Yalitza Aparicio Martínez is a Mexican actress. She made her film debut as Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón‘s 2018 drama Roma, which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress becoming the first Indigenous American woman to be nominated. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She was also named the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples in the same year.
Years active: 2018–present
Born Age: December 11, 1993, 30 years old and 11 months, Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Eye Color: Dark brown
Hair Color: Black
Height: 5’2″ – 1.58 m
Measurements: 35.5-30-37 in – 90-76-94 cm
Bra size: 34B US – 75B EU
Early life
Graduate High school.
Yalitza Aparicio Martínez parents are of indigenous origin; her father is Mixtec and her mother is Triqui. She has 2 sisters. She was not, however, fluent in the Mixtec language and had to learn it for her role in Roma. Aparicio was raised by a single mother who worked as a maid. She does not have formal training in acting, but rather has pursued a degree in pre-school education while already holding a degree in early childhood education and worked in a school. She won her first acting role just prior to qualifying as a teacher.
Career
Aparicio made her acting debut in the drama film Roma, which was written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. The film was released in November 2018. Aparicio received critical acclaim, with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian stating that she “brings to the role something gentle, delicate, stoic and selfless. She is the jewel of this outstanding film.”
For her performance, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Indigenous American woman to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
She also earned nominations in the same category from the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, the Hollywood Film Awards, the Gotham Awards, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the Satellite Awards, and the Women Film Critics Circle, as well as recognition from Time and The New York Times.
Aparicio appeared on the cover of Vogue México in January 2019. She also appeared in the Vanity Fair 2019 “Hollywood Issue” cover. Aparicio was given the keys to Panama City, Panama, on 8 April 2019. Also in 2019, Aparicio was featured in the music video for the song “Plata ta tá” by Mon Laferte and Guaynaa.
In 2020, Aparicio was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2021, Aparicio featured in the song “América Vibra” alongside Natiruts and Ziggy Marley.
In 2022, Aparicio appeared in the Mexican horror film Presencias. That same year, she had a recurring role as the Moon in four episodes of the second series of the American comedy series Los Espookys and starred in the third episode of the Mexican anthology series Mujeres asesinas.
In 2023, she co-starred with Memo Villegas and Pierre Louis in the comedy film The Great Seduction released on Netflix.
Trivia
Preschool teacher turned Oscar-nominated actress.
She is from a rural area, in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico, much like her character in Roma.
Yalitza had been studying to be a teacher and had just graduated when the acting opportunity arose related to Roma (2018). As she had 6-8 months to wait for her test results, she opted to blindly accept the role of Cleo at the suggestion of her very pregnant sister who had to bow out. She knew nothing about the film industry stature of fellow Mexican Alfonso Cuarón at the time. Without any acting experience whatsoever, Yalitza landed the part of Cleo over 110 other prospective actresses who’d been auditioning over a one-year casting period for director Cuarón.
Speaks so little English that when she appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003), Jimmy’s sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez had to act as her interpreter during the entire interview (Dec. 19, 2018).
Yalitza, in 2018, Catalina Sandino Moreno (for Maria Full of Grace (2004)), and Ariana DeBose (for West Side Story (2021)), are thus far the only actors of Latin American descent born after 1980 to have been nominated for an acting Oscar; Ariana won.
Is one of 20 actresses to have received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for a performance where they acted out a labor and/or birth; hers being for Roma (2018).The others in chronological order are Luise Rainer for The Good Earth (1937), Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (1948), Eleanor Parker for Caged (1950), Elizabeth Taylor for Raintree County (1957), Leslie Caron for The L-Shaped Room (1962), Shirley MacLaine for Irma La Douce (1963), Vanessa Redgrave for The Loves of Isadora Duncan (1968), Geneviève Bujold for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Marsha Mason for Cinderella Liberty (1973), Ann-Margret for Tommy (1975), Ellen Burstyn for Same Time, Next Year (1978), Jessica Lange for Sweet Dreams (1985), Meryl Streep for A Cry in the Dark (1988), Samantha Morton for In America (2002), Elliot Page for Juno (2007), Ruth Negga for Loving (2016), Yalitza Aparicio for Roma (2018), Vanessa Kirby for Pieces of a Woman (2020) and Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers (2021). In fact, Aparicio is the fourth Latina and the second Mexican to receive this honor.
Yalitza has no formal acting training.
During an interview, the actress said that the film is very close to her heart as her mother also worked as a maid.
In 2018, Aparicio won the Hollywood Film Awards for the New Hollywood Award.
The 25-year-old actress also earned Best Actress nominations at the Chicago Film Critics Association, Satellite Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards.
The actress is also extremely popular on Instagram with more than 2.2 million followers.
Quotes
[on Roma (2018)] The fact that despite the film being so personal for Alfonso, and that it touches on the different problems here in Mexico, people from different countries identify with the story so much that it touches their hearts.
[on Alfonso Cuarón] The trust that he had in me since I met him, and the fact that he shot the film in sequence, helped me imagine that this was my life, which surprised me day by day.
It’s like a dream that came true without me realizing it. I remember it was something I had wished for – traveling to different parts of the world – and it fills me with joy that through the film I can go to magnificent places. [In the past] I only went on school trips, to states close to Oaxaca.
[when asked if she relates to Cleo] Yes, in a way, because of her background and how she managed to keep going despite adversity.
[Cleo] reminded me of my mom. When Alfonso told me about Libo’s past and how she was part of his family, I remembered my mom’s job and how the children that she took care of value her.
Hobbies and favorite things
Favorite Actress Salma Hayek
Favorite Actor Paul Rudd
Dream vacation Paris
Favorite Color Purple
She love to Cook and watch TV shows
Favorite Food Mexican Kitchen.
Nominated for 1 Oscar – 13 wins & 39 nominations total
Pinterest, IMBd, Instagram, Facebook, X, Youtube.
Last Updated on 4 months by Erotica Pleasure