Mía Maestro (born 19 June 1978) is an Argentine actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Nora Martinez in ''

The Strain ''The Strain'' is a 2009 vampire literature, vampire horror fiction, horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in ''The Strain Trilogy'', and was followed by ''The Fall (del Toro and Hogan novel), The Fal ...

'', as Nadia Santos in the television drama '' Alias'', as Cristina Kahlo in ''

Frida Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** *Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters *Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singer) ...

'', as Chichina Ferreyra in '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', and as Carmen in '' The Twilight Saga''.

Early life and career

Maestro was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, on 19 June 1978. She made her screen debut in

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (4 January 1932 – 10 February 2023) was a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. With Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be among Spain's great filmmakers. He had a long and prolific career th ...

’s ''

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

'', which received

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations for Best Foreign Film. Initially trained in Argentina, Maestro traveled to Berlin to develop a vocal repertoire of the works of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

and

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was a German-Austrian composer. He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artistic association with Bertolt Brecht, and for the scores he wrote for films. The ...

. Her first proper acting turn was in the play ''The Summer Trilogy'' by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...

, and by 1998, she secured the coveted role of Lulu in

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...

’s ''

Pandora's Box Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod related that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing curses ...

'' at the San Martin Theater in her hometown of Buenos Aires. For this she garnered an "Ace" Award for Best New Artist of the Year. In 2004, she joined the cast of ABC's critically acclaimed series '' Alias'' for two seasons. In the same year, Maestro also appeared in the Argentine film '' La Niña Santa'' (aka ''The Holy Girl''), directed by Lucrecia Martel, as well as the

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...

film '' The Motorcycle Diaries'', alongside Gael Garcia Bernal, (Golden Globe nominee in 2005 for Best Foreign Film) based on the journals of

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

, leader of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. Maestro has starred as a victim of a kidnapping in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Jonathan Jakubowicz Jonathan Jakubowicz is a Venezuelan filmmaker and writer, winner of the German Film Peace Prize 2020 for his film "Resistance". His film ''Secuestro Express'' was nominated for BIFA Award for Best Foreign Independent Film, Best Foreign Language Fi ...

’s thriller '' Secuestro Express'', released by

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

. In December 2005, she starred in

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's music video for " Te Amo Corazón", which was directed by their mutual friend

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

. In 2006, she co-starred in

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Directo ...

's film ''

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

''. where she played Elena Gonzalaz, a stowaway girl going to meet her sick brother in the hospital with friend and waiter Valentine. Maestro starred in the off-Broadway musical play, '' My Life as a Fairytale'', inspired by the life and works of author

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

and singing the music of Stephin Merritt from

The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...

. She also starred in '' 1st Night'', based on the opera ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

, the comedy ''Meant to Be'', and the American indie film '' The Music Never Stopped'', based on an

Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...

story. Maestro has been cast as the lead character in ''Cutthroat'', an ABC television pilot for the 2010–2011 season. As of 30 September 2010, she has been cast as Carmen of the Denali Coven in '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' and '' Part 2''. Maestro guest-starred as maya in '' White Collar'', a restaurant owner with whom Neal Caffrey ( Matt Bomer) has a fling while on the run. She played Dr. Nora Martinez in the vampire horror series ''

'', created by

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

. She also guest starred in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television series ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

'' in 2015, playing the role of Allegra Pazzi, the wife of an Italian inspector. In 2017, she returned to theater and played the role of Diana Salazar in Ferdinand von Schirach's ''Terror''. The play was produced in multiple countries, an adapted version of the play had its United States premiere in a production by Miami New Drama at Miami Beach's Colony Theatre. In 2019, she starred as Sonia in the critically-acclaimed indie drama '' End of the Century''. Maestro starred in the lead role of Magdalena in the magical realist film The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (2022), directed by Francisca Alegria. The film premiered and competed for Grand Jury Prize at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. In August 2022, it has been announced that Maestro is cast as the lead role opposite

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

in the biopic ''Alina of Cuba'', about

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

and his daughter Alina Fernández. Maestro is set to portray Natalia Revuelta Clews, Castro's lover and the mother of Alina. Maestro starred in the independent film, ''Grassland'' which was directed by

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

and released at the

Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) includes feature films, documentaries, and short films from the Spanish and Portuguese diaspora. The six-day festival was established in 1997. The festival was founded by Marlene Dermer (a ...

on June 2, 2024.

Musical career

As a singer-songwriter, Maestro has been performing in Los Angeles, New York City, and Buenos Aires, and is in preparation to start recording her EP followed by an album. In 2010, she performed in Iceland where she opened for Emiliana Torrini during several shows at the Háskólabíó theater in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. She has collaborated with the UK band

Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Ja ...

, singing on the song "Love is My Condition" on their album '' The Dance'', released in May 2010. Maestro's version of "Lloverá" appeared on the ''Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' soundtrack, also as part of an EP titled ''Blue Eyed Sailor'', released in November 2012. The EP features three songs: "Blue Eyed Sailor", "Time to Go" (featuring Damien Rice) and "Lloverá". It also features a music video of "Blue Eyed Sailor", directed by Juan Azulay and Guillermo Navarro, inspired by the art of Cecilia Paredes. On 7 October 2014, Mia Maestro's debut album ''Si Agua'' was released by Arts & Crafts. It was recorded in Iceland. NPR's Alt.Latino referred to her voice as one of Alt.Latino's favorites of 2014.

Awards

She won an ACE Award for her performance in the stage production of ''

''. For her work in '' Alias'', she won the Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress in Television. In 2019, she has been awarded an honorable mention Grand Jury Award by Outfest for her performance in '' End of the Century'', shared with her co-stars Juan Barberini and Ramon Pujol.

Filmography

Films

Television

Theater

Discography

Studio albums

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maestro, Mia 1978 births Living people Argentine female dancers Argentine dancers Argentine women singer-songwriters Argentine singer-songwriters Argentine film actresses Argentine stage actresses Argentine television actresses Actresses from Buenos Aires Argentine expatriates in Germany Hispanic and Latino American actresses 20th-century Argentine actresses 21st-century Argentine actresses 20th-century Argentine women singers 21st-century Argentine women singers 21st-century American women