# Candela Peña

María del Pilar Peña Sánchez (born 14 July 1973), professionally known as Candela Peña, is a Spanish actress. Since her film debut in the 1994 thriller Running Out of Time, she has had a lengthy film career. She won the Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance in Princesses (2005) whereas she won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for Take My Eyes (2003) and A Gun in Each Hand (2012).

## Biography

María del Pilar Peña Sánchez (her real name; she took the artistic name of Candela reportedly upon joining the theatre school), was born on 14 July 1973 in Gavà, province of Barcelona, daughter to a mother from Murcia and a father from Lora del Río who had a bar in Barcelona.
When she was four years old she started to learn dance in the city and after finishing high-school she went to Seville to begin theatre classes there and eventually in Madrid.
She made her first television appearance in the TV3 show Sputnik [ca], making her film debut with a performance in the 1994 thriller Running Out of Time, which earned her two Goya Award nominations (New Actress and Supporting Actress).
Encouraged by Pedro Almodóvar, she published the novel Pérez Príncipe, María Dolores in 2001.
She won the Goya Award in 2003 (for the movie Te doy mis ojos) after being nominated several times previously.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1994 | Días contados (Running Out of Time) | Vanesa |
| 1995 | Boca a boca (Mouth to Mouth) | Tanya |
| 1995 | Hola, ¿estás sola? (Hi, Are You Alone?) | Trini |
| 1996 | La Celestina | Elicia |
| 1997 | ¿De qué se ríen las mujeres? | Graci |
| 1998 | Insomnio (Sleepless in Madrid) | Alba |
| 1999 | Novios (Couples) | Cristal |
| 1999 | Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother) | Nina Cruz |
| 2001 | Sin vergüenza (No Shame) | Cecilia |
| 2001 | Desaliñada | |
| 2002 | No somos nadie [es] (God Is On Air) | Espe |
| 2003 | Te doy mis ojos (Take My Eyes) | Ana |
| 2003 | Descongélate! (Chill Out!) | Iris |
| 2003 | Torremolinos 73 | Carmen |
| 2003 | Los muertos van deprisa | |
| 2004 | ¡Hay motivo! | |
| 2005 | Princesas (Princesses) | Caye |
| 2006 | Després de la pluja | |
| 2008 | En el lado de la vida | |
| 2008 | El patio de mi cárcel (My Prison Yard) | Mar |
| 2008 | Los años desnudos. Clasificada S (Rated R) | Sandra Valle |
| 2008 | The Three Ages of the Crime | |
| 2009 | La isla interior (The Island Inside) | Coral |
| 2012 | Una pistola en cada mano (A Gun in Each Hand) | Mamen |
| 2013 | Ayer no termina nunca [es] (Yesterday Never Ends) | C. |
| 2014 | Le Dernier Coup de marteau (The Last Hammer Blow) | Maria |
| 2015 | Las ovejas no pierden el tren (Sidetracked) | Sara |
| 2016 | Kiki, el amor se hace (Kiki, Love to Love) | María Candelaria |
| 2017 | Pieles (Skins) | Ana |
| 2019 | Salir del ropero [es] (So My Grandma's a Lesbian!) | Perla |
| 2020 | La boda de Rosa (Rosa's Wedding) | Rosa |
| 2020 | Black Beach | Ale |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2019–21 | Hierro | Candela Montes |
| 2021 | Maricón perdido (Queer You Are) | Lucía, Roberto's mother |
| 2024 | El caso Asunta (The Asunta Case) | Rosario Porto |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1995 | 9th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Running Out of Time | Nominated |
| 1995 | 9th Goya Awards | Best New Actress | Running Out of Time | Nominated |
| 2000 | 14th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | All About My Mother | Nominated |
| 2004 | 18th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Take My Eyes | Won |
| 2004 | 13th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Take My Eyes | Won |
| 2006 | 20th Goya Awards | Best Actress | Princesses | Won |
| 2006 | 15th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Leading Role | Princesses | Won |
| 2013 | 27th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | A Gun in Each Hand | Won |
| 2013 | 22nd Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | A Gun in Each Hand | Won |
| 2017 | 31st Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Kiki, Love to Love | Nominated |
| 2017 | 26th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role | Kiki, Love to Love | Won |
| 2020 | 7th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actress in a Series | Hierro | Won |
| 2020 | 29th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Television Actress in a Leading Role | Hierro | Won |
| 2021 | 13th Gaudí Awards | Best Actress | Rosa's Wedding | Won |
| 2021 | 35th Goya Awards | Best Actress | Rosa's Wedding | Nominated |
| 2022 | 9th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actress in a Series | Hierro | Nominated |
| 2022 | 30th Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Television Actress in a Leading Role | Hierro | Won |
| 2024 | 30th Forqué Awards | Best Actress in a Series | The Asunta Case | Nominated |
| 2025 | 26th Iris Awards | Best Actress | The Asunta Case | Won |
| 2025 | 12th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actress in a Series | The Asunta Case | Nominated |
| 2025 | 33rd Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Television Actress in a Leading Role | The Asunta Case | Won |