Thelma Biral (born December 17, 1941) is an Argentine actress working in cinema, television and theatre.

Life and work

Thelma Biral was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

to Otello and Sira Biral, recently arrived

Italian immigrants The Italian diaspora is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended in the ...

from the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

Region. The family relocated to

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, in 1945, and Biral later enrolled at the Italian Lyceum, a prestigious secondary school. A precocious actress, Biral began directing school plays at age 12 and, following the attendance of one of these by

Orestes Caviglia Orestes Caviglia (; November 9, 1893 in Buenos Aires – April 1, 1971 in Tucumán) was an Argentine film actor and film director of the classic era of the Cinema of Argentina. He appeared in films such as ''La cabalgata del circo'' 1945 and '' ...

, the veteran theatre director recommended her to the National Dramatic Arts School.Vida de Thelma Biral
/ref> Graduating at only 14 years of age, Biral applied for admission into the National Comedy of Uruguay. The institution's director,

Margarita Xirgu Margarita Xirgu Subirá (18 June 1888, Molins de Rei, Barcelona, Spain – 25 April 1969, Montevideo, Uruguay), also Margarida Xirgu, was a Spanish stage actress, who was greatly popular throughout her country and Latin America. A friend of ...

, allowed the young talent to claim she was 18 - the prerequisite for admission. There, she met Oscar Pedemonte, and the couple married in 1963. That year, Xirgu recommended her young protégé to Buenos Aires' important San Martín Theatre, at the time mounting a televised production of

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

's ''

Yerma ''Yerma'' is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1934 and first performed that same year. García Lorca describes the play as "a tragic poem." The play tells the story of a childless woman living in rural S ...

''. Hired as an understudy to Spanish actress

María Casares María Casares (21 November 1922 – 22 November 1996) was a Spanish-born French actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage and cinema. She was credited in France as Maria Casarès. Early life Casares was born María V ...

, her performance opened doors for her in Argentine television. She was cast in 1964 for a leading role in a

Soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, ''El amor tiene cara de mujer'' (''Love Has a Woman's Face''), and following numerous other appearances in the genre, she was given her first

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

role in

Julio Saraceni Julio Saraceni (October 10, 1912 – October 12, 1998) was a prolific Argentine film director whose career in the Cinema of Argentina as a movie director spanned six decades. He was an aviator as a young man, but later found a career in f ...

's 1967

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

''Villa cariño'' (''Love Town'').Cine Nacional
/ref> Biral continued to perform in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, remaining prominent on the stage as a comic actress. Among her numerous stage performances after becoming a household name on television was opposite veteran comic

Niní Marshall Marina Esther Traveso (June 1, 1903 – March 18, 1996), known by her stage name Niní Marshall, was an Argentine humorist, comic actress and screenwriter; nicknamed ''The Chaplin with a skirt'' and ''The Lady of Humour''. Life and work S ...

in Roberto Romero's ''Coqueluche'' (1972). That year, Biral had her only child, Bruno Pedemonti (who became a noted actor in his own right). She was cast by noted

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

director

Leopoldo Torre Nilsson Leopoldo Torre Nilsson (5 May 1924 – 8 September 1978), also known as Leo Towers and as Babsy, was an Argentine film director, producer and screenwriter. Born as Leopoldo Torres Nilsson (he later changed his paternal surname from Torres to ...

for two thrillers: '' La maffia'' (1972) and ''

Los siete locos ''The Seven Madmen'' ( es, Los siete locos, also known as ''The Revolution of the Seven Madmen'') is a 1973 Argentine drama film directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson and starring Alfredo Alcón, Norma Aleandro and Héctor Alterio. It was based on ...

'' (''Seven Madmen''), the following year. The latter role earned Biral a Journalists' Association Award for Best Dramatic Actress. She returned to soaps in 1976 for

Alberto Migré Alberto Migré, pseudonym of "Felipe Alberto Milletari Miagro" (12 September 1931, Buenos Aires – 10 March 2006) was an Argentine TV screenwriter and producer, specialized on telenovelas. Family background Alberto was born in the barrio of ...

's ''Dos a quererse'' (''Two for Love'') and in 1980, accepted perhaps her most memorable role as an alcoholic in

Fernando Ayala Fernando Ayala (2 July 1920 – 11 September 1997) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and film producer of the classic era. He is widely considered one of the most important Argentine film directors and producers in the history of the ...

's ''Desde el abismo'' (''From the Abyss''). This (her second collaboration with Ayala) earned her a second Journalists' Association Award. She starred opposite

Héctor Alterio Héctor Benjamín Alterio Onorato (born 21 September 1929) is an Argentine theatre, film and television actor, well known both in Argentina and Spain. Biography Alterio's theatre debut came in 1948 as the lead in ''Cómo suicidarse en prima ...

in Héctor Olivera's '' Los Viernes de la eternidad'' (''Fridays in Eternity''), in 1981. She was given a Press Prize for the role; but, for years afterwards, she limited her performances to the theatre, where she earned plaudits for protagonizing James Sparks' ''Sparks'',

Bernard Slade Bernard Slade Newbound (May 2, 1930 – October 30, 2019) was a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he created the sitcoms ''The Flying Nun'' and ''The Partridge Family''. As a playwright, he wrote '' Same Time, Next Year'', ...

's ''Soufflé'' and, from 1991 to 1996, Sebastián Moncada's ''Brujas'' (''Witches''). She accepted a role in a 1994 edition of her first soap opera, "Love Has a Woman's Face," and in 1997, portrayed a struggling artist's estranged mother in

Fernando Díaz Fernando Díaz (''floruit'' 1071–1106) was a Spanish nobleman and military leader in the Kingdom of León, the most powerful Asturian magnate of the period. He held the highest rank in the kingdom, that of count (Latin ''comes''), from at least ...

's '' Plaza de almas''. Biral led a local 1997 production of Michael Christopher's play, ''The Lady and the Clarinet'', and more recently,

Werner Schwab Werner Schwab (4 February 1958 – 1 January 1994) was an Austrian playwright and visual artist. Biography From 1978 to 1982 he studied sculpture at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna. During the 1980s he worked as a sculptor and wo ...

's ''The Presidents'' and

Athol Fugard Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apart ...

's '' The Road to Mecca'', among numerous other plays and television appearances.Página/12
/ref>

References

External links

Thelma Biral's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biral, Thelma Actresses from Buenos Aires Argentine stage actresses Argentine television personalities Argentine telenovela actresses Argentine people of Italian descent 1941 births Living people