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Norma Aleandro
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Norma Aleandro (born 2 May 1936) is an Argentine actress. She is considered one of the most celebrated and prolific Argentine actresses of all time and is recognized as a cultural icon in her home country.[1][2]
Key Information
Aleandro starred in the 1985 film The Official Story, a role that earned her the Cannes Award for best actress.[3] She has performed in other successful films like The Truce (1974), Cousins (1989), Autumn Sun (1996), The Lighthouse (1998), Son of the Bride (2001) and Cama Adentro (2005). For her performance as Florencia Sánchez Morales in the 1987 film Gaby: A True Story, she received a Golden Globe nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Aleandro wrote the 1970 film The Inheritors and performed in various plays such as August: Osage County. Aleandro also appeared in the Argentine adaptation of BeTipul, the critically successful En terapia.
Life and career
[edit]
Aleandro was born in Buenos Aires on 2 May 1936.[4] She is the daughter of actors Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo and the sister of actress María Vaner.[4] During the late 1970s, she was vocal about her progressive views and during the military dictatorship she was exiled to Uruguay. Later Aleandro moved to Spain and did not return to Argentina until after the military junta fell in 1983.[5]
In 1985, her breakout role was the Argentine Academy Award-winning film The Official Story. For her acting in the film she won the Cannes Award for best actress.
She worked in several other Argentine movies such as the Academy Award-nominated Son of the Bride, Sol de Otoño, and El Faro.
Aleandro co-starred in a few Hollywood films such as One Man's War, with Anthony Hopkins, and Gaby: A True Story (1987) for which she received an Oscar nomination. She also had a minor role in Cousins (1989).
Back in Argentina, she returned to the stage with Master Class and won the María Guerrero award in 1996. The same year, she was honored as Ciudadano Ilustre de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires ("Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires").
She has co-starred five times with fellow actor Héctor Alterio: Los siete Locos (1973), the Academy Award-nominated The Truce (1974), The Official Story (1985), Son of the Bride (2001) and Cleopatra (2003), the last three of which they played husband and wife.
In 2009, Aleandro appeared in The City of Your Final Destination, directed by James Ivory and co-starring Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Filmography
[edit]
- La muerte en las calles (1952)
- Romeo y Julieta (1962) (TV)
- La casa de los Medina (1962) (TV)
- El último piso (1962)
- El amor tiene cara de mujer (1964) (TV)
- Cuatro mujeres para Adán (1966) (TV)
- Alias Buen Mozo (1966) (TV)
- Gente conmigo (1967)
- Los herederos (screenwriter) (1970)
- La fiaca (1969)
- Güemes: la tierra en armas (1971)
- Los siete locos (1972)
- La tregua (1974)
- La historia oficial (1985),
- Gaby: A True Story (1987)
- Cousins (1989)
- Cien veces no debo (1990)
- Vital Signs (1990)
- Artes especiales (1990)
- One Man's War (1991)
- Las tumbas (1991)
- Facundo, la sombra del tigre (1995)
- Carlos Monzón, el segundo juicio (1995)
- Sol de otoño (1996)
- El faro (1998)
- Corazón iluminado (1998)
- Una noche con Sabrina Love (2000)
- El hijo de la novia (2001)
- La fuga (2001)
- Todas las azafatas van al cielo (2002)
- Deseo (2002)
- Cleopatra (2003)
- Ay, Juancito (2004)
- 18-J (2004)
- Seres queridos (2004)
- Cama adentro (2004)
- Identidad perdida (corto - 2005)
- Pura sangre (2006)
- Patoruzito, la gran aventura (2006)
- The City of Your Final Destination (2009)
- Paco (2009)
- Música en espera (2009)
- Anita (2009)
- Andrés no quiere dormir la siesta (2009)
- Cuestión de principios (2010)
- Familia para armar (pre-production) (2010)
- La suerte en tus manos (2012)
- El paraíso (2022)
Awards
[edit]Wins
[edit]- Cannes Award: Best Actress for The Official Story, 1985
- New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best Actress for The Official Story, 1985
- Cartagena Film Festival: Best Actress for The Official Story, 1985
- David di Donatello: Best Foreign Actress for The Official Story, 1987
- Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: Best Actress for Sol de Otoño, 1996
- Havana Film Festival: Best Actress for Sol de Otoño, 1996
- Gramado Film Festival: Best Latin Actress for Son of the Bride, 2002
Nominated
[edit]- Academy Award: Best Supporting Actress for Gaby: A True Story, 1987
- Golden Globe Award: Best Supporting Actress for Gaby: A True Story, 1987
- Martín Fierro Awards: for En terapia, 2012, 2013
Other awards
[edit]- Konex Award: Diamond Award in 2001[6]
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Best Supporting Actress for Son of the Bride, 2001; Best Actress for Sol de Otoño, 1996; Best Actress for The Official Story, 1985
- Martín Fierro Awards: Six awards throughout the years
- Tato Award: Best Lead Actress in Drama, for En terapia, 2013[7]
- Association of Latin Entertainment Critics Awards: Best Character Actress for Cama Adentro, 2006; Best Actress for The Official Story, 1986
- Obie Award: Distinguished Performance (Actress) for About Love and Other Stories About Love, 1985
- Shakespeare Award: Distinguished career, given by Fundación Romeo Argentina, 2015
References
[edit]- ^ "Norma Aleandro, célebre figura del cine mundial, llegará a Catamarca" (in Spanish). 5 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ ""Nunca me imaginé llegar adonde estoy"". 25 October 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ "Contemporary Authors Online (in Literature Resource Center)". Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale. 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ a b Gallina, Mario (1999). De Gardel a Norma Aleandro: Diccionario sobre figuras del cine argentino en el exterior. Buenos Aires: Corregidor. p. 29. ISBN 950-05-1250-5.
- ^ Curran, Daniel. Cinebooks: Foreign Films, McPherson's Publishing: 1989, page 132.
- ^ Konex Awards Archived 11 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine web site for Norma Aleandro.
- ^ "Todos los ganadores de los premios Tato 2013" [All the winners of the Tato awards 2013] (in Spanish). La Nación. 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
External links
[edit]- Norma Aleandro at IMDb
- Norma Aleandro at Rotten Tomatoes
- Norma Aleandro at Cinenacional.com (in Spanish) (archive)
Norma Aleandro
View on GrokipediaEarly Life and Family Background
Childhood and Upbringing
Norma Aleandro was born on May 2, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to actors Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, both established performers in the local theater scene; her mother was of Spanish origin, reflecting the immigrant roots common among many porteño families of the era.[1][8][9] Raised in a household centered on the arts but without significant financial wealth, Aleandro's early years were shaped by her parents' professional commitments, which exposed her to backstage life and performances from infancy. At age three, she first stepped onto the stage, substituting for an ill child in a production where she cradled her mother's character as it died—a moment she recalled as deeply traumatic, highlighting the emotional intensity of her premature immersion in acting.[10][11] By nine years old, Aleandro had begun formal involvement in Argentine theater, performing in roles that built on her familial influences, with her parents actively fostering her affinity for the stage amid the cultural vibrancy of mid-20th-century Buenos Aires.[12][3]Initial Exposure to Performing Arts
Norma Aleandro was born on May 2, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into a family deeply immersed in the performing arts, with her parents, Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, both established actors who performed in theater productions.[1] As the third generation in her lineage to engage professionally with theater, Aleandro's upbringing provided an immediate and intimate connection to the stage, where family members routinely collaborated in troupes and performances.[13] Her initial exposure came through direct participation in her parents' theater activities during childhood, allowing her to observe and absorb the craft from an early age amid the vibrant Buenos Aires theatrical scene of the 1940s.[1] Influenced by this environment, Aleandro made her first onstage appearance at nine years old, marking the onset of her involvement in live performances alongside family members.[3] This early immersion extended to acting in her parents' troupe, fostering foundational skills in improvisation, rehearsal dynamics, and audience interaction before formal training or independent roles.[1] By age 13, Aleandro transitioned to her debut professional role, building on these formative experiences to establish a foothold in Argentina's theater circuit, though her initial encounters remained rooted in familial collaboration rather than solitary ambition.[14] Such origins underscored a causal progression from inherited cultural capital to personal agency, unmarred by external institutional biases prevalent in later academic narratives of artistic development.Professional Career
Theater Beginnings and Achievements
Norma Aleandro, born on May 2, 1936, to actors Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, debuted in theater at age nine in 1945, performing with her parents' troupe at the Teatro Smart in Buenos Aires.[15] This early immersion in her family's productions provided foundational experience, as she continued acting in their ensemble during childhood, honing skills amid professional environments.[1] By her early twenties, Aleandro secured leading roles in major Argentine productions, solidifying her reputation as a versatile performer capable of classical and contemporary works. She underwent professional training at the Instituto de Arte Moderno around age 13 and later directed and taught acting in Buenos Aires and abroad, including in Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica, where she introduced theater techniques to local artists.[16] [17] Key performances include starring roles in Scenes from a Marriage, The Glass Menagerie, The Young Lady from Tacna, and Master Class, showcasing her range in dramatic and introspective characters. As a director, she helmed adaptations like La venganza de Don Mendo, Medea, and the opera La Cenerentola, contributing to both stage innovation and opera crossovers in Argentina.[16] Aleandro's theater accolades encompass two Premio Talía awards in 1968 and 1975 for outstanding performances, multiple Premio ACE honors including a lifetime achievement gold, and the 1986 Obie Award for Best Actress from New York's Village Voice, recognizing her international stage impact.[16] These honors underscore her foundational role in elevating Argentine theater standards through rigorous, character-driven portrayals.[16]Transition to Film and Television
Aleandro's entry into cinema occurred early in her career, with her debut in the 1952 film La muerte en las calles, directed by Leo Fleider, where she appeared in a minor role at the age of 16.[1][14] This initial foray marked the beginning of her gradual expansion beyond theater, though she continued to prioritize stage work amid Argentina's burgeoning film industry. Subsequent film appearances remained sporadic during the 1950s and early 1960s, including roles in Gente conmigo (1958), reflecting a cautious integration of screen acting that complemented rather than supplanted her theatrical foundation.[1] By the late 1960s, Aleandro's involvement in film intensified, signaling a more substantive transition. She starred in La fiaca (1969), adapted from a play by Ricardo Talesnik, and took on a dual role as writer and lead actress in Los herederos (1970), a drama exploring generational inheritance and social tensions in Argentina.[1] The following year, she portrayed Macacha Güemes in the historical epic Güemes—la tierra en armas (1971), embodying the wife of the Argentine revolutionary hero, which highlighted her versatility in period pieces and contributed to her growing screen presence.[1] These projects demonstrated her ability to adapt theatrical depth to cinematic demands, amid an era when Argentine cinema grappled with political undercurrents. Television emerged as another medium for Aleandro during this period, with the advent of national broadcasts in Argentina providing opportunities for serialized storytelling. By the early 1970s, she had established a foothold in TV, appearing in adaptations and dramas that paralleled her film work, though specific early credits underscore her established reputation across radio, theater, and screen by the mid-1970s.[1] This multifaceted engagement allowed her to reach wider audiences while navigating the technical and narrative shifts from live stage performances to recorded formats, setting the stage for international recognition later in her career.Key Roles and Breakthroughs
Aleandro achieved international breakthrough with her leading role as Alicia in La historia oficial (The Official Story, 1985), portraying a history teacher whose comfortable life unravels upon suspecting her adopted daughter's origins tie to the Argentine military junta's systematic kidnappings of dissidents' children during the Dirty War.[18] The role, written specifically for her by director Luis Puenzo, earned her the Best Actress Award at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, shared with Cher.[19] [13] The film itself secured the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, marking Argentina's first win in the category and amplifying Aleandro's visibility beyond Latin America.[18] In 1987, she garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Florencia in Gaby: A True Story, depicting the mother of a young woman with cerebral palsy navigating family dynamics and personal aspirations in Mexico.[7] This Hollywood production, directed by Luis Mandoki, represented one of her early forays into English-language cinema following exile, highlighting her versatility in dramatic supporting turns.[14] Subsequent key roles included the widowed mother Norma in El hijo de la novia (Son of the Bride, 2001), a dramedy exploring family reconciliation and terminal illness, which contributed to the film's multiple Academy Award nominations including Best Foreign Language Film.[20] In Cama adentro (Live-in Maid, 2004), Aleandro played Beba, an affluent employer facing economic downfall and relational shifts with her long-time domestic worker, earning her a Cinema Writers Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress.[7] These performances solidified her status as a pivotal figure in Argentine cinema, often embodying complex maternal or authoritative figures confronting societal upheavals.[19]Exile and Political Context
Threats During the Dirty War
During Argentina's Dirty War, the period of state-sponsored repression from March 24, 1976, to 1983, Norma Aleandro, a prominent actress with outspoken progressive views, was targeted by the military junta for her perceived subversion. Declassified files reveal that the regime maintained blacklists of intellectuals and artists deemed threats, including Aleandro alongside figures like novelist Julio Cortázar and singer Mercedes Sosa, due to their cultural influence and opposition to authoritarian policies.[6] These lists facilitated surveillance, censorship, and violent intimidation against non-violent critics, reflecting the junta's broad campaign against perceived leftist sympathizers in the arts. On July 23, 1976, bombs were discovered under Aleandro's home and beneath the theater where she was performing, incidents attributed to paramilitary or regime-linked groups amid escalating attacks on cultural figures.[19] A follow-up phone call explicitly threatened her life, demanding she leave the country within 24 hours or face execution; similar calls were reported to her husband after an explosion in her apartment building's lobby.[21][1] These events, occurring mere months after the coup, compelled Aleandro to flee Buenos Aires for Uruguay and subsequently Spain, marking the onset of her seven-year exile.[5] Aleandro's threats stemmed not from militant involvement but from her public criticism of repression, including speeches against figures like Augusto Pinochet, which the junta equated with domestic disloyalty.[5] Mainstream accounts, while generally reliable on verifiable incidents like bombings, often frame such targeting within a narrative emphasizing regime paranoia over leftist threats; however, Aleandro's case aligns with documented patterns of preemptive strikes against non-combatant artists to suppress dissent. She returned briefly in 1981 but maintained caution amid ongoing risks until the dictatorship's end.[22]Life in Exile and International Work
In late 1975, amid threats from the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (Triple A), Aleandro fled Buenos Aires with her husband, theater director Juan Carlos Berenguer, and their son, initially seeking refuge in neighboring Uruguay.[23] There, she spent approximately 18 months, during which she continued performing in theater, notably taking on the role of Medea in a production that allowed her to maintain her professional footing despite the upheaval.[23] Unable to secure a passport promptly from Argentine authorities, she faced prolonged uncertainty before relocating to Spain in 1977, where she resided primarily in Madrid and obtained Spanish citizenship through her mother's Galician heritage.[21] [5] Her exile in Spain, spanning roughly four years until her return in 1981, was marked by emotional hardship, including profound homesickness that Aleandro later described as a pervasive sadness, exacerbated by the death of fellow Argentine exiles from similar despair.[1] She sustained her career through theater engagements, honing her craft amid a community of displaced artists, though specific productions from this period remain less documented compared to her pre- and post-exile work.[24] No major film roles emerged during this time, reflecting the challenges of rebuilding professionally abroad while navigating political isolation from Argentina's junta, which had blacklisted her domestically.[21] By 1981, despite lingering fears of reprisal, Aleandro decided to return to Argentina, driven by an irrepressible attachment to her homeland; she resumed theater immediately upon arrival, marking the transition from exile's constraints to renewed domestic opportunities.[25] This period abroad, while professionally adaptive, underscored the personal toll of displacement for artists opposing the regime, with Aleandro later reflecting on it as a phase of survival rather than prolific output.[19]Return to Argentina and Later Career
Post-Exile Productions
Aleandro returned to Argentina in 1981 amid ongoing political risks, starring in the world premiere of Peruvian playwright Mario Vargas Llosa's La señorita de Tacna (The Young Lady of Tacna) at the Tabarís Theater in Buenos Aires; she reprised the role in subsequent Spanish productions. Following the military junta's collapse in 1983, she fully resettled and focused on cinema, beginning with the lead role of Alicia in La historia oficial (The Official Story, 1985), a drama examining the human cost of the dictatorship's forced adoptions; the film received the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, marking Argentina's first such win and elevating Aleandro's global profile.[2] Her post-return filmography blended international and domestic projects, including the biographical drama Gaby: A True Story (1987), where she portrayed the mother of a polio-afflicted girl, and the American comedy Cousins (1989), co-starring Ted Danson and Sean Young.[2] In Argentine cinema, she collaborated frequently with director Eduardo Mignogna on Sol de otoño (Autumn Sun, 1996), playing a Jewish woman aiding an undocumented immigrant, and with Juan José Campanella in El hijo de la novia (Son of the Bride, 2001), as a terminally ill wife prompting family reconciliation; the latter earned her a Silver Condor for Best Supporting Actress.[1] Aleandro sustained theater engagements, including a revival of Master Class by Terrence McNally in the 1990s, and later films like La mujer de mi hermano (My Brother's Wife, 2005) and La maid (Live-in Maid, 2004), depicting economic downturns' interpersonal strains.[26] Into the 2010s and beyond, she appeared in El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes, 2009)—an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film—as a judge, and television series such as El jardín de bronce (The Bronze Garden, 2017).[20] Her output emphasized mature roles exploring memory, loss, and resilience, often drawing from Argentina's socio-political scars without overt didacticism.[19]Recent Projects and Ongoing Influence
In 2021, Aleandro starred as the titular Maró in the Argentine drama film El secreto de Maró, directed by Alejandro Magnone, portraying a nonagenarian Armenian cook and genocide survivor who reconnects with her heritage through a young journalist's inquiry. [27] The film, which premiered commercially in Argentina on September 30, 2021, explores themes of memory, identity, and cultural transmission, earning praise for Aleandro's nuanced performance amid a modest production focused on historical trauma.[28] [29] Prior to this, her television appearances included the 2017 miniseries The Bronze Garden (El jardín de las bronces), where she played a supporting role in a family saga adaptation.[20] Since 2021, Aleandro, now in her late 80s, has not taken on major new acting roles in film, television, or theater, reflecting a natural deceleration in output consistent with her age and extensive career spanning over seven decades.[20] No public records indicate stage productions or screen projects in the 2022–2025 period, though she maintains a low-profile presence via social media accounts sharing archival content.[30] Aleandro's ongoing influence in Argentine arts endures through her foundational contributions to post-dictatorship cinema and theater, serving as a benchmark for authenticity in portraying complex maternal and historical figures, as seen in enduring analyses of her work in The Official Story (1985).[31] Contemporary discussions of Argentine film history, including 2025 retrospectives, credit her with inspiring subsequent generations of performers by embodying resilience against political censorship, prioritizing narrative depth over commercial trends.[31] Her selective late-career choices, emphasizing immigrant and survivor stories, continue to inform curricula in Latin American performing arts, underscoring a legacy of substantive, evidence-based storytelling over performative activism.[19]Awards and Recognition
Major International Awards
Norma Aleandro won the Best Actress award at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival for her role as Alicia in La historia oficial (The Official Story), sharing the prize with Cher for Mask.[7] She also received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in 1985 for the same performance.[7] In 1988, Aleandro earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Feiga Frisch in Gaby: A True Story, becoming the first Argentine actress nominated in any acting category.[7][32] At the 1996 San Sebastián International Film Festival, she was awarded the Silver Seashell for Best Actress for her leading role in Sol de otoño (Autumn Sun).[7][33] Aleandro received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 1999 Goya Awards for her role in Tango.[7]| Year | Award | Category | Film | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Actress | La historia oficial | Won (tied)[7] |
| 1985 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actress | La historia oficial | Won[7] |
| 1988 | Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Gaby: A True Story | Nominated[7] |
| 1996 | San Sebastián International Film Festival | Best Actress | Sol de otoño | Won[7] |
| 1999 | Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Tango | Nominated[7] |
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