A popular actress in Spanish-language television, Adriana Barraza received rave reviews and a Golden Globe nomination for her work as the illegal immigrant forced to look after two American-born children when all are abandoned in the desert in the prestigious and thought-provoking film, “Babel” (2006).

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Barraza had previously worked with her director when she portrayed Octavio’s mother in the Iñárritu-helmed film, “Amores Perros” (2000). In addition to her work in front of the camera, Barraza was also a distinguished acting coach, director and drama teacher, working on a number of different films and television series, including the long-running "Mujer, casos de la vida real," (as a director and actress), and as director of the soap operas "Locura de Amor," "El Manantial," and "Complices al Rescate." In addition to acting, Barraza found time to work as the coach of Neutral Accent in "Prisionera" and in the Adam Sandler flick, “Spanglish” (2005). Her other feature credits as an actress included in the films “La Paloma De Marsella” (1999), “La Primera Noche (The First Night)” (1998) and its sequel, “La Segunda Noche” (1999). She also served as Vice President in Neutral Accent and Acting Development for the Telemundo Network.

Despite her success in the Spanish-speaking entertainment world, Barraza was hardly a known figure in Hollywood. All that changed when she was chosen by Iñárritu to play the part of the lost nanny, Amelia – an illegal immigrant who crosses the border for her son’s wedding – only to be abandoned in the scorching Sonoran desert with two American children in her care. Iñárritu initially auditioned hundreds of bilingual actresses, looking for that elusive combination of determination and vulnerability that Amelia embodied. It was his wife, Maria Eladia, who suggested Adriana Barraza, the actress who had already made an appearance in one of his films.

"Adriana sent a tape and it was so good that I was almost crying,” recalled the filmmaker. “Every scene hit me in the heart and the gut. She has that quality of unconditional maternal love, who is also tough and endures a lot of pain. She represents those millions of Mexicans living in the United States, as invisible citizens. As the embodiment of these forgotten people, Adriana Barraza gives new meaning for the word incarnation. Every movement of her body, her hands, and her eyes was incarnate with tenderness and complexity of the spirit of a character that could easily have become stereotyped. Her work was sublime.” The filmmaker also gave props to his actress for delivering the goods under punishing desert conditions, admitting that his actress almost suffered from heat stroke on the set.

Film critics across the board agreed with the director’s “sublime” summation, singling out Barraza’s work in the film almost as much as they did Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett’s contributions. Come award season, the Hollywood Foreign Press agreed, bestowing a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture on Barraza, raising her profile with American audiences. She also got a nod from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, earning a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Theatrical Motion Pictures. But nothing compared to the elation of receiving her first Academy Award nomination when she joined Cate Blanchett, Abigail Breslin, Jennifer Hudson and Rinko Kikuchi in the Best Supporting Actress category.