Adriana Barraza

Biography:

Adriana Barraza González (born March 5, 1956) is a Mexican actress best known for her Academy Award–nominated performance in Babel (2006).

Born in Toluca, Estado de México, to Celia González Flores and Eduardo Barraza Carral, a farmer, Barraza lost her mother to myocarditis when she was ten. She later endured two heart attacks herself. She grew up with her sister María Eugenia and three brothers, Eduardo, Porfirio, and José.

Her career took a significant turn in 1999 when director Alejandro González Iñárritu cast her in Amores Perros. She reunited with him in Babel, earning international recognition and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In Mexico, she became widely known as “Master Barraza” through her collaboration with director Sergio Jiménez, “El Profe,” with whom she co-founded the Actors Workshop in Mexico City. Initially, she directed telenovela episodes while training actors, but in the 1990s she transitioned to acting herself. Since 1985, she has worked both behind and in front of the camera in television shows such as Mujer, Casos de la Vida Real and telenovelas including Bajo un Mismo Rostro, La Paloma, and Imperio de Cristal. She also directed Locura de Amor, Nunca Te Olvidaré, and El Manantial.

Her film appearances include Henry Poole Is Here, Drag Me to Hell, And Soon the Darkness, From Prada to Nada, Thor (with her role later reduced), and Cake (2014) alongside Jennifer Aniston. She also appeared in the FX series The Strain as Guadalupe Elizalde. Beyond acting, Barraza is an acclaimed acting coach, having trained performers for projects like Spanglish and worked with Telemundo to help actors adapt their accents.

Currently based in Miami, she runs Adriana Barraza’s Black Box, an acting school where her husband Arnaldo Pipke and daughter Carolina also teach.

On a personal note, Barraza became a mother at 18 to daughter Carolina Valsagna (born 1975). Carolina’s biological father left before her birth, but Carlos Valsagna, whom Barraza married in 1978, later adopted her. After their separation, Barraza married Arnaldo Pipke. She studied acting at the Fine Arts School of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua.