Carmen Maura (Madrid, September 15, 1945) is a Spanish actress, considered one of the most important and versatile figures in European cinema. Her career is inextricably linked to director Pedro Almodóvar, for whom she was the first muse and protagonist in iconic films of the Movida madrileña such as *Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls Like Mom* (1980), *What Have I Done to Deserve This?* (1984), and especially *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988), which brought her international fame. Subsequently, she consolidated her status by working with other great directors such as Carlos Saura in *¡Ay, Carmela!* (1990) and Álex de la Iglesia in *La comunidad* (2000), also extending her career to French and Italian productions. In 2006, she returned to work with Almodóvar in *Volver*. Among her many accolades, she holds the record for the most wins (four) for the Goya Award for Best Actress. She has also won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival (a collective award for *Volver*), a César Award, and two European Film Awards, a testament to her profound impact on continental cinema.