Maria Bakalova

Maria Bakalova
Мария Бакалова
Bakalova on the set of Last Call, 2019
Born	Maria Valcheva Bakalova (1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 (age 25)[1] Burgas, Bulgaria[1]
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2015–present
Known for	Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Maria Valcheva Bakalova (Bulgarian: Мария Вълчева Бакалова, pronounced [mɐˈrijɐ bɐˈkaɫovɐ]; born 4 June 1996) is a Bulgarian actress. She gained international recognition for her role as Tutar Sagdiyev in the 2020 mockumentary Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. For her performance, she won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress^[2] and received nominations at the Academy Awards, the BAFTA Film Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Early life and education

Bakalova was born in Burgas. She began singing lessons and playing the flute around age six.^[3] Bakalova majored in drama theater at the National School of Arts in Burgas. She majored in drama at the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, graduating in 2019.^[4]

Career

Bakalova was cast as Tutar Sagdiyev in the mockumentary Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, the daughter of fictional Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev. Although initially credited as Irina Nowak, reports later revealed her involvement.^[5][6][7] Fellow Bulgarian Julian Kostov connected her with casting director Nancy Bishop for the role; she and Kostov are now producing partners.^[8][9][10] Critics have praised Bakalova's performance, with some stating it as one of the year's best. Matt Fowler of IGN stated how "[t]he film's fantastic find, Maria Bakalova, every bit Sacha Baron Cohen’s on-screen equal, is who, and what, most people will be talking about in the wake of [the film]."^[11] Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang described Bakalova's performance as "terrific", praising her portrayal of her character’s journey "with madcap energy and touching conviction".^[12] For her performance, 24-year-old Bakalova received several awards, winning the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Golden Globes. She is the first Bulgarian actress to be nominated for these awards.^{[13][14][15][16]}

In November 2020, it was reported that Bakalova had signed with Creative Artists Agency.^[17]

She will star in Judd Apatow's new comedy film The Bubble about a group of actors trying to finish a film in the pandemic.

In April 2021 it was announced that she had been cast in A24's slasher film Bodies, Bodies, Bodies.^[18]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Maria Bakalova at IMDb
• Maria Bakalova on Instagram