Celebrity Movie Blog

Who is Victoria Abril?

Victoria Abril was born July 4th, 1959 in Madrid, Spain. She is a highly decorated actress fluent in 3 languages--Spanish, Italian, and French-- a talented singer and a trained dancer. She is known best to international audiences as the lead in Pedro Almodovars Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) co-starring the even greater Spanish sensation, Antonio Banderas. Spanish audiences responded to the disturbing movie too, and Abrils performance became the inspiration for the fellow Madrid born Penelope Cruz to become an actress who ultimately worked with Almodovar herself. This movie catapulted Abril to renown because of its controversial, conversation causing content which included Banderas kidnapping porn-star/addict Abril and raping her so the two might fall in love. Womens groups in the U.S. and Germany protested the way rape was depicted, yet critics were so impressed by the artistry of the film that it won 6 awards and was nominated for 18 others. Abrils career started 15 years earlier starring in the film Obsession (1975) and she went on to work in the cinema of the 3 languages in which she is fluent, often to award nominations (2 French Cesar nominations, 8 Spanish Goya nominations) with a total of 19 acting award wins. In 2005 she released a bossanova-jazz album PutchEros do Brasil. Abril is twice divorced, and has 2 sons from a third relationship with director Gerard de Battista.