Elena Anaya Gutiérrez (born 17 July 1975) is a Spanish actress. She garnered public recognition in Spain for her performance in ''

Sex and Lucia ''Sex and Lucia'' ( es, Lucía y el sexo, links=no) is a 2001 Spanish drama film written and directed by Julio Medem, and starring Paz Vega and Tristán Ulloa, alongside Najwa Nimri, Daniel Freire, Javier Cámara, Silvia Llanos and Elena Ana ...

'' (2001), which also earned her a nomination to the

Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

. She starred in ''

The Skin I Live In ''The Skin I Live In'' ( es, link=no, La piel que habito) is a 2011 Spanish science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet and Roberto Ál ...

'' (2011), for which she won the

Goya Award for Best Actress The Goya Award for Best Actress (Spanish: ''Premio Goya a la mejor interpretación femenina protagonista'') is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards. Since its inception, the award has been given to 26 actresses. At the 1s ...

. She is also known for her roles as one of Dracula's brides in ''

Van Helsing A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...

'' (2004), the Spanish tourist in ''Room in Rome'' (2010) and Doctor Poison in ''Wonder Woman (2017 film), Wonder Woman'' (2017).

Early life

Anaya was born in Palencia, Spain. She is the youngest of three children. Her mother, Elena (Nena), is a housewife who later owned a boarding house in Palencia. Her father, Juan José Anaya Gómez (1934–2011), was an industrial engineer.

Career

Anaya moved to Cádiz to train as an actress, after which she landed roles in ''África (film), África'' and ''Familia (1996 film), Familia''. She first received international attention in 2001 for her role in the sexually explicit drama ''Sex and Lucía''. She also had a small part the year after in Almodóvar's ''Talk to Her''. Her best-known Hollywood film role was as Aleera, one of Dracula's brides in 2004's ''

''. That same year, Anaya was named as one of European films' Shooting Stars Award, Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion. In 2006, Anaya appeared in Justin Timberlake's music video for his single, "SexyBack". Elena Anaya

After some "quiet" years playing supporting roles in international films such as ''Savage Grace'' (2007) and ''Cairo Time'' (2009), Anaya roared back into prominence with a starring role in 2010's ''Room in Rome'', and then a return to Almodóvar in 2011's ''

''. In 2017, Anaya appeared as Doctor Poison in the superhero blockbuster film, ''Wonder Woman (2017 film), Wonder Woman''.

Personal life

In August 2011, Spanish tabloid magazine ''Cuore'' published photographs of Anaya kissing director Beatriz Sanchís at a Nude beach, naturist beach in Menorca. They were reportedly in a relationship from 2008 to 2013. In November 2016, it was announced that Anaya was expecting her first child with her partner, Tina Afugu Cordero, a costume designer. In February 2017, Anaya gave birth to their son.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Elena Anaya
at AllMovie
Elena Anaya
at Yahoo! Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Anaya, Elena 1975 births Best Actress Goya Award winners Spanish lesbian actresses LGBT actors from Spain Living people People from Palencia Spanish film actresses 20th-century Spanish actresses 21st-century Spanish actresses