Natalia Cordova-Buckley (born November 25, 1982) is a Mexican-American actress. She is best known for starring as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez / Slingshot in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

superhero drama series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020).

Early life

Cordova-Buckley was born in Mexico City and raised in

Cancún Cancún ( ), often Cancun in English (without the accent; or ) is a city in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat ...

. Her grandfather was

Pancho Córdova Francisco Amado Córdova Ramírez (1916 – 1990) was a Mexican character actor who has appeared in numerous films of United States and Mexico. Personal life He is the grandfather of actress Natalia Cordova-Buckley. Selected filmography Ame ...

, an actor in Mexican and American cinema, whom she never met. Cordova-Buckley was classically trained as a ballet dancer, training under

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...

in the dance company Centro de Arte Siglo XXI. Finding the occupation too restricting, she decided to become an actress instead. She had reconsidered acting after trying to avoid it due to being teased about her voice in her youth. She stated: "the kids wouldn’t chase me around when we played tag because they would say that I screamed like a Godzilla. It wasn’t just my voice, but lsothe fact that I have a pretty strong personality and was always very outspoken and opinionated." At the age of 17, she moved to the U.S. after getting accepted to the drama department of the

University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

, a high school program for seniors in fine arts. After graduating, she attended the theatre conservatory at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

Career

Cordova-Buckley made her acting debut in Mexican comedy-drama series ''

Los simuladores ''Los simuladores'' ( en, The Pretenders) is an Argentine television series about a small team of con artists for hire, who use their skills to solve common people's life problems. The show ran for two seasons, from 2002 to 2004. It was very popu ...

'' (2008–2009). This was followed by supporting roles in numerous Spanish-language films, such as ''Sucedió en un día'' (2010) and ''Lluvia de Luna'' (2011). She earned her first major leading role in the drama film ''Ventanas al mar'' (2012), opposite veteran actors

Charo López María del Rosario López Piñuelas (born 28 October 1943) better known as Charo López, is a Spanish actress. Filmography *Plan Jack cero tres (1967) *El hueso (1967) *La vida sigue igual (1969) *Ditirambo (1969) * El extraño caso del docto ...

and Fernando Guillén. Cordova-Buckley earned her first American acting role in the sports drama film ''

McFarland, USA ''McFarland, USA'' (also known as ''McFarland'') is a 2015 American sports drama film directed by Niki Caro, produced by Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray, written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson with music composed by Ant� ...

'' (2015), opposite

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

. She almost quit acting before winning the role of Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez in the

superhero drama series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), gaining further recognition in the process. During the series' fourth season, she headlined a 6-episode miniseries, ''

Slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

'', which debuted online on December 13, 2016. The series was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. The category was initiated in 2016 alongside Outstanding Short Form Variety Series and Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Re ...

. In 2017, she guest starred as attorney Julia Ramos in the A&E horror drama series '' Bates Motel'', where she worked opposite

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films '' The Conjuring'' (2013), '' The Conjuring 2'' (2016), '' Annabelle Co ...

and

Freddie Highmore Alfred Thomas Highmore (born 14 February 1992) is an English actor. He is known for his starring roles beginning as a child, in the films '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), '' August Rush'' (2007), and ...

. Also that year, she voiced the role of artist

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

in the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

animated musical film '' Coco'', which went on to win the

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for animated films. An animated feature is defined by the Academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters' performances are created using a frame-by- ...

. In 2018, Cordova-Buckley portrayed Det. Gavras in the crime thriller film ''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

'', opposite

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Personal life

Cordova-Buckley has been married to musician and actor Brian Buckley since 2011. Together, the couple reside in Los Angeles with their two dogs, Lorca and Bukowski. One of her inspirations and roles models was artist

, whom she portrayed in ''Coco''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordova-Buckley, Natalia 1982 births Living people Actresses from Mexico City American film actresses American television actresses Mexican emigrants to the United States 21st-century American women