Paloma Baeza

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Paloma Baeza
Born (1975-05-01) 1 May 1975 (age 48)
London, England, UK
Occupation(s)Actress, director
Years active1994–present
SpouseAlex Garland[1]
Children2

Paloma Baeza (born 1 May 1975) is a British actress and director. Her 2017 film Poles Apart won the BAFTA for best animated short film in 2018.[2]

Biography[edit]

Baeza was born in London and spent her childhood in Mexico.[3] Her Mexican father and her British mother were musicians who met in the UK.[4] In 1975, when Baeza was five months old, her parents married in London and they went to Mexico City. They divorced nine years later.[citation needed]

She returned to the UK with her mother in 1985, when she was nine. She began taking acting classes and appeared very early in the London theatres and British television productions. She studied English and Performing Arts at the University of Bristol.[3]

Baeza has acted in a number of films and television programmes, including the 1998 film Far from the Madding Crowd playing the leading role of Bathsheba Everdene,[4] and the 2008 BBC production The Passion as Mary Magdalene.[3] She has also performed on stage, including Navy Pier in 2000 and The Flight Into Egypt in 1996.[3]

Baeza directed a short feature film Watchmen in 2001, which she wrote with actor Cillian Murphy, who also starred.[5] She directed the TV film The Window in 2006. Baeza decided to study animation at the National Film and Television School.[6] For her graduation project, she made the stop-motion short film "Poles Apart", which won the BAFTA award for Best Animated Short Film in 2018.[2][7] In 2018, she began directing a CG/live-action film, The Toymaker's Secret, written by her husband Alex Garland.[8] She is also working on a project on the life of Frida Kahlo.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Baeza is married to screenwriter, novelist, and film director Alex Garland; they have a son, Milo, and a daughter, Eva.[3]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1995 A Kid in King Arthur's Court Princess Katey
1997 The Longest Memory Lydia TV film
1998 Far from the Madding Crowd Bathsheba Everdene TV film
1999 Like Clockwork Helen Short film
Sunburn Aideen Higgins
2001 All Forgotten Mashenka Alternative title: "Lover's Prayer"
That Sinking Feeling Girl Short film
2002 The Escapist Valerie Hopkins
The Project Irene Lloyd TV film
2006 Scars Sophia TV film
2007 Sunshine Capa's Sister
2022 The House N/A Directorial debut; Segment: III - Listen again and seek the sun

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Mud Phillipa Series regular, 6 episodes
Screen Two Paula Episode: "Look Me in the Eye"
1995 Joseph Dinah Miniseries, 2 episodes
1996 No Bananas Rose Grant Series regular, 10 episodes
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Rose Markham Miniseries, 2 episodes
1997 The Odyssey Melanthe Miniseries, 2 episodes
Bramwell Emmaline O'Neill Recurring role, 2 episodes
1998 The Vanishing Man Helen Neath Episode: "Spooks"
The Magical World of Disney Sandy Episode: "A Knight in Camelot"
1999 A Touch of Frost Rachel Darrow Episode: "Private Lives"
2000 Anna Karenina Kitty Miniseries, 4 episodes
2001 Rebel Heart Ita Feeney Miniseries, 4 episodes
Waking the Dead Anna Maitland Episode: "Every Breath You Take"
The Way We Live Now Hetta Carbury Miniseries, 4 episodes
2008 The Passion Mary Magdalene Miniseries
Spooks Elizaveta Starkova Recurring role, 3 episodes

Directing credits[edit]

  • Watchmen (short film, 2001)[5]
  • The Window (TV film, 2006)
  • The Odds (short film, 2009)
  • Poles Apart (short film, 2017)
  • The House (Netflix film, 2022)*
  • The Toymaker's Secret (TBA)

*Paloma Baeza only directed the third and last part of The House’s collection of short stories.

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Alex Garland on Ex Machina: 'I feel more attached to this film than to anything before'". The Guardian. 11 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Animation Magazine's Rising Stars of 2018". Animation Magazine. 30 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Paloma Baeza - Mary Magdelene". BBC.
  4. ^ a b "A Woman of Independent Means". The Washington Post. 10 May 1998. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b "The Lisa Richards Agency". Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  6. ^ "10 Animators to Watch 2018". Variety.
  7. ^ "BBC News at 6 Feature on graduate Paloma Baeza – 16 March 2018". NFTS.
  8. ^ "Alex Garland's New Project 'The Toymaker's Secret' Finds Home at TriStar". Variety. 10 April 2018.
  9. ^ Clarke, Stewart (30 April 2019). "Frida Kahlo Animated Feature in the Works, Paloma Baeza Set to Direct". Variety.
  10. ^ "Film | British Short Animation in 2018". BAFTA. Retrieved 8 May 2019.

External links[edit]