Paola Bontempi

Paola Bontempi is a remarkably versatile actress and TV presenter who is truly bilingual in English and Spanish, and who has trained in renowned acting schools in London, Los Angeles & Madrid. Paola is a descendant of Italian, German, Chilean and Spanish heritage. She grew up in Spain on the Island of Tenerife where at an early age she was driven by a clear vocation in performing arts and took courses at the University of La Laguna in Tenerife and later at Harvard University. Paola also studied Theatre Arts in London where she graduated with honors from the prestigious London Academy of Performing Arts and The Guildford School of Acting. She then moved to Los Angeles to study film and TV at UCLA. It was in Los Angeles where Paola launched her professional career playing lead roles in theatre, both in English and Spanish; she also worked in voiceover, TV commercials, and debuted in film. After working in Los Angeles, she decided to start a new life and professional adventure. Paola moved to Madrid where she currently lives and works in films, TV and theatre. In film, one of her latest roles has been the feature film The Glass Coffin. This is a unique thriller that has received many critics' accolades at festivals all over the world including best actress award in Athens Horrorant, Utah's FilmQuest and South Africa's Horrorfest and nominations for same category at Nola Film Fest. One of the most compelling facts of this film is that it features only one character (played by Paola) and the plot takes place all inside a limousine. She can also be seen in the feature film In the Trap directed by Alessio Liguori and the short films Mask of Sanity and The end of all things. She has already received a best actress award for both these roles at Queens World Film Festival and Bilbao's Fant, respectively. Other film credits include Oscar, The Color of Destiny alongside outstanding actors such as Joaquim de Almeida, Victoria Abril, Emma Suárez and Jorge Perugorría. Paola earned a national reputation in this performance due to her superb reviews. She has also worked in TV Series such as Mercado Central, the hit comedy La Que Se Avecina, Guante Blanco, etc. In the UK we have recently seen her playing Catherine of Aragon in the BBC drama Six Wives.