Karla Sofía Gascón Biography

Karla Sofía Gascón was born in Alcobendas, Spain, and spent much of her early career in the Mexican film and television industry.

Growing up, she would do a lot of play acting with her brother. At the age of 16 she decided to pursue a career in acting. She earned a degree in acting from the School of Cinematography and Audiovisual of the Community of Madrid, otherwise known as ECAM.

Karla spent the early part of her career in London working on a BBC series that was meant to teach Spanish to English speakers, although she herself never learned English. She also voiced puppets for children’s shows in Milan. One of these puppets was Gustavo the Frog, known to English speakers as Kermit. Karla was asked to follow the company to the United States, but she declined.

Karla made her on-screen acting debut as a guest star on Los ladrones van a la oficina in 1995 and her film debut as a gigolo in Se buscan fulmontis (1999). She continued to work in Spanish film and television until she was persuaded by Mexican filmmaker Julián Pastor to move to Mexico in 2009 to further her career.

In Mexico she booked her first telenovela role as the gypsy Branko on Wild Heart, under her birth name Juan Carlos Gascón. She appeared in 80 episodes from 2009 to 2010. Other notable telenovela roles include Iñaki Izarrieta on El Señor de los Cielos, which she played for 47 episodes in 2014, and as Alan on Until the End of Time for 31 episodes from 2014 to 2015.

Around this time Karla had begun her transition, which was mostly completed in 2018. Karla wrote an autobiography Karsia, Una historia extraordinaria (Karsia: an Extraordinary Story) under her birth name, which ended up doubling as a public announcement of her new identity.

In 2024, Karla’s star reached global fame when she played the titular character in Jacques Audiard’s film Emilia Pérez (2024) alongside Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and Karla won the festival’s Best Actress, which she shared with her co-stars. Karla became the first transgender performer to win a major prize at Cannes.

Her performance in the film continued to get praise as Karla was nominated for numerous awards. She received nominations at the five premier awards shows for Best Actress, those being the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, BAFTA, SAG Awards and the Oscars. Karla became the first openly transgender person ever nominated for an acting Oscar.

Karla is married to Marisa Gutiérrez, whom she met at a nightclub when they were both teenagers, before her transition. Together they have a daughter, born in 2011.

Filmography:

Emilia Pérez (2024)
El cura y el Veneno (2013)
We Are the Nobles (2013)
Cambio de sentido (2010)
Di que sí (2004)
La caja 507 (2002)
Me da igual (2000)
Se buscan fulmontis (1999)