Maria Bakalova

Maria Bakalova, or Maria Valcheva Bakalova, is a Bulgarian actress. She was born on 4^th June, 1996 in Burgas, Bakalova. She later moved to Los Angeles, California. Her parents are Rumyana Bakalova and Valcho Bakalov. She completed her education from National School of Music and Stage Arts in Burgas, where her major was Drama Theater and her minor was flute. She later majored in drama at the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts.

Her debut film was 2017 comedy-drama film XIIa. After that she landed a minor role in The Father (2019), which was nominated for the Best International Feature Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards and was the recipient of the Crystal Globe award for Best Film at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Her major breakthrough came when she got nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role of “Tutar Sagdiyev” in the mockumentary Borat Subsequent Moviefilm at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards and Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globe Awards.^[ The film was deemed as "the most impactful piece of political entertainment".

She is the first Bulgarian ever to be nominated for an Oscar. She is the rewardee of a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. She has also worked with Louis Vuitton's creative director Nicolas Ghesquière. Her other works include Transgression (2017), Last Call (2020), Women Do Cry (2021), Guardians of the Galaxy (2023), The Honeymoon (2022), Marvel Studios: Assembled (2023), etc.