name by Gabriel García Márquez, where she appeared alongside Javier Bardem and Fernanda Montenegro. In 2008, she appeared alongside Benicio del Toro in Steven Soderbergh's Che, playing the role of Aleida March de Guevara, the second wife of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and attended the premiere at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, she played the role of female Vampire Maria in the Stephenie Meyer-based The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

### 2010–present

After a break in her career, in November 2013, she returned to television to play the title role in the biopic Castro's Daughter, based on Alina Fernández’s autobiography of the same name. She starred in films Roa (2013), and appeared alongside Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year (2014). On October 20, 2014, it was announced that she would be joining the final season of Falling Skies in a recurring role as Isabella.
In 2016, she starred in the TV series American Gothic as a recurring character, Christina Morales. In the same year, she returned to the world of cinema in the movie Custody (2016), alongside Viola Davis, the film was premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
In December 2022, Sandino Moreno was announced to join the John Wick spin-off film Ballerina in an unnamed role. In 2023, she played Saya Godluck in the John Woo action thriller Silent Night.

## Personal life

Sandino Moreno was one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful Women" in 2005.
Sandino Moreno met motion picture electrician David Elwell while working on Maria Full of Grace. The couple married on 15 April 2006 in a small ceremony held in Cartagena de Indias.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Maria Full of Grace | María Álvarez | Berlin Film Festival Award for Best Actress (Tied with Charlize Theron) Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress Golden India Catalina for Best Actress Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor New Promessing Actress OFCS Award Online Film Critics Society Awards Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards New Generation Award Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Golden Space Needle Award Seattle International Film Festival Best Actress Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated – Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress Nominated – Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated – London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Nominated – SAG Award for best lead actress |
| 2006 | Journey to the End of the Night | Angie | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Ana | (Segment "Loin du 16e") |
| 2006 | Fast Food Nation | Sylvia | |
| 2006 | The Hottest State | Sarah | |
| 2007 | The Heart of the Earth | Blanca Bosco | |
| 2007 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Hildebranda Sanchez | |
| 2008 | Che Part One: The Argentine | Aleida March de Guevara | |
| 2008 | Che Part Two: Guerrilla | Aleida March de Guevara | |
| 2010 | La Siguiente Estación | Eva | Short, executive producer |
| 2010 | The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | Maria | Uncredited |
| 2012 | For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada | Adriana | |
| 2013 | Magic Magic | Barbara | |
| 2013 | Roa | María de Roa | |
| 2013 | A Stranger in Paradise | Jules | |
| 2013 | Medeas | Christina | |
| 2014 | At the Devil's Door | Leigh | |
| 2014 | Swelter | Carmen | |
| 2014 | A Most Violent Year | Luisa | |
| 2016 | Custody | Sarah | |
| 2016 | Incarnate | Camilla Marquez | |
| 2017 | The Mystery of Casa Matusita | Lucy | |
| 2020 | The Quarry | Celia | |
| 2021 | Barbarians | Eva | |
| 2023 | Silent Night | Saya Godluck | |
| 2025 | From the World of John Wick: Ballerina | TBA | |
| 2025 | RIP | TBA | Post-production |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | The Bridge | Alma Ruiz | Recurring role |
| 2014 | Red Band Society | Eva Palacios | Recurring role |
| 2015 | East Los High | Eddie’s Mom | Recurring role |
| 2015 | Falling Skies | Isabella | Recurring role (season 5) |
| 2015–2019 | The Affair | Lusia | Main role (seasons 3–4); recurring role (seasons 2 & 5) |
| 2016 | American Gothic | Christina Morales | Recurring role |
| 2019 | Surveillance | Natalie Reyes | |
| 2019 | Room 104 | Maria | Episode: "Rogue" |
| 2022 | From | Tabitha Mathews | Main role |

## Performer

* "Que Linda Manita" – 2006 (Paris, je t'aime Soundtrack)