Candela Pena

María del Pilar Peña Sánchez (Gavá, Barcelona, July 14, 1975), known as Candela Peña, is a Spanish actress nominated eight times for the Goya. She won the award three times for her performances in I give you my eyes (2003), Princesas (2005) and A gun in each hand (2012).

Biography

María del Pilar Peña Sánchez was born in Gavá, province of Barcelona. Her parents, Pepa and Antonio, of Andalusian and Murcian origin - her father was born in Lora del Río and her mother in Caravaca de la Cruz - ran a bar located next to the Maragall Cinema, the only cinema in the town, where Candela spent his youth. At first she wanted to be a dancer and began her dance studies at the Rosa María Grau school. She dedicated herself to dancing until she was seventeen, but finally she opted for acting and she combined her studies at COU with the beginning of her training as an actress at the Nancy Tuñón School in Barcelona. She tried to enter the Andalusian Theater Center but, as she explains in an interview, she was not accepted. She returned to Barcelona to finish her studies at Nancy Tuñón. At the beginning of the 90s she moved her residence to Madrid where nine months later she began filming her first film, Días contados (1994) with a role, that of Vanesa, which brought her her first awards: the Ondas 1994 ex aequo with Ruth Gabriel and Elvira Mínguez and the Ojo Crítico Award from Radio Nacional de España (RNE) in 1996, her first film award as an individual. In Madrid she was a student of the prestigious teacher by actors and theater director Juan Carlos Corazza.

About how the stage name of Candela came about, in an interview in The Resistance, Candela herself explained: «In my town they made fun of me studying theater in Barcelona and they said that Pilar Peña didn't work at all. One day we were reading The House of Bernarda Alba and the phrase 'they lit the candle' came up. I thought: "Come on, Candela Peña does sound good!" And they started calling me Candela."

Professional career

His professional beginnings were on television, in the musical program Sputnik on TV3 and in the cinema with Días contados (1994), a job that earned him his first two nominations. to the Goya Awards for Best Female Supporting Performance and Best New Actress, which she ultimately did not win. In 1999 she was nominated again for the Goya for best supporting actress, this time for the film All about my mother by Pedro Almodóvar. She didn't get it either but the work meant a new boost in her career. her professional.

Shortly after finishing All About My Mother, and encouraged by Pedro Almodóvar, she published a novel: «Pérez Príncipe. María Dolores », a book about the loss of youth. She won her first Goya in 2003 for I give you my eyes as a supporting actress, directed by Icíar Bollaín about a story of gender violence. Two years later, in 2005, she received a Goya as leading actress for Princesses, directed by Fernando León de Aranoa.

In 2012 she participated in the cast of A pistol in each hand directed by Cesc Gay, for which she was awarded new awards: the Gaudí Award for best supporting actress and the Goya for best actress of distribution. His interventions at the Gaudí Awards collection were controversial because some sectors criticized that in his speech he did not use Catalan as is tradition for those from Catalonia but instead used Spanish - Candela Peña is a Spanish speaker - and others defended his right to choose what language to use. Days later, at the 2013 Goya ceremony, his intervention was one of the most critical of the gala in references to the crisis that Spain is going through. When collecting the award she denounced the cuts in healthcare, education and evictions. He mentioned the situation of public health, remembering the conditions in which his father died in a public hospital and raised his doubts about the public education that awaited his son in addition to asking for a job "to be able to feed him." Given the criticism he received, claimed her right to speak as a citizen and, in April, when collecting the award for best actress at the Malaga Spanish Film Festival, she appeared with a black tape that sealed her lips.

The following works after the Goya were in Europe: in France with Le dernier coup de marteau (2014) directed by Alix Delaporte and in Italy with Latin Lover (2015) directed by Cristina Comencini. In May 2014 she made her theater debut directed by Sol Picó in the show The skin of the egg te lo da with the singer La Shica, within the framework of the Ciutat Flamenco Festival of Barcelona. In the work she reflects on women through flamenco and contemporary dance.

In 2015, The Time of Monsters directed by Félix Sabroso was released, in which she played the role of Andrea and reunited with the actor Javier Cámara, who was already her film partner in Yesterday never ends and in Torremolinos 73. In 2016 she was nominated again for the Goya Award for best supporting female performance for Kiki, el amor se hace, directed by Paco León. A year later, he participated in the debut film Eduardo Casanova Pieles. Subsequently, she returned to television to star in the series Hierro on Movistar+, where she played Candela Montes during its two seasons and which brought her numerous nominations and numerous awards and was a success with audiences, critics and everything. In 2020 she starred in Icíar Bollaín's film Rosa's Wedding, where she played Rosa, a woman who wants to marry herself. For her role, she received countless reviews about her excellent performance, in addition to several award nominations, such as her eighth Goya nomination.

Personal life

Her son Román was born on October 31, 2011, a few days after the death of her father; Both experiences, the actress confesses, have been a turning point in her life.

The actress has recognized the difficulty of leading the life of an actress with emotional ups and downs.

Filmography

Cinema

As director

• 9 (2010), starring Elena Anaya, Aitor Merino and Pilar Castro, among others. In this short, the symbolism of the eneagram is used especially, fashioned by Claudio Naranjo and used by the teaching team of the Corazza Studio for the actor, where Candela was formed.

Television

Advertising

• In the 1990s he participated in two publicity campaigns: for the company EVAX led by Isabel Coixet (1996), and for Telefónica led by Julio Medem.
• In 2010 he worked on the Alvalle Gazpacho campaign There's no summer for ours..
• In December 2012 he participates in the Christmas advertising campaign of Campofrío The curriculum of all led by Icíar Bollaín.
• In December 2017 he participates in the Christmas advertising campaign of Campofrío Amodio directed by Isabel Coixet.
• In December 2021 he participates in the Christmas advertising campaign of Campofrío Cojonados led by Icíar Bollaín.

Theater

• The skin of the egg gives it to you (2014–2015)
• The neighbors upstairs (2016)
• 1 (2016)
• Consent (2018)
• Contracts (2023)

Awards and candidacies

Goya Awards

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
1995	Best actress revelation	Days counted	Nominated
	Best female distribution interpretation		Nominated
2000	Best female distribution interpretation	All about my mother	Nominated
2004	Best female distribution interpretation	I give you my eyes	Winner
2006	Best female interpretation protagonist	Princesses	Winner
2013	Best female distribution interpretation	A gun in every hand	Winner
2017	Best female distribution interpretation	Kiki, love is made	Nominated
2021	Best female interpretation protagonist	Rosa's wedding	Nominated

Silver frames

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2003	Best movie actress	Torremolinos 73	Nominated
2005	Best movie actress	Princesses	Winner
2020	Best TV actress	Iron	Nominated

Awards of the Union of Actors

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
1994	Best Secondary Film Interpretation	Days counted	Nominated
	Better interpretation		Nominated
1999	Best interpretation of cinema distribution	All about my mother	Nominated
2003	Best Secondary Film Interpretation	I give you my eyes	Winner
	Best movie star actress	Torremolinos 73	Nominated
2005	Best movie star actress	Princesses	Winner
2012	Best Secondary Film Actress	A gun in every hand	Winner
2016	Best Secondary Film Actress	Kiki, love is made	Winner
2020	Best protagonist of television	Iron	Winner
2022	Best protagonist of television	Iron	Winner

Feroz Awards

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2014	Best star actress in cinema	Yesterday never ends	Nominated
2017	Best movie casting actress	Kiki, love is made	Nominated
2020	Best protagonist of a series	Iron	Winner
2021	Best star actress in cinema	Rosa's wedding	Nominated
2022	Best protagonist of a series	Iron	Nominated
	Best cast actress in a series	Lost pussy	Nominated

Platinum Awards

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2020	Best female performance in teleseries	Iron	Nominated
2021	Best female interpretation	Rosa's wedding	Winner

Medals of the Film Writers Circle

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2003	Best actress protagonist	Torremolinos 73	Nominated
2003	Best secondary actress	I give you my eyes	Nominated
2005	Best actress protagonist	Princesses	Winner
2012	Best secondary actress	A gun in every hand	Nominated
2020	Best actress protagonist	Rosa's wedding	Winner

Iris Awards

Year	Category	Title	Outcome
2019	Best female interpretation	Iron	Nominated
2021	Best female interpretation		Winner

Gaudí Awards

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2013	Best secondary actress	A gun in every hand	Winner
2014	Best female protagonist	Yesterday never ends	Nominated
2021	Best female protagonist	Rosa's wedding	Winner

Ondas Awards

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
1994	Best movie actress	Days counted	Winner
2003	Best movie actress	Torremolinos 73 I give you my eyes Get lost!	Winner
2019	Best actress in television fiction	Iron	Winner

Forqué Awards

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2022	Best female television performance	Iron	Winner
2021	Best female interpretation protagonist	Rosa's wedding	Nominated

Malaga Film Festival

Year	Category	Movie	Outcome
2003	Biznaga de Plata to the best actress	Torremolinos 73	Winner
2013	Biznaga de Plata to the best actress	Yesterday never ends	Winner