# Pilar López de Ayala

María del Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo (born 18 September 1978) is a Spanish actress. She won a Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance playing Joanna of Castile in 2001 film Mad Love.

## Life and career
### Early life

María del Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo was born in Madrid on 18 September 1978. Her parents are Rodrigo López de Ayala y Sánchez-Arjona (Fregenal de la Sierra, 4 July 1944) and wife María del Pilar Arroyo Gallego. On her father side she descends from the rural nobility of Extremadura and is twice descendant of Christopher Columbus through Diego Colón. She studied at the public school Francisco de Quevedo in Majadahonda.

### Career beginnings

For her film debut as an actress, she appeared in a minor role in the children's film El niño invisible [ca] (1995), a promotional vehicle for the musical ensemble Bom Bom Chip [es]. From 1997 to 1999, she portrayed Carlota in 418 episodes of teen daily television series Al salir de clase. Her film career continued with a performance in Gracia Querejeta's By My Side Again (1999). In Fill Me with Life (2000), she delivered her first leading performance in a film, portraying twentysomething María alongside Unax Ugalde in a tragic story about the descent into drugs and prostitution in Madrid. Also by the turn of the century, she appeared in the comedy films Living It Up and Kisses for Everyone. For her performance in the latter film portraying Rocío, an "upper-class mommy's girl and husband-hunter", she earned a nomination for the Goya Award for Best New Actress.

### Peak and first hiatus

She obtained critical acclaim for playing Joanna of Castile in Vicente Aranda's period drama Mad Love. The film, an international co-production with Italy and Portugal, premiered in September 2001 at the 49th San Sebastián International Film Festival, with López Ayala being awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actress. It also was a box office success in Spain. López de Ayala went on to win the Goya Award for Best Actress and an Actors Union Award for Best Leading Performance in Film.
Despite the success she had massed with Mad Love, López de Ayala did not meaningfully work in the Spanish film industry from 2001 to 2005. She did however play a role in the English-language in The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004), a co-production with France and the United Kingdom.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1995 | El niño invisible [ca] | |
| 1999 | Cuando vuelvas a mi lado (By My Side Again) | |
| 2000 | Báilame el agua (Fill Me with Life) | María |
| 2000 | La gran vida (Living It Up) | |
| 2000 | Besos para todos (Kisses for Everyone) | Rocío |
| 2001 | Juana la Loca (Mad Love) | Juana |
| 2004 | The Bridge of San Luis Rey | La Perichole |
| 2005 | Obaba | Maestra |
| 2006 | Bienvenido a casa (Welcome Home) | Eva |
| 2006 | Alatriste | Mujer de Malatesta |
| 2007 | En la ciudad de Sylvia (In the City of Sylvia) | Ella |
| 2007 | Las 13 rosas (13 Roses) | Blanca Brisac |
| 2008 | Comme les autres (Baby Love) | Fina |
| 2008 | Sólo quiero caminar (Just Walking) | Paloma |
| 2010 | O Estranho Caso de Angélica (The Strange Case of Angelica) | Angélica |
| 2010 | Lope (Lope: The Outlaw) | Elena Osorio |
| 2011 | Buenas noches España | |
| 2011 | Intruders | Luisa |
| 2011 | Medianeras (Sidewalls) | Mariana |
| 2014 | Night Has Settled | Luna |
| 2016 | Rumbos (Night Tales) | Lucía |
| 2017 | Agadah | |
| 2024 | Dans la chambre du sultan (Close to the Sultan) | Jeanne |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2001 | 15th Goya Awards | Best New Actress | Kisses for Everyone | Nominated |
| 2001 | 10th Actors Union Awards | Best Newcomer | Kisses for Everyone | Nominated |
| 2001 | 45th Sant Jordi Awards | Best Spanish Actress | Fill Me with Life | Won |
| 2001 | San Sebastián International Film Festival | Silver Shell for Best Actress | Mad Love | Won |
| 2002 | 16th Goya Awards | Best Actress | Mad Love | Won |
| 2006 | 20th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Obaba | Nominated |
| 2011 | 25th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Lope: The Outlaw | Nominated |
| 2012 | 17th Forqué Awards | Best Actress | Sidewalls | Nominated |
| 2012 | 26th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Intruders | Nominated |