María del Pilar Peña Sánchez (born 14 July 1973), professionally known as Candela Peña, is a Spanish actress. Since her film debut in the 1994 thriller Running Out of Time, she has had a lengthy film career. She won the Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance in Princesses (2005) whereas she won the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress for Take My Eyes (2003) and A Gun in Each Hand (2012).
Biography María del Pilar Peña Sánchez (her real name; she took the artistic name of Candela reportedly upon joining the theatre school), was born on 14 July 1973 in Gavà, province of Barcelona, daughter to a mother from Murcia and a father from Lora del Río who had a bar in Barcelona.
When she was four years old she started to learn dance in the city and after finishing high-school she went to Seville to begin theatre classes there and eventually in Madrid.
She made her first television appearance in the TV3 show , making her film debut with a performance in the 1994 thriller Running Out of Time, which earned her two Goya Award nominations (New Actress and Supporting Actress).
Encouraged by Pedro Almodóvar, she published the novel Pérez Príncipe, María Dolores in 2001.
She won the Goya Award in 2003 (for the movie Te doy mis ojos) after being nominated several times previously.
In 2026, after a 6-year period with no meaningful role in any feature film, Peña starred in The Marked Woman.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1994 Días contados (Running Out of Time) Vanesa 1995 Boca a boca (Mouth to Mouth) Tanya Hola, ¿estás sola? (Hi, Are You Alone?) Trini 1996 La Celestina Elicia 1997 ¿De qué se ríen las mujeres? Graci 1998 Insomnio (Sleepless in Madrid) Alba 1999 Novios (Couples) Cristal Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother) Nina Cruz 2001 Sin vergüenza (No Shame) Cecilia Desaliñada 2002 (God Is On Air) Espe 2003 Te doy mis ojos (Take My Eyes) Ana Descongélate! (Chill Out!) Iris Torremolinos 73 Carmen Los muertos van deprisa 2004 ¡Hay motivo! 2005 Princesas (Princesses) Caye 2006 Després de la pluja 2008 En el lado de la vida El patio de mi cárcel (My Prison Yard) Mar Los años desnudos. Clasificada S (Rated R) Sandra Valle The Three Ages of the Crime 2009 La isla interior (The Island Inside) Coral 2012 Una pistola en cada mano (A Gun in Each Hand) Mamen 2013 Ayer no termina nunca (Yesterday Never Ends) C. 2014 Le Dernier Coup de marteau (The Last Hammer Blow) Maria 2015 Las ovejas no pierden el tren (Sidetracked) Sara 2016 Kiki, el amor se hace (Kiki, Love to Love) María Candelaria 2017 Pieles (Skins) Ana 2019 (So My Grandma's a Lesbian!) Perla 2020 La boda de Rosa (Rosa's Wedding) Rosa Black Beach Ale La desconocida (The Marked Woman) Anna Ripoll
Television Year Title Role Notes 2019–21 Hierro Candela Montes 2021 Maricón perdido (Queer You Are) Lucía, Roberto's mother El caso Asunta (The Asunta Case) Rosario Porto Furia (Rage) Nat
Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| |- | align = "center" rowspan = "2" | 1995 || rowspan = "2" | || Best Supporting Actress || rowspan = "2" | Running Out of Time || || align = "center" rowspan = "2" | |- | Best New Actress || |- | align = "center" | 2000 || || Best Supporting Actress || All About My Mother || || align = "center" | |- | align = "center" rowspan = "2" | 2004 || || Best Supporting Actress || rowspan = "2" | Take My Eyes || || align = "center" | |- | || Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role || || align = "center" | |- | align = "center" rowspan = "2" | 2006|| || Best Actress || rowspan = "2" | Princesses || || align = "center" | |- | || Best Film Actress in a Leading Role || || align = "center" | |- | rowspan = "3" | | || Best Supporting Actress || rowspan = "3" | A Gun in Each Hand || || |- | || Best Supporting Actress || || align = "center" | |- | || Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role || || align = "center" |
| || Best Actress || Yesterday Never Ends || || |- | align = "center" rowspan = "2" | 2017 || || Best Supporting Actress || rowspan = "2" | Kiki, Love to Love || || align = "center" | |- | || Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role || || align = "center" | |- | rowspan = "2" | | || Best Main Actress in a Series || rowspan = "2" | Hierro || || |- | || Best Television Actress in a Leading Role || || align = "center" | |- | rowspan = "4" | | || Best Actress || rowspan = "4" | Rosa's Wedding || || |- | || Best Actress || || |- | || Best Actress || || align = "center" | |- | || Best Actress || || |- | rowspan = "2" | | || Best Main Actress in a Series || rowspan = "2" | Hierro || || |- | || Best Television Actress in a Leading Role || || align = "center" |
| || Best Actress in a Series || rowspan = "5" | The Asunta Case || || |- | rowspan = "5" | | || Best Actress || || |- | || Best Main Actress in a Series || || |- | || Best Television Actress in a Leading Role || || |- | || Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series || || |- | || Best Actress in a Series || rowspan = "5" | Rage || || |- | rowspan = "4" | | || Best Main Actress in a Series || || |- | || Best Actress || || |- | || Best Television Actress in a Secondary Role || || |- | || Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series || ||
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