Mariana Santangelo (ARG)

Mariana Santangelo is an award-winning actress who has had a  prestigious career on screen and in the theatre in Latin America and Spain.   Born in Argentina, she was raised in New York and studied  theatre with renowned teachers in the USA, Argentina, Spain and Italy.   She is from Italian / Ukrainian background and can play a great range  of characters.  

During her first year in the Argentinean Performing Arts Conservatory,  Mariana landed the leading roles in several classic plays in the National  Theatre.  Soon, she starred in two local TV series and then landed a lead  role in the movie: “En La Puta Vida” (known in the Anglo festivals as:  “Tricky Life”)   The film was critically acclaimed all over the world and received many  awards in the international film festivals.  

Mariana received the Best Actress award at the Huelva Film Festival,  Malaga Film Festival, Lerida Film Festival, Madrid Film Festival,  Cartagena Film Festival and Viña del Mar Film Festival.   In 2003, the  film was the Oscar entry for Uruguay in the foreign film category, and  Mariana was exposed to major producers, talent agencies and collaborators in Hollywood.  She continued to work in the theatre and  Films in Spain. 

Being shortlisted for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, “En La  Puta Vida” became a cult movie in Latin American film history and it is  to this day the most downloaded Hispanic movie on the Internet  according to Retina Latina.  

Besides her training in the Conservatory, Mariana studied with  renowned teachers in USA and Europe like Ivanna Chubbuck,  Dominique De Fazio and Larry Moss.  
In 2009, she played the lead role in “Miente”, which was also shortlisted  for the Academy Awards and it was the first time Puerto Rico submitted  a film for the foreign film category. 

Mariana took time off to raise a family, and focus on her life-long passion for writing.  She has several screenplays optioned and was hired  to write a biopic for an up-and-coming-Linda Ronstadt project.  

Always a theatre animal, in 2017 and 2018 Mariana recently starred as  Hedda in Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” at the Argentina National Theatre.  The  play had several successful seasons and toured throughout Chile,  Uruguay and Spain.