- María Canals Barrera
-
Maria Canals Barrera 
Barrera at the Toy Story 3 premiere, June 2010Born María Pilar Canals
September 28, 1966
Miami, Florida, U.S.Occupation Actress/Singer Years active 1990–present Spouse David Barrera
(m. 1999–present; 2 children)Children 2 daughters María Canals Barrera (born María Pilar Canals; September 28, 1966) is an American actress, voice actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Theresa Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place, Connie Torres in Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, and as the voice of Shayera Hol/Hawkgirl in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Contents
Personal life
Barrera, who speaks Spanish and is Cuban-American, took drama classes in junior high.[1]. She lives with her husband, actor David Barrera, and their two daughters, Bridget and Madeleine in Los Angeles, California, while a large percentage of her extended family still lives in Miami, FL.[2]
Career
She has worked extensively in theater in both Miami and Los Angeles. She made her network television debut in the 1993 TV series Key West and has appeared in the WB series Popular as a prostitute by the name of Candybox, as well as such films as America's Sweethearts and The Master of Disguise. She has gained much recognition with comic book fans in recent years for her role as Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol on Bruce Timm's Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series. She also had a recurring role in Static Shock as Shelly Sandoval, a news reporter, and in Danny Phantom as Danny Fenton/Phantom's high school crush, Paulina. She also performed the voice of Mercedes "Meche" Colomar in the 1998 video game Grim Fandango. Canals also played incidental characters in two episodes on the TV series The Boondocks ("Grandad's Fight" and "Home Alone"). Canals has also starred in The George Lopez Show playing George's sister-in-law. She is the voice of Sunset Boulevardez on The Proud Family. She portrays the main character of Theresa Russo in the hit Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place. She portrayed the main character of Connie Tories in the 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock. She also co-starred as Theresa Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie,a 2009 Disney Channel Original movie based on Wizards Of Waverly Place. In 2010, she returned to play Connie Torres in the Camp Rock sequel Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, which premeired September 3,2010.
Awards
In 2002, she won an American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) award for Best Supporting Actress for the TV series The Brothers Garcia.[3]
In 2009, she won an Emmy Award for being part of the cast Wizards of Waverly Place for Outstanding Children's Program.
On the 15th of August 2010, she won an Imagen Award and a Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress/Outstanding Children's Program (television) for her role in Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie.[4]
In September 2011, she won an Imagen Award and a American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) for Best Supporting Actress (television) for her role in Wizards of Waverly Place.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes Other 1993 Cop and a Half Mrs. Bobo #2 (as María Canals) 1993 Harlan & Merleen Carmen (as María Canals) 1995 My Family Young Irene (as María Canals) 2002 Bad Boy Woman at bar (as María Canals) 2002 The Master of Disguise Sophia (as María Canals) 2003 Imagining Argentina Esme Palomares Main Role (as María Canals) 2005 The Proud Family Movie Sunset Boulevardez Voice (as María Canals) 2008 Camp Rock Connie Torres Main Role 2009 Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie Theresa Russo Main Role 2010 Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam Connie Torres Main Role 2011 Larry Crowne Lala Pinedo Straight-to-DVD Year Title Role Notes Other 2003 Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico Sofia Voice (as María Canals) 2009 Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana Theresa Russo Television Year Title Role Notes Other 1992–1994 Marielena Nancy recurring role (as María Canals) 1997–1998 The Tony Danza Show Carmen Cruz (as María Canals) 2000–2004 Static Shock Shelly Sandoval (as María Canals) 2001–2004 Justice League Hawkgirl, Livewire Main role (as María Canals) 2001–2005 The Proud Family Sunset Boulevardez recurring role (as María Canals) 2004–2006 Justice League Unlimited Hawkgirl, Fire Main role (as María Canals) 2004–2007 Danny Phantom Paulina recurring role (as María Canals) 2007–present Wizards of Waverly Place Theresa Russo Main role Television guest appearances Year Title Role Notes Other 1990 21 Jump Street Rosina 1 episode (as María Canals) 1991 Key West Fig (as María Canals) 1994 Murder, She Wrote Carmen (as María Canals) Viper Carla (as María Canals) 1995 Almost Perfect Carmen (as María Canals) 1996 Goode Behavior Denise (as María Canals) 1998 Veronica's Closet Dannie (as María Canals) Caroline in the City Maria (as María Canals) 1999 Beggars and Choosers Yolanda multiple episodes (as María Canals) 2000 That's Life ? 1 episode (as María Canals) 2001 The Brothers García Ms. Azteca (as María Canals) Popular Candy Box (as María Canals) 2003 Miss Match Store Manager (as María Canals) 2004 Curb Your Enthusiasm Delilah - Hygienist (as María Canals) 2005 The Boondocks Spanish TV Reporter 2 episodes (as María Canals) 2006 George Lopez Claudia Palmero 1 episode (as María Canals) Handy Manny Peggy Salazar (as María Canals) 2007 The Loop Agent Denise (as María Canals) 2011 Generator Rex Valentina 1 episode Video Games Year Title Role Notes Other 1998 Grim Fandango Mercedes "Meche" Colomar Voice (as María Canals) 2010 Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds She-Hulk[5] Voice References
External links
Categories:- 1966 births
- 20th-century actors
- 21st-century actors
- Actors from Florida
- American entertainers of Cuban descent
- American people of Cuban descent
- American female singers
- American film actors
- American television actors
- American video game actors
- American voice actors
- Hispanic and Latino American actors
- Living people
- People from Miami, Florida
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
