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Tonantzin Carmelo is an American actress. She is known for her acting roles in film, TV and stage productions including in the
Steven Spielberg miniseries, ''
Into the West'', for which she received a
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
nomination for
Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Television Movie or Miniseries.
In 2021, Carmelo filmed roles in Spain and Australia for the television series ''
The English
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
'' (
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
) and ''
La Brea'' (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
).
Early life and education
Carmelo grew up in
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
,
southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
and is of Indigenous and Latina descent. As a youth, she participated in Native dances and music, touring with cultural groups throughout North America. She also became a technically trained dancer and performed with the modern dance company Daystar.
Carmelo attended the
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...
, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Dance. While in college, she began acting in theater productions and independent films.
Career
Carmelo began her professional acting career in an educational musical theater show produced by
Carmen Zapata at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. The production toured the
Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Cou ...
.
In 2007, Carmelo played the leading role of Shayla Stonefeather in the thriller ''
Imprint''.
In addition, Carmelo is a choreographer. Her work was featured in the
Amazon TV series, ''
Undone'', and in the opera, ''Sweetland''. She has also performed as a singer with the band Trio del Alma and has recorded on three albums for
Canyon Records
Canyon Records of Phoenix, Arizona is a record label that has produced and distributed Native American music for 56 years.
History
Canyon was founded in 1951 by Ray and Mary Boley, who had opened the first recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona ...
.
In 2012, Carmelo testified for the
United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 19 ...
on the images of
Native Americans in Hollywood.
Carmelo has also appeared in several video games, including ''
Dead Space
''Dead Space'' is a science fiction/ horror media franchise created by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, developed by Visceral Games, and published and owned by Electronic Arts. The franchise's chronology is not presented in a linear format; ...
'', ''
The Crew'', ''
Lego Marvel's Avengers
''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Wind ...
'', and ''
Cyberpunk 2077
''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Set in Night City, an open world set in the ''Cyberpunk'' universe, players assume the role of a customisable mercenary kn ...
''. Her memorable motion-capture and voice performance portrayal of the villainous character Kendra Daniels for ''
Dead Space
''Dead Space'' is a science fiction/ horror media franchise created by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, developed by Visceral Games, and published and owned by Electronic Arts. The franchise's chronology is not presented in a linear format; ...
'' led ''
Maxim Magazine
''Maxim'' is an international men's magazine, devised and launched in the UK in 1995, but based in New York City since 1997, and prominent for its photography of actors, singers, and female models whose careers are at a current peak. ''Maxim'' ...
'' to add Kendra to their Hottest Video Game Babes of the Year list. Today, the character continues to attract legions of loyal fans.
She has had an ongoing relationship with Native Voices at the
Autry Museum
The Autry Museum of the American West is a museum in Los Angeles, California, dedicated to exploring an inclusive history of the American West. Founded in 1988, the museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs, including l ...
in Los Angeles, where she has performed on stage and has served on the advisory board.
She is a member of the
Tongva Language Committee for Revitalization.
Awards and nominations
On January 5, 2006, Carmelo was nominated for the
Screen Actors Guild Award for
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her performance as Thunder Heart Woman in ''
Into the West''.
Carmelo also won the
American Indian Film Festival award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Best Actress award at the
Hoboken International Film Festival The Hoboken International Film Festival is an annual festival that promotes domestic and international television pilots, screenplays, non-studio films. Awards, with cash prizes, are given for the best submissions. The festival was founded by Kennet ...
for this role. She was also named "An Indie Darling to Crave" at the
Sundance Film Festival 2015 for her role as Teresa, opposite
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...
in the film ''
Entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
''. Below is a list of her awards and nominations.
Filmography
Video games
References
External links
Tonantzin Carmelo's official website
*
Canyon Records ProductionsCalifornia Indian Storytellers AssociationNative Voices at the Autry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmelo, Tonantzin
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Native American actresses
Actresses from Orange County, California
Tongva
University of California, Irvine alumni
21st-century American women