Arriving from virtually nowhere to stun viewers with her powerful performance as a poverty-stricken Colombian rose plantation employee looking to make a better life for herself and her unborn child in director Joshua Marston's Maria Full of Grace, Catalina seemed to elicit near unanimous praise from critics and film lovers worldwide.

Born in Bogota, Colombia in 1981, Catalina Sandino Moreno became interested in theater and stage at an early age. In 1997, while still in high school, she enrolled in the Ruben Di Pietro theatre academy in Bogota. During her four years at the academy, she acted in such productions as "Acuerdo para Cambiar de Casa" by Griselda Gambaro, "The Dark Room" by Tennessee Wiliams, and "Laughing Wild" by Christopher Durand.

Later studying advertising and theater at a Bogotá college, Moreno caught the eye of director Marston during an audition for Maria Full of Grace, and it didn't take long to convince the director that -- despite her relative lack of experience -- she was the perfect candidate for the complex and demanding role. Indeed, Moreno brought undeniable depth and onscreen charisma to her thoughtful portrayal of a smart but desperate mother-to-be, earning the emerging starlet numerous critical accolades in addition to a Best Actress nomination for the 77th Annual Academy Awards. Packing her bags for New York City shortly thereafter, Moreno enrolled at the famed Lee Strasberg Institute while preparing for her New York stage debut in a production of Shakespeare's King John at the Frog and Peach Theater Company.

Awards: Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2004 Berlin International Film Festival; Mejor Actriz (Best Actress) at the 2004 Cartagena Film Festival in Colombia.