# Aitana Sánchez-Gijón

Aitana Sánchez-Gijón de Angelis (born 5 November 1968) is a Spanish and Italian film actress.

## Early life

Aitana Sánchez-Gijón was born in Rome on 5 November 1968, to a Spanish father Ángel Sánchez-Gijón Martínez [es], a history lecturer exiled from Francoism, and an Italian mother, Fiorella de Angelis, a lecturer. She was named after Aitana Alberti, Rafael Alberti's daughter. The latter dedicated Aitana Sánchez-Gijón some verses upon her birth. The family moved to Madrid when she was 1 year old.

## Career

Sánchez-Gijón made her television debut as an actress at age 16 in the high school series Segunda enseñanza, playing Sisi, a lesbian teenager. She landed her film debut in Romanza final (1986).
Her breakthrough role as Elena in the 1989 film Bajarse al moro launched her career.
Best known for her career in Spanish cinema, Sánchez-Gijón first became known internationally for her portrayal of Victoria Aragon, a pregnant and abandoned Mexican-American winegrower's daughter who is helped by travelling salesman Paul Sutton (Keanu Reeves) in A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
She has since built a reputation as an international star in films such as Manuel Gomez Pereira's Boca a Boca (1996), Bigas Luna's The Chambermaid on the Titanic (1997), Jaime Chávarri's Sus Ojos Se Cerraron (1998), Gabriele Salvatores' adaptation of the Niccolò Ammaniti novel I'm Not Scared (2003) and Brad Anderson's The Machinist (2004).
She served as the president of the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain between 1998 and 2000.
In 2024, she appeared in the hospital-set drama Breathless for Netflix.
In December 2024, she was awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Romanza final (Gayarre) | Alicia joven | Elder version of the character played by Sydne Rome |
| 1988 | Jarrapellejos | Isabel | |
| 1989 | Bajarse al moro | Elena | |
| 1989 | El mar y el tiempo (The Sea and Time) | Mer | |
| 1990 | The Monk | Sor Inés | |
| 1993 | Havanera 1820 [ca] | Amèlia Roig | |
| 1993 | El laberinto griego (The Greek Labyrinth) | Bernadette | |
| 1993 | El pájaro de la felicidad (The Bird of Happiness) | Nani | |
| 1995 | La ley de la frontera (The Law of the Frontier) | Bárbara | |
| 1995 | Boca a boca (Mouth to Mouth) | Amanda | |
| 1995 | A Walk in the Clouds | Victoria | |
| 1995 | La leyenda de Balthasar el castrado | María de Loffredo | |
| 1997 | La femme de chambre du Titanic (The Chambermaid on the Titanic) | Marie | |
| 1997 | Love Walked In | Vicki | |
| 1998 | Sus ojos se cerraron y el mundo sigue andando (Tangos Are for Two) | Juanita | |
| 1998 | Yerma | Yerma | |
| 1999 | Volavérunt | Duquesa de Alba | |
| 1999 | Celos (Jealousy) | Carmen | |
| 2001 | Mi dulce (My Sweet) | Ángela | |
| 2001 | Hombres felices [ca] (Happy Men) | Ana | |
| 2003 | Io non ho paura (I'm Not Scared) | | |
| 2004 | The Machinist | Marie | |
| 2004 | La puta y la ballena (The Whore and the Whale) | Vera | |
| 2006 | Animales heridos [es] | Claudia | |
| 2006 | The Backwoods | Isabel | |
| 2007 | La carta esférica [es] (The Nautical Chart) | Tánger Soto | |
| 2007 | Oviedo Express | Mariola Mayo / Ana Ozores (La Regenta) | Ana Ozores is played by Mariola Mayo in-fiction. Sánchez-Gijón already played Ana Ozores in La regenta |
| 2008 | Parlami d'amore (Talk to Me About Love) | Nicole | |
| 2009 | The Frost (La escarcha) | Rita | |
| 2011 | Gli sfiorati (Drifters) | Virna | |
| 2011 | Maktub | Beatriz | |
| 2014 | El club de los incomprendidos (The Misfits Club) | Mara | |
| 2018 | Thi Mai, rumbo a Vietnam [es] | Elvira | |
| 2020 | La cinta de Alex | Vera | |
| 2021 | Madres paralelas (Parallel Mothers) | Teresa Ferreras | |
| 2022 | La jefa (Under Her Control) | Beatriz | |
| 2023 | Que nadie duerma (Something Is About to Happen) | Roberta | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Segunda enseñanza | Sisi | |
| 1992 | El Quijote de Miguel de Cervantes | Dorotea | |
| 1995 | La regenta | Ana Ozores | |
| 2015 | Teresa | Doña Jimena | TV movie |
| 2017 | Conquistadores: Adventvm | Isabel de Castilla | Documentary series |
| 2017–19 | Velvet Colección | Doña Blanca | Recurring role. Seasons 1–3 |
| 2024 | Breathless | Pilar Amaro | Main role |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1996 | 5th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Leading Performance (TV) | La regenta | Won |
| 1996 | 46th Fotogramas de Plata | Best TV Actress | La regenta | Won |
| 1997 | 47th Fotogramas de Plata | Best Stage Actress | La gata sobre el tejado de zinc caliente | Won |
| 1999 | 47th San Sebastián International Film Festival | Silver Shell for Best Actress | Volavérunt | Won |
| 2016 | 66th Fotogramas de Plata | Best Stage Actress | Medea | Won |
| 2017 | 67th Fotogramas de Plata | Best Stage Actress | The Rose Tattoo | Won |
| 2017 | 26th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Theatre Actress in a Leading Role | The Rose Tattoo | Nominated |
| 2021 | 71st Fotogramas de Plata | Best Stage Actress | Juana | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress (film) | Parallel Mothers | Won |
| 2022 | 36th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Parallel Mothers | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Parallel Mothers | Won |
| 2024 | 11th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Film | Something Is About to Happen | Nominated |
| 2024 | 32nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Something Is About to Happen | Nominated |
| 2025 | 33rd Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Stage Actress in a Leading Role | La madre | Won |