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Assumpta Serna

Born in Barcelona on September 16, 1957, Assumpta Serna is a Spanish actress whose career has crossed national borders, genres and languages. Serna has said that she felt more successful abroad than in her own country, and her filmography reflects a performer repeatedly drawn into international productions and characters from different cultures. She co-starred with Antonio Banderas in Pedro Almodóvar’s Matador (1986), an early entry in the director’s filmography. Her subsequent screen work ranged from the sensual drama Wild Orchid (1990) and the ensemble film Chain of Desire (1992) to the historical Nostradamus (1994), the action film The Shooter (1995), the supernatural teen drama The Craft (1996) and Kiss & Tell (1997). Although she has predominantly played European characters, she has also portrayed Colombian women in Managua, alongside Louis Gossett Jr., and in Michael Mann’s Drug Wars. Television gave Serna some of her most sustained and recognizable roles. She played a Spanish guerrilla in the first four Sharpe television films, appeared as Anna Cellini in Falcon Crest and portrayed Catherine of Aragon in Henry VIII. Spanish audiences also saw her in the popular comedy series Aquí no hay quien viva. From 2011 to 2014, she played Vannozza dei Cattanei, the mistress of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, in Tom Fontana’s historical drama Borgia. Her work is not limited to acting: Serna is also associated with directing and writing. She co-produced the documentary Fresco Fiasco and acted in Behold the Monkey, two projects concerning the widely discussed restoration of the Ecce Homo painting in Borja. Whether working in Spanish cinema, international genre films or historical television, Serna’s career is marked by range, mobility and an evident willingness to move between very different kinds of storytelling.