Karla Sofía Gascón

Karla Sofía Gascón
Gascón in 2024
Born
Juan Carlos Gascón Ruiz

(1972-03-31) 31 March 1972 (age 52)
Alcobendas, Spain
OccupationActress
Years active1995–present
SpouseMarisa Gutiérrez
Children1

Karla Sofía Gascón (born as Juan Carlos Gascón Ruiz on 31 March 1972) is a Spanish actress. She has developed part of her career in the Americas, featuring in the comedy film The Noble Family (2013) and the narcoseries El Señor de los Cielos.

Gascón gained wide attention for portraying the title character in the musical crime film Emilia Pérez (2024). For the role, she jointly won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress with her co-stars, becoming the first transgender actress to win the prize, as well as the European Film Award for Best Actress. She also became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.[1]

Early life and career

Gascón was born 31 March 1972 in Alcobendas.[2] In her childhood, she playacted with her brother, and, at 16, she decided to pursue an acting career.[3] She earned an acting degree from the ECAM.[4] She worked in London on a BBC series for Spanish-language learning and in Milan voicing puppets for children's shows.[3]

She appeared in Spanish daily soap opera El súper portraying a flight attendant,[5][6] as well as in other shows such as Calle nueva and El pasado es mañana.[7] Early roles also included film appearances in Se buscan fulmontis (1999), Me da igual (2000), Box 507 (2002), and Say I Do (2004).[8][6]

Convinced by Mexican filmmaker Julián Pastor, Gascón moved to Mexico in 2009 to continue her acting career, taking on a number of telenovela roles,[9][10] starting with the gypsy Branko in Corazón salvaje.[11] From this year until 2014 she was credit as Juan Carlos Gascón.[12][13] She made a one-time return to the Spanish film industry to star alongside Tony Isbert [es] in El cura y el veneno.[14] In box-office hit The Noble Family (2013), she played a character from Puebla with aspirations of becoming a Spaniard.[11][15] In 2014, she appeared in El Señor de los Cielos as the "ruthless" Spaniard Iñaki Izarrieta, an associate of Aurelio Casillas.[16]

In 2018, having completed most of her gender transition, Gascón published her autobiography Karsia, Una historia extraordinaria ('Karsia: an Extraordinary Story') under her birth name, doubling as a public announcement of her new identity as Karla Sofía Gascón.[3][5] She portrayed Lourdes Buendía in the teen drama series Rebelde (2022).[17] In 2024, she starred in Jacques Audiard's musical crime comedy film Emilia Pérez, which premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. In the film, she portrayed a powerful cartel leader who fakes death, medically transitions and is reborn as Emilia Pérez.[18] Gascón went on to win the festival's Best Actress prize, shared jointly with her costars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Zoe Saldaña, making her the first openly trans performer to win a major prize at Cannes.[19] Later in the year, Gascón became a Chevalière of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.[20] In December 2024, she was reported to have signed on to star as Aunt Encarna in Las malas, an adaptation of Camila Sosa Villada's Bad Girls, set to be directed by Armando Bó.[21]

Personal life

Gascón considers herself "Mexican by adoption", since she has lived and worked in Mexico for many years.[22] She is a Nichiren Buddhist.[23] As of 2025, she lives in Alcobendas.[3]

Gascón is married to Marisa Gutiérrez, whom she met at the age of 19 at a nightclub in her hometown. Together they have a daughter, born in 2011.[24][15][25]

In January 2025, social media users resurfaced a series of posts made by Gascón between 2019 and 2021 that contained racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, body shaming and anti-vaccination remarks.[26][27][28][29] These included a Twitter post claiming that the Academy Awards had become an "Afro-Korean festival”, when Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-jung had won an Oscar for their performances.[30] Gascón later deleted the tweets and apologized,[31][32][33] then deactivated her Twitter account the following day.[34]

Selected filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1999 Se buscan fulmontis [es] Gigolo del club
2002 La caja 507 Gafitas
2004 Di que sí Álex
2010 Cambio de sentido Cantante
2013 Nosotros, los Nobles Peter Pintado
[35]
El cura y el veneno [es] Felipe
[36][37]
2024 Emilia Pérez Emilia Pérez / Juan "Manitas" del Monte
[38]
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2009–2010 Corazón salvaje
2010–2011 Llena de amor Jorge Jauma
2014 El Señor de los Cielos Iñaki Izarrieta
2014–2015 Hasta el fin del mundo
2022 Rebelde Lourdes

Accolades

Gascón holding a prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2024 Astra Film Awards Best Actress Emilia Pérez Nominated [39][40]
Game Changer Award Won
Astra Creative Arts Awards Best Original Song "El mal" (from Emilia Pérez) Nominated
Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Emilia Pérez Won [19]
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival Best Ensemble Cast Won [41]
European Film Awards Best European Actress Won [42]
Ischia Global Film & Music Festival Ischia Global Breakout Actress of the Year Award Won [43]
Mill Valley Film Festival Outstanding Ensemble Performance Won [44]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Best Actress Pending [45]
SCAD Savannah Film Festival Distinguished Performance Award Won [46]
Toronto Film Critics Association Outstanding Lead Performance Runner-up [47]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Nominated [48]
Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Performer Nominated [49]
2025 AACTA International Awards Best Actress Pending
British Academy Film Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Pending [50]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Actress Pending [51]
Best Acting Ensemble Pending
Golden Globe Awards Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated [52]
Lumière Awards Best Actress Won [53]
Palm Springs International Film Festival Vanguard Award Won [54]
Santa Barbara International Film Festival Virtuoso Award Won [55]
Satellite Awards Best Actress – Comedy or Musical Nominated [56]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Pending [57]
Academy Awards Best Actress Pending [58]

References

  1. ^ "'Emilia Pérez' star Karla Sofía Gascón is 1st out trans actor nominated for an Oscar". NBC News. The Associated Press. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  2. ^ Acero, Yaritza (10 September 2024). "Karla Sofía Gascón, la primera actriz trans en ganar en el Festival de Cannes". Marie Claire.
  3. ^ a b c d Sancton, Julian (11 January 2025). "How the Unknown Trans Star of 'Emilia Pérez' Became a Controversial Oscar Favorite". The Hollywood Reporter.
  4. ^ Lerman, Gabriel (11 June 2024). "Karla Sofía Gascón, la actriz trans que arrasa: "Se puede conseguir lo que uno quiera en esta vida"". La Vanguardia.
  5. ^ a b "Quién es Karla Sofía Gascón, la actriz española premiada en Cannes: su trayectoria, su transición y madre de una niña". ABC. 25 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Quién es Karla Sofía Gascón, la actriz española aspirante a los Oscar tras ser aclamada por 'Emilia Pérez'". Cinemanía. 8 November 2024 – via 20minutos.es.
  7. ^ Belinchón, Gregorio (22 May 2024). "Karla Sofía Gascón, la actriz española que ha revolucionado Cannes: 'Tengo una espinita clavada con nuestro país'". El País (in Spanish).
  8. ^ Prieto, Belén (27 May 2024). "Dónde hemos visto antes a Karla Sofía Gascón, la primera mujer trans que triunfa en Cannes: sus series y películas". Bluper – via El Español.
  9. ^ Vicencio, Miguel (17 October 2024). "¿Quién es Karla Sofía Gascón? La actriz de Emilia Pérez que está haciendo historia". Vogue.
  10. ^ "Karla Sofía Gascón hace historia en Cannes: se convierte en la primera mujer trans en ganar un premio". Univision (in Spanish). 25 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b Pereda Maldonado, Armando (26 September 2009). "Karla Sofía: "Las personas trans no somos un chiste"". El Universal.
  12. ^ Gomez, Leonelys (5 January 2025). "Así fue el paso de Karla Sofía Gascón por la TV mexicana desde 'Corazón Salvaje' hasta 'El Señor de los Cielos'". Enstarz. Retrieved 1 February 2025 – via Yahoo!.
  13. ^ Gomez, Leonelys (6 January 2025). "How Spanish 'Emilia Pérez' Actress Karla Sofía Gascón Became A TV Star in Mexico". LA Times. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  14. ^ Casas, Quim (28 May 2024). "La gran reina del sorprenent musical narcotrans de Cannes". El Periódico de Catalunya. Prensa Ibérica.
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  17. ^ ""Se equivocó": hija de Omar Chaparro reacciona a comentarios de Sergio Mayer Mori a 'Rebelde'". Univision. 13 January 2022.
  18. ^ Turner, Kyle (5 October 2024). "'Emilia Pérez' Review: Jacques Audiard's Melo-Noir Musical Makes It Up As It Goes Along". Slant.
  19. ^ a b "Sean Baker's "Anora" wins Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's top honor". CBS News. 25 May 2024. Gascón, who accepted the award, is the first trans actor to win a major prize at Cannes.
  20. ^ Serna Box, Cynthia (10 June 2024). "Karla Sofía Gascón es condecorada con la Orden de las Artes y las Letras en Francia". Infobae.
  21. ^ Kit, Borys (18 December 2024). "'Emilia Pérez' Breakout Karla Sofía Gascón to Star in Trans Fairy Tale 'Las Malas' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
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  23. ^ Barreto, Ramón (17 October 2024). "Karla Sofía Gascón en la portada de Vogue: "Quiero trabajar para que la sociedad entienda que hay personas diversas, que todas las historias son válidas y que nadie puede decirnos qué hacer con nuestros cuerpos"". Vogue (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 January 2025.
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  25. ^ Benito, Alexandra (8 November 2024). "El lado más personal de Karla Sofía Gascón: de su mujer Marisa a su hija y su respuesta tras la entrevista de Pablo Motos". Vanitatis – via El Confidencial.
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