All About Actress Adriana Barraza of Babel

Actress Adriana Barraza might be best known to American audiences for her heart-breaking performance as the illegal immigrant "Amelia" in the 2006 film Babel. But Barraza has been a face on Mexican TV for the past 15 years.

According to the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), Adriana Barraza's first credited part came in 1993 as part of Spanish television's Las Cosas Simples. She has worked slow, but steadily, both in front and behind the scenes ever since. In addition to actress, Adriana Barraza has worked as a director and acting coach. And in spite of her success on the big screen with Babel, Barraza made her American television debut last year guest starring on the long running TV show ER as "Dolores Salazar".

While her performance in the Oscar nominated movie Babel has no doubt made an impact on the career of Adriana Barraza, a few might argue Barraza's big break actually came when she was cast as "Mama Octavia" in the 2000 Mexican film Amores Perros. Both Babel and Amores Perros were directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. And according to Hello Magazine (www.hellomagazine.com), when Inarritu was casting the part of Amelia, Inarritu's wife mentioned a former actress he had worked with, Adriana Barraza. So had it not been for her role in the movie Amores Perros, audiences may not have been blessed with the amazing talent of Adriana Barraza in Babel.

However, it was that talent that got her the part and made her performance in Babel such a standout. Besides her ability to tug at the hearts of audiences around the globe, those new to Barraza may not realize she also went under a great physical transformation for the role. The actress put on 35 pounds, and changed her accent as well as her walk.

Babel led to Adriana Barraza's first major critical recognition with Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and Oscar nominations. She described her Golden Globe nomination as a "beautiful, beautiful dream" during in an interview with MovieWeb (www.movieweb.com). In addition to these nominations, she won an ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) award and a SFFCC (San Francisco Film Critics Circle) award. And, she also was asked to become a member of the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).

Hopefully, Babel will not be Adriana Barraza's last film to gain her such recognition. She is currently set to be seen in two upcoming films, Henry Pool is Here and Azucena, 375 dias.

Sources:

Internet Movie Database, "Adriana Barraza"; URL: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0056770/

Hello Magazine, "Profiles: Adriana Barraza"; URL:
http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/adriana-barraza/

Abc7.com, "Film Academy Invites 115 New Members"; URL:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=entertainment&id=5400194

MovieWeb, "Exclusive Interview: Adriana Barraza Gets Attention with Babel"; URL: http://www.movieweb.com/news/03/16903.php