Biography

Yalitza Aparicio

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Preschool teacher turned Oscar-nominated actress.
She is from a rural area, in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico, much like her character in Roma.
Yalitza had been studying to be a teacher and had just graduated when the acting opportunity arose related to Roma (2018). As she had 6-8 months to wait for her test results, she opted to blindly accept the role of Cleo at the suggestion of her very pregnant sister who had to bow out. She knew nothing about the film industry stature of fellow Mexican Alfonso Cuarón at the time. Without any acting experience whatsoever, Yalitza landed the part of Cleo over 110 other prospective actresses who'd been auditioning over a one-year casting period for director Cuarón.
Speaks so little English that when she appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003), Jimmy's sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez had to act as her interpreter during the entire interview (Dec. 19, 2018).
Yalitza, in 2018, Catalina Sandino Moreno (for Maria Full of Grace (2004)), and Ariana DeBose (for West Side Story (2021)), are thus far the only actors of Latin American descent born after 1980 to have been nominated for an acting Oscar; Ariana won.

[on Roma (2018)] The fact that despite the film being so personal for Alfonso, and that it touches on the different problems here in Mexico, people from different countries identify with the story so much that it touches their hearts.
[on Alfonso Cuarón] The trust that he had in me since I met him, and the fact that he shot the film in sequence, helped me imagine that this was my life, which surprised me day by day.
It's like a dream that came true without me realizing it. I remember it was something I had wished for - traveling to different parts of the world - and it fills me with joy that through the film I can go to magnificent places. [In the past] I only went on school trips, to states close to Oaxaca.
[when asked if she relates to Cleo] Yes, in a way, because of her background and how she managed to keep going despite adversity.
[Cleo] reminded me of my mom. When Alfonso told me about Libo's past and how she was part of his family, I remembered my mom's job and how the children that she took care of value her.

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