Since her professional stage début in Euripides’ Medea in 1954, Núria Espert has become one of the most widely acclaimed, prolific and award-winning Catalan actors of the second half of the 20th century. Until the age of 19 she lived in the Santa Eulàlia neighbourhood, in C. Buenos Aires, and began to take part in amateur stage productions at the age of 16, until she won her first professional role. While the theatre is her first love, she has also worked in stage direction and opera, on works such as Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata. She has appeared in dozens of successful theatre productions, from classics such as José Zorrilla’s Don Juan Tenorio and Lope de Vega’s El caballero de Olmedo (The Knight from Olmedo) to contemporary works such as The Witches of Salem by Arthur Miller, and Federico García Lorca’s Yerma. Among the numerous awards she has received are the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, several Silver Fotogramas, the Butaca Award, the Ondas Award, the Valle Inclán Theatre Award and the Pepe Isbert National Theatre Award.
A prolific actress in the theatre, television and opera, she stands out for her promotion of the Catalan performing arts. The production of Medea at the Teatre Grec launched her career, and once famous, she has performed Yerma around the world.