Laia Costa

Laia Costa Bertrán (born 18 February 1985) is a Spanish actress who has worked in Spain, Russia, Germany, Argentina, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Costa has won several accolades, including a Goya Award and a German Film Award, in addition to nominations for a British Academy Film Award and a European Film Award.

Costa earned a degree in advertising, public relations and marketing, as well as a PhD in communication and international relations, before starting her acting career at the age of 26.

Costa was born on 18 February 1985 in Barcelona, Spain, to José María Costa, an accountant, and manager of the Niza dance hall, and Cristina Bertrán, one of Barcelona's first female taxi drivers.

She grew up in Horta.

The eldest daughter of a family of two girls, her younger sister is Noemí Costa, also an actress and architect but currently dedicated to art direction.

Costa considers her foray into acting as an accident, since she never considered becoming an actress when she was growing up in Spain, she affirms that she had no role models and when she had to decide which profession to study, acting was not valued as a possibility.

She played basketball from a young age for 17 years, playing for the Hispano Francés sports club at the point guard position.

Regarding her experience in sports, Costa recalls "it has given me many values that I have not found elsewhere, at least not in such a pure form. Teamwork, to begin with."

She obtained a degree in advertising, public relations, and marketing at the Blanquerna-Ramon Llull University's School of Communication and International Relations.

After graduating, Costa worked for marketing agencies as an account executive at Mr. John Sample without set hours and later for a German company with strict ins and outs.

Because of this, she had more free time and decided to take theatre classes with her sister at the Nancy Tuñón School in Barcelona.

Costa took different acting courses and eventually took casting director Luci Lenox's Acting in English course at the Frank Stien Studio for two years.

She speaks fluent Catalan, Spanish, French, and English.

Costa starred in the music video for Portrait's song "Today Is the Day."

She made her television debut as Inés Flores in the 2011 daily television series Bandolera, followed by an episodic appearance in the 2012 historical drama television series Toledo.

That same year, she made her film debut as a background 'Chica Serpiente' in the drama film I Want You.

The following year, Costa starred as Rym, a girl with breast cancer, who becomes the roommate of Lleó, portrayed by Àlex Monner, in the second season of the television show Polseres vermelles, winner of the International Emmy Award for Best Kids TV Series, adapted by Steven Spielberg for North America as Red Band Society; and in La Bien Querida's music video for her song "Arenas Movedizas".

On stage, later that year, she was cast as Maria Kapravof in her first professional play, Atraco, paliza y muerte en Agbanäspach by Nao Albet and Marcel Borràs at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya.

For the role, Costa, whose text was entirely written in German, learned it by heart.

Nuvol remarked, "It's surprising how Laia Costa's conviction as a somewhat hipster-esque femme fatale, plays her role entirely in German".

This led to a role as Claudia in the short film Y otro año, perdices, and as Alba in the period drama television series The Time in Between.

In 2014, she played as Luna in the short film Razones.

She also starred in Yuriy Moroz's adventure and fantasy film Fort Ross.

This was Costa's first international credit in a production.

The same year, Costa played Calda in the special reading of Magdalena Barile's Llum o de les potencialitats lluminoses del cos humà at the Festival Grec de Barcelona, and starred in the anthology television series Cuéntame un cuento in a twisted remake of the traditional fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.

Costa starred as the titular character in Victoria, a crime thriller film directed by Sebastian Schipper, which was almost entirely improvised by the actors; the 134-minute film was shot in a single take.

Following initial appearances in minor television roles in Spain, she achieved international recognition through her portrayal of the titular character in the critically acclaimed one-shot German thriller Victoria (2015).

Her performance earned her the Best Actress in a Leading Role at the German Film Awards 2015, making her the first foreign and only Spanish actress to secure a Lola.

It premiered at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival to critical acclaim.

The role represented her breakthrough, with The New York Times including her in 2015’s "Breakthrough Performances of the Fall Season".

The Observer stated "Costa gives a terrific, affecting and, by the end, intensely unsettling performance."

In relation to the acting rules during the shooting, Costa was given instructions by Schipper stating, "You cannot repeat the same action, ever. You have to go through the scene, but always in different ways. Even if it is no good. Never, never repeat a sentence, an action. Keep it real."

This rule led her to discover the character in a deeper way, blending different versions by the end of the process.

Costa later starred in the romantic dramas Newness (2017) and Only You (2018), the horror thriller Piercing (2018), and the romantic comedy Duck Butter (2018).

Costa took the lead in HBO Spain's eight-episode romance series Foodie Love (2019), which led to her reception a nomination for a Feroz Award for Best Main Actress in a Series.

She was also part of the cast in the first season of the financial drama Devils (2020).

Also in 2020, she made an appearance in the science fiction television anthology series Soulmates.

Costa garnered widespread acclaim for her portrayal of Amaia, a new mother in Alauda Ruiz de Azúa's Lullaby (2022).

This performance earned her the top accolades of the season, including a Goya Award, a Feroz Award, a Forqué Award, and a Platino Award, as well as receiving a nomination for a CEC Award.