Catalina Sandino Moreno is a renowned Colombian actress born on April 19, 1981, in Bogotá, Colombia.
She grew up in a middle-class family, with her father working as a veterinarian and her mother as a pathologist, both of whom supported her aspirations in the entertainment industry.
Moreno attended Saint George’s School in Bogotá before pursuing studies in advertising at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
She began her acting career with little formal training but quickly rose to international prominence through her breakthrough role in the 2004 film Maria Full of Grace, where she portrayed a young woman involved in drug smuggling.
Beyond her professional achievements, Moreno is married to motion picture electrician David Elwell, whom she met on the set of Maria Full of Grace and wed in 2006 during a small ceremony in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
Siblings
Catalina has one sibling, a brother named Nicolás Sandino Moreno.
Details about Nicolás are relatively private, with limited public information available on his personal or professional life.
Like Catalina, he shares the family background rooted in Bogotá, where the siblings grew up together in a supportive household.
Career
Moreno’s career began explosively with her debut in the 2004 drama Maria Full of Grace, directed by Joshua Marston, where her raw and compelling performance as the titular character earned widespread acclaim and launched her into Hollywood.
Following this, she appeared in a variety of films, including The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things in 2004, Fast Food Nation in 2006, and segments of Paris, je t’aime in 2006.
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She took on the challenging role of revolutionary leader Aleida March in the two-part epic Che in 2008, directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Moreno expanded her range with fantasy elements in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in 2010, playing a vampire, and continued with historical dramas like For Greater Glory in 2012 and A Most Violent Year in 2014.
Her film work also includes horror-thrillers such as Incarnate in 2016, action films like Silent Night in 2023, and upcoming projects including Ballerina in 2025 and The Rip in 2026, where she stars alongside actors like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
On television, Moreno has delivered notable performances in series such as Falling Skies in 2015, The Affair from 2018 to 2019, American Gothic in 2016, The Bridge in 2014, From from 2022 onward, Surveillance in 2023, and Firefly Lane in 2023.
Throughout her career, she has balanced independent cinema with mainstream productions, often portraying complex, resilient women, and has become a prominent figure representing Colombian talent on the global stage.
Accolades
Moreno’s breakthrough in Maria Full of Grace earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2005, making her the first Colombian actress to achieve this milestone and the third Hispanic actress overall in that category.
She shared the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival with Charlize Theron for Monster, and won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead the same year.
Additional honors for that role include the Golden India Catalina for Best Actress at the Cartagena Film Festival, the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor, the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Performer, the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actress at the Seattle International Film Festival, and the ShoWest Convention’s International Star of the Year in 2005.
She also received nominations for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, the London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year, the Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.
Later accolades include two Imagen Foundation Awards wins, a Premios ACE win, and a Nashville Film Festival win, reflecting her continued excellence in diverse roles across film and television.
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