María del Carmen Machi Arroyo (Madrid, January 7, 1963), artistically known as Carmen Machi, was awarded this Thursday the National Cinematography Award 2026. The award, granted by the Ministry of Culture, is endowed with 30,000 euros.
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The jury chose her “for being one of the most important comedy actresses in the history of Spanish cinema. She has also excelled in all kinds of genres. She has managed to connect with the public massively, her enormous popularity not affecting her approach to more authorial projects.”
In addition, the jury highlighted her as “a tireless worker in film, theater, and television,” noting that “she has participated in more than a hundred productions. She represents the values of a modern, strong, and independent woman.”
From a young age, she knew she wanted to be an actress, training at the Taormina theater school in Getafe and at José Luis Gómez’s company-school, La Abadía. Her first role on stage was as the bride in ‘Bodas de sangre’ (Blood Wedding) by Federico García Lorca. In 1994, she joined La Abadía, where she worked on plays such as ‘María Sarmiento’, ‘Retablo de la avaricia, la lujuria y la muerte’ (Altarpiece of Greed, Lust and Death) or ‘5mujeres.com’.
The jury
“She represents the values of a modern, strong, and independent woman”
Fame came to her when she was discovered on television by casting director Luis San Narciso, who in 2000 cast her in the series Siete vidas (Seven Lives), her gateway to popularity due to her loquacity, irony, and corrosive humor. She won the Unión de Actores award for best supporting actress. Her success grew in the tailor-made series Aída (2006-2008 and 2011), where she won the Fotogramas de Plata and the Ondas award. A character she has recently re-embodied in the film version Aída y vuelta, directed and co-starred by Paco León.
Although her television career has been more focused on comedy, her theater career has been more framed in drama, being considered one of the great dramatic ladies of the Spanish stage, with roles in plays such as ‘Falstaff’, ‘El caballero de Olmedo’ (The Knight of Olmedo), ‘¿Quién teme a Virginia Woolf?’ (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) or ‘Antígona’. In cinema, she has explored more genres and participated in films such as ‘Hable con ella’ (Talk to Her) by Pedro Almodóvar, ‘Torremolinos 73’ by Pablo Berger, ‘Mi gran noche’ (My Big Night) by Alex de la Iglesia, ‘Cerdita’ (Piggy) by Carlota Pereda or ‘Ocho apellidos vascos’ (Spanish Affair) by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro, for which she won the Goya for best supporting actress in 2014.
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Other recognitions in her prolific career include the Max award for best actress and best supporting actress, best actress at the Monte Carlo International Comedy Film Festival, Valle Inclán and Ercilla Theater awards, Platino for best supporting actress for the series ‘La Mesías’ (Los Javis) or the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts awarded by the Ministry of Culture, which was presented last May in Toledo.
Machi is one of the Spanish actresses who certainly doesn’t lack work. This year she has premiered the judicial drama Los justos (The Just), by Jorge A. Lara and Fer Pérez; under the direction of Cesc Gay, she appears in 53 domingos (53 Sundays), available on Netflix; she has reunited with Almodóvar in a small role as a doctor in Amarga Navidad (Bitter Christmas), and on November 27, she will be part of the cast of El director (The Director), Dani de la Orden’s anticipated new film after the success of Casa en flames (House on Fire).
The award, which the Minister of Culture usually presents within the framework of the San Sebastián Film Festival, recognized Eduard Fernández in its last edition, and Machi joins a long list of personalities from Spanish cinematography, including Penélope Cruz, José Sacristán, Isabel Coixet, Antonio Banderas, Fernando Trueba, and Carla Simón, among others.
As curiosities, the 63-year-old Madrid native has revealed on occasion the great empathy she feels for tennis player Rafa Nadal, commenting that when he had an injury, she neither ate nor slept. Also, that as a teenager, she wrote love letters to herself signed by singer Leif Garret.
