Monica Ramon (born April 27, 1981 as ''Monica Ramoneda Vila'') is a

Spanish-American Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose Spaniards, ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European Americans, European American group in t ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who first began appearing in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

productions in her native Spain in the mid-1990s. Her glamorous looks and style are evocative of the

Golden Age of Hollywood Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome, Stroud#Golden Val ...

. She is the granddaughter of the celebrated

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

Lluis Vila Plana, a period contemporary of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

Biography

Early life

Monica Ramon was born in the

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

section of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. She is the daughter of Anna Vila Alia and Jacint Ramoneda Badiella. The family lived in five different houses during Monica's childhood. Eventually the family settled in the seaside town of

Tossa de Mar Tossa de Mar (; Spanish: Tosa de Mar) is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, located on the coastal Costa Brava, about 100 kilometres north of Barcelona and 100 kilometres south of the French border. It is accessible through Girona Airport, some ...

, the same town where

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

starred in the film, ''

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman ''Pandora and the Flying Dutchman'' is a 1951 British Technicolor Romance film, romantic Fantasy film, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Albert Lewin. The screenplay is based on legend of the Flying Dutchma ...

''. When she was 18 years old her parents divorced and her father remarried. She lived with her grandmother during four years. Throughout her life Monica has always been very active and was heavily involved with sports as a child, including running and swimming. She comes from a very artistic family and was inspired to art as a child by her grandfather's work. She studied

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

as a child and as a young woman she studied

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

and

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

. Regionally she identifies herself with the Catalan culture and speaks the native

Catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...

. She moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 2006 to pursue her acting career. At that time she became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

Acting career

Monica's first acting role was in the

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

'' Happy End'' (1997), working alongside the marquee

Monica Lopez, playing the role of Malvada. Later that same year she was featured in the Spanish feature film, ''Primats'', working with the renowned Spanish

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Carlos Jover. Monica went on to study acting at the

Chekov Theater Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian physician, dramatist and writer. Chekhov/Chekov (masculine) or Chekhova (feminine) may also refer to: Places *Chekhov Urban Settlement, a municipal formation which the Town of Chekhov, Moscow Oblast, Chek ...

in Madrid. She left Barcelona for Madrid in 2000 by herself and spent four years studying and acting on stage. Her studies included the Stanislavsky Method under acting coach Angel Gutierrez. During that period of time she established herself as a serious stage actress and developed an impressive stage resume, including winning a best actress stage award for work in a Tennessee Williams play at the Karpas Theater as a part of the Trapola theater company.

Recent success

Monica went to the United States in 2006 and immediately found work in several television shows and film productions as well as T.V. commercials in the Los Angeles area. 2008 will be remembered as a banner year for Ramon, having been cast in roles in four films - '' Dirty Girl'', '' XII'', '' Polanski'' and Mexican Gangster in the first half of the year alone. On her listing o
IMDB.com
she is credited with appearing in the film ''Full Moon Rising'' in 1996 in

, during a time when she had not yet left Spain for

. The date listed on the website is incorrect. The actual date of the film was 2006. So far in her career Monica has had the opportunity to work with such actors as

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1979). He played Manolo "Ma ...

, and directors Michael A. Nickles and

Damian Chapa Damian Robert Chapa (born October 29, 1963) is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Chapa's ancestry is Mexican, Italian, German and Native American. He lives in San Antonio, Texas. Chapa played the part of e ...

Personal life

Ramon has remained single, though she had long-term, live-in relationship with Giuseppe Ferraro 2000/2005 in Madrid Spain. In 2004 she purchased a house in Madrid on her own. She has two younger brothers, twins named David and Albert, whom she loves as if they were her own children. In the same year their parents divorced, the two brothers were involved in a near-fatal car accident. Albert, who had been ejected from the car, was seriously injured and his brother David performed

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure used during cardiac or respiratory arrest that involves chest compressions, often combined with artificial ventilation, to preserve brain function and maintain circulation until sp ...

and saved his brother's life. Albert then spent a long rehabilitation learning to walk and talk again. He subsequently fell into

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and sought treatment. He is now an

alcohol dependence Alcohol dependence is a previous (DSM-IV and ICD-10) psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon alcohol (also chemically known as ethanol). In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder ...

counselor, helping others who have fallen prey to

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

. Monica Ramon lists her religion as

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. Monica considers herself to be a strong woman with a great sense of humor. She believes that anything is possible with the right positive attitude. She says "What we think we become".

Filmography and television

2015 A beautiful Soul Imdb

References

External links

NY Times Movie Listing for Monica RamonPictures of Monica Ramon at CelebrityPhoto.com
www.dailyceleb.com Monica Ramon www.realtvfilms.com Monica Ramon www.hollywood.com Monica Ramon {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramon, Monica 1976 births American film actresses Living people American people of Catalan descent American people of Spanish descent American Buddhists American television actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Barcelona Spanish emigrants to the United States 21st-century American women