Belén Rueda

María Belén Rueda García-Porrero, known professionally as Belén Rueda, was born on 16 March 1965 in Madrid, Spain, to a civil engineer father and a ballet‑instructor mother. She was the second of three children, sharing her childhood with siblings María Jesús and Alfonso before her family relocated to San Juan, Alicante, where she spent her formative years. At eighteen she returned to Madrid to study architecture, but her passion for performance soon led her to television, where she debuted as a steward on the night‑show VIP Noche and quickly rose to co‑host alongside Emilio Aragón, showcasing a charismatic presence that would define her early career. Rueda’s first substantial acting role arrived in 1997 when she briefly portrayed photographer Clara Nadal in Médico de familia, a performance that seamlessly transitioned into a longer stint on the acclaimed series Periodistas from 1998 to 2002, cementing her reputation as a versatile television actress. Her breakout role came in 2003 as Lucía Gómez in the beloved sitcom Los Serrano, a part she inhabited for six seasons and 107 episodes, during which she balanced comedic timing with emotional depth, earning widespread popularity across Spain. Transitioning to film, Rueda delivered a powerful debut in The Sea Inside (2004), earning a Goya Award for Best New Actress and establishing herself as a force in cinematic drama. She continued to captivate audiences with haunting performances in the horror‑thriller The Orphanage (2007) and the suspenseful Julia's Eyes, further solidifying her status among international horror fans. Throughout her career, Rueda has demonstrated a remarkable ability to oscillate between light‑hearted television, intense drama, and chilling suspense, making her one of Spain’s most enduring and respected actresses.