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Alma Martinez (born 18 March 1953) is a Mexican-American actress, stage director, and professor of theatre. She is best known for her roles in film and television shows including the Peabody Award winning drama series The Bridge with Demián Bichir and Diane Kruger and Corridos: Tales of Passion & Revolution with Linda Ronstadt as well as performances on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, Mexican and European stages.

Early life and career

In 1979, Martinez joined the Center Theatre Group production of Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit. Her film debut was in Valdez's 1981 adaptation, the American classic Zoot Suit, launching a career that led to her induction into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2013. She has since been the lead actress in many of Valdez's projects in a collaboration that has spanned over 30 years. Australian director Fred Schepisi cast her in his American film debut, Barbarosa with Willie Nelson and Gary Busey. This was followed by Under Fire with Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris and Jean Louis Trintignant. Martinez made a notable Broadway debut in In the Summer House directed by Joanne Akalaitis featuring Dianne Wiest, Frances Conroy and Liev Schreiber.

Film and television

Martinez has appeared in over 20 features and independent films including Born in East L.A. with Cheech Marin, For Greater Glory with Andy Garcia and Oscar Isaac, Strike One with Danny Trejo as well as Cake with Jennifer Aniston and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Her voiceover work includes the award-winning documentaries The Panama Deception and Food Chains. In 2017 she appeared as Rodney Alcala's mother Anna Alcala in the television film Dating Game Killer.

Theatre

Martinez has performed in over 100 major productions in the US, Mexico and Europe in venues that include the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Joyce Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Sundance Theatre Program, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Santa Cruz Shakespeare festival, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Stage, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Teatro Juan Ruiz De Alarcon (Mexico City), Teatro Calderon (Zacatecas, Mexico), Teatro Greco (Taormina, Italy), Castello Sforesco (Milan, Italy), Festival De Sant Arcangelo (Italy), Teatro Romano (Fiesolo, Italy), Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany) and Neiuwe Scene (Antwerp, Belgium), among others.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. Rappaport, Scott (20 January 2003). "Actress/professor to direct award-winning Mexican play at UCSC". UC Santa Cruz Currents. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
2. Romero, Ezra David (2 October 2014). "Teatro Azteca: Dreaming Up Spanish Language Theater In Fresno". Valley Public Radio. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
3. Guthrie, Marisa (19 May 2014). "Peabody Awards Honor FX's 'The Bridge,' Tom Brokaw and Comedy Central's 'Key & Peele'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
4. Pullen, Doug (22 August 2013). "'The Bridge' recap: Killer meets his destiny in episode 7?". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
5. Mason, Stewart (1 September 2013). "TV News 'The Bridge' Is Funnier Than You Think". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
6. "The Bridge Premieres in LA". Zimbio.com. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
7. "KQED's Production of Luis Valdez's Corridos wins Award". No. Spring 1988. Latin American Theatre Review. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
8. "Corridos: Tales of Passion & Revolution". Digital Video Library. Hemispheric Institute. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
9. Zoot Suit Criticism. Retrieved 14 January 2015. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
10. "Zoot Suit Discovery Guide". Pomona College. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
11. "Q&A Alma Martinez: Zoot Suit turns 30". No. Winter 2008. Pomona Today. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
12. Huang, Josie (28 February 2014). "Oscars 2014: Women, minorities changing the look of the Academy – slowly". KPCC Radio. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
13. Rappaport, Scott (13 March 2006). "Alma Martinez to appear in Bay Area premiere of award-winning play". UC Santa Cruz Currents. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
14. "Zoot Suit: Luis Valdez, Alma Martinez". BookDepository.com. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
15. "Mummified Deer World Premier at The Rep". La Prensa San Diego. 20 October 2000. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
16. ^ Oxman, Steven (31 October 2000). "Review: The Mummified Deer". Variety. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
17. Phillips, Michael (3 November 2000). "Question-and-answer session". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
18. Maslin, Janet (26 July 1982). "Barbarossa, Australian-directed Western". New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
19. "In the Summer House". IDBD. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
20. "Danny Trejo To Lead Cast of New Film Strike One". BroadwayWorld.com. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
21. "Strike One". IMDB. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
22. Mulhern, Michael (24 October 2013). "BWW Reviews: The Denver Center Theatre Company Presents an Intriguing Insight Into Colorado History with JUST LIKE US". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
23. Peters, Cynthia (21 April 2010). "Professor Alma Martinez Brings "Zoot Suit" to National Theatre Company of Mexico". Pomona College News. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
24. "Alma Martinez - USC School of Dramatic Arts". dramaticarts.usc.edu.
25. Shelly, Gordon. "A Little Family Drama 2024 Review". Influx Magazine. Retrieved 28 October 2024.

External links

• Alma Martinez at IMDb
• Alma Martinez at the Internet Broadway Database
• Martinez Carranza, Alma. "The Mexican Revolution in the Chicano Theatrical Imagination". Academia.edu. Retrieved 14 January 2015.

• 20th-century American actresses
• Living people
• 1953 births
• Hispanic and Latino American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• American film actresses
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• People from Monclova
• Actresses from Coahuila
• Stanford University alumni
• University of Southern California alumni
• Whittier College alumni