Introduction
Catalina Sandino Moreno (born April 19, 1981) is an Academy Award-nominated Colombian actress.

Life Story
Sandino was born in Bogotá, Colombia to a pathologist mother and a cattle breeder/veterinarian father. Before becoming an actress, she studied advertising at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. She relocated to New York City in 2004, after she was "discovered" at the Rubén Di Pietro acting school in Bogotá. She was then referred to a casting audition for the 2004 film Maria Full of Grace where she beat over 900 girls for the lead role. Sandino's role in this movie made her the first Colombian nominated for an Academy Award and 2nd Latin American Actress.

Sandino has lived with motion picture electrician David Elwell from 2004 to the present, whom she met working on Maria Full of Grace. She married him on 15 April 2006 in a small ceremony held in Cartagena de Indias. She was in New York when she heard on TV that she was nominated for Best Actress in the 2004 Oscar race for her role in Maria Full of Grace.

Awards & nominations

• Sandino received a nomination for Best Actress at the 77th Academy Awards.
• 2005 Best Female Lead Award in the Independent Spirit Awards.
• 2004 Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress in the Berlin International Film Festival.
• 2004 Most Promising Performer in the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards.
• 2004 Breakthrough Award in the Gotham Awards.
• 2004 New generation Award in the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.
• 2005 Golden Space Needle Award for Best Actress in the Seattle International Film Festival.

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