Pilar López de Ayala
Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo (born 18 September 1978) is a Spanish actress. She won a Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance playing Joanna of Castile in 2001 film Mad Love.
Also recorded as Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo
Pilar López de Ayala

Pedro J Pacheco · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Pilar López de Ayala
- Birth Name
- Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo
- Born
- 18 September 1978
- Birthplace
- Madrid, Spain
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- Spain
- Honours
- Goya Award for Best Actress
- Languages
- Spanish
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Documentary summary
Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo (born 18 September 1978) is a Spanish actress. She won a Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance playing Joanna of Castile in 2001 film Mad Love.
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wikidata · Q608974 · wikipedia · Pilar López de Ayala
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Pilar López de Ayala • Birth Name — Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo • Born — 18 September 1978 • Birthplace — Madrid, Spain • Occupation — Actress
Early life
Early life
Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo was born in Madrid on 18 September 1978. Her parents are Rodrigo López de Ayala Sánchez-Arjona and Pilar Arroyo Gallego. On her father side she descends from the rural nobility of Extremadura and is twice descendant of Christopher Columbus through Diego Colón. She studied at the public school Francisco de Quevedo in Majadahonda.
Career beginnings
Career beginnings
For her film debut as an actress, she appeared in a minor role in the children's film El niño invisible (1995), a promotional vehicle for the musical ensemble Bom Bom Chip. From 1997 to 1999, she portrayed Carlota in 418 episodes of teen daily television series Al salir de clase. Her film career continued with a performance in Gracia Querejeta's By My Side Again (1999). In Fill Me with Life (2000), she delivered her first leading performance in a film, portraying twentysomething María alongside Unax Ugalde in a tragic story about the descent into drugs and prostitution in Madrid. Also by the turn of the century, she appeared in the comedy films Living It Up and Kisses for Everyone. For her performance in the latter film portraying Rocío, an "upper-class mommy's girl and husband-hunter", she earned a nomination for the Goya Award for Best New Actress.
Peak and first hiatus
Peak and first hiatus
She obtained critical acclaim for playing Joanna of Castile in Vicente Aranda's period drama Mad Love. The film, an international co-production with Italy and Portugal, premiered in September 2001 at the 49th San Sebastián International Film Festival, with López Ayala being awarded the Silver Shell for Best Actress. It also was a box office success in Spain. López de Ayala went on to win the Goya Award for Best Actress and an Actors Union Award for Best Leading Performance in Film. Despite the success she had massed with Mad Love, López de Ayala did not meaningfully work in the Spanish film industry from 2001 to 2005. She did however play a role in the English-language in The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004), a co-production with France and the United Kingdom.
Accolades
Accolades
• Year — Award — Category — Work — Result — Ref. Reference(s) • 2001 — Best New Actress — Kisses for Everyone • Best Newcomer • Best Spanish Actress — Fill Me with Life • Sort|San Sebastián International Film Festival — Silver Shell for Best Actress — Mad Love • 2002 — Best Actress • 2006 — Best Supporting Actress — Obaba • 2011 — Best Supporting Actress — Lope: The Outlaw • 2012 — Best Actress — Sidewalls • Best Supporting Actress — Intruders
Identity
Identity
Pilar López de Ayala is recorded as actress.

Pilar López de Ayala en la alfombra roja del Festival de Málaga 2024 frente al Teatro Cervantes
Pedro J Pacheco
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Notes || Ref References • 1995 — El niño invisible • 1999 — Cuando vuelvas a mi lado (By My Side Again) • 2000 — Báilame el agua (Fill Me with Life) — María • 2000 — La gran vida (Living It Up) • 2000 — Besos para todos (Kisses for Everyone) — Rocío • 2001 — Juana la Loca (Mad Love) — Juana • 2004 — The Bridge of San Luis Rey — La Perichole • 2005 — Obaba — Maestra • 2006 — Bienvenido a casa (Welcome Home) — Eva • 2006 — Alatriste — Mujer de Malatesta • 2007 — En la ciudad de Sylvia (In the City of Sylvia) — Ella • 2007 — Las 13 rosas (13 Roses) — Blanca Brisac • 2008 — Comme les autres (Baby Love) — Fina • 2008 — Sólo quiero caminar (Just Walking) — Paloma • 2010 — O Estranho Caso de Angélica (The Strange Case of Angelica) — Angélica • 2010 — Lope (Lope: The Outlaw) — Elena Osorio • 2011 — Buenas noches España • 2011 — Intruders — Luisa • 2011 — Medianeras (Sidewalls) — Mariana • 2014 — Night Has Settled — Luna • 2016 — Rumbos (Night Tales) — Lucía • 2017 — Agadah • Dans la chambre du sultan (Close to the Sultan) — Jeanne
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pilar López De Ayala. Fotogramas. 2 June 2008.
- 2.Jaime de Salazar y Acha. Estudio Histórico Sobre una Familia Extremeña – Los Sánchez-Arjona, Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía, Madrid, 2000, p. 342
- 3.Guimón, Pablo. Pilar vuelve a escena. El País. 23 October 2005.
- 4.Medianoche, Mike. ¿Cómo resolvió 'Al salir de clase' la salida de sus protagonistas?. Bluper. 18 August 2020.
- 5.García, Cecilia. ¿Qué fue de los actores de "Al salir de clase"?. La Razón. 24 July 2020.
- 6.Álvarez de Cienfuegos, Conchi. ¿Qué fue de Pilar López de Ayala? La actriz de 'Al salir de clase' que ganó un Goya y a la que la industria dio de lado. Clara. 27 May 2024.
- 7.Torres, Augusto M. Directores españoles malditos. Huerga y Fierro Editores. 311. 2004. 84-8374-480-5.
- 8.Rebolledo, Matías G. Pilar López de Ayala regresará al cine este año. La Razón. 5 April 2023.
- 9.Holland, Jonathan. Kisses For Everyone. Variety. 21 December 2000.
- 10.Hernández, Nuria. Pilar López de Ayala vuelve a la gran pantalla: orígenes nobles (entre sus ancestros está Colón), un papel que marcó su carrera y una hermética vida personal. Vanity Fair. 8 March 2024.
- 11.Pilar López de Ayala: «Hollywood no es mi meta». ABC. 26 November 2002.
- 12.La Concha de Plata de San Sebastián consagra a la joven Pilar López Ayala. ABC. 30 September 2001.
- 13.Ocaña, Javier. La locura del cine histórico. 31 December 2019.
- 14.Dávila Vargas-Machuca, Miguel. Las pasiones de Juana la Loca en el cine español: desde la Historia y el Teatro a las adaptaciones, readaptaciones y remakes compuestos. Trasvases Entre la Literatura y el Cine. UMA Editorial. 1. 116. 2019. 2695-639X.
- 15.Los actores premian a Pilar López de Ayala como mejor actriz 2001. La Vanguardia. 4 March 2002.
- 16.Hermoso, Borja. El regreso de Pilar López de Ayala, la actriz que pudo reinar. El País. 23 July 2023.
- 17.¿Qué fue de Pilar López de Ayala? Su paso del Goya al anonimato. rtve.es. 25 August 2023.
- 18.Álcazar, Isabel. Hacer de muerta fue un desafío. El Siglo de Europa. 927. 56. May 2011.
- 19.Báilame el agua. Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
- 20.Holland, Jonathan. Kisses for Everyone. Variety. 21 December 2000.
- 21.Alberich, Enric. Peliculas Clave del Cine Historico. Ediciones Robinbook. 191. 2009. 978-84-96924-74-1.
- 22.Bedoya, Ricardo. El Perú imaginado. Representaciones de un país en el cine internacional. Universidad de Lima; Fondo Editorial. 292. 8 July 2018. 978-9972-45-407-3.
- 23.Guimón, Pablo. Pilar vuelve a escena. El País. 23 October 2005.
- 24.Urrero Peña, Guzmán. Bienvenido a casa. Rinconete. 25 October 2006. 1885-5008.
- 25.Gonzalez, Ed. Review: In the City of Sylvia. Slant Magazine. 6 October 2007.
- 26.Prensa Ibérica. "Las 13 rosas´ no es un libro de historia, es una película". El Periódico de Aragón. 24 October 2007.
- 27.Marinero, Ismael. Como los demás. Metrópoli. 9 December 2008.
- 28.'Sólo quiero caminar' estará en el 59 Festival de Cine de Berlín. Heraldo de Aragón. 3 January 2009.
- 29.Pilar López de Ayala protagoniza 'El Extraño Caso de Angélica', de Manoel de Oliveira. Europa Press. 16 May 2011.
- 30.López López, Yolanda. El Siglo de Oro en el cine y la ficción televisiva: Dirección artística, referentes culturales y reconstrucción histórica. ACCI. 101. 2017. 978-84-16549-70-2.
- 31.El filme hispano-filipino 'Buenas noches, España' participará en la Sección Oficial del Festival de Locarno. Europa Press. 13 July 2011.
- 32.Martín, Atala. Pilar López de Ayala: "Una mentira puede terminar en algo enorme". Diario de Mallorca. Prensa Ibérica. 22 September 2011.
- 33.Grupo Noticias. Pilar López de Ayala protagoniza "Medianeras". Noticias de Gipuzkoa. 17 November 2011.
- 34.Bell, Mark. Night Has Settled. Film Threat. 24 May 2014.
- 35.Salvà, Bernat. El meu retir no ha estat voluntari. El Punt Avui. 10 June 2016.
- 36.Romo, Luis Fernando. La desaparición de Pilar López de Ayala, tras probar suerte en otros países y estudiar Historia del Arte. El Mundo. 26 July 2021.
- 37.Rebollo abraza la fantasía en 'La alcoba del sultán'. El Día de Valladolid. 23 October 2024.
- 38.Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Besos para todos. premiosgoya.com.
- 39.La Unión de Actores presenta a los finalistas de sus premios. ABC. 10 March 2001.
- 40.La Unión de Actores otorga a Carmen Maura el premio Protagonista de Cine. El Mundo. 13 March 2001.
- 41.'El portero', de Gonzalo Suárez, obtiene el Premio Sant Jordi a la mejor película. El País. 29 January 2001.
- 42.Concha de Plata para "Juana la loca". La Voz de Galicia. 29 September 2001.
- 43.Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Juana la Loca. premiosgoya.com.
- 44.Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Obaba. premiosgoya.com.
- 45.Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Lope. premiosgoya.com.
- 46.'No habrá paz para los malvados', premio Forqué a la mejor cinta española de 2011. El Mundo. 23 January 2001.
- 47.Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España. Intruders. premiosgoya.com.
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,589 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Pihla ViitalaPerson
- Pilar BardemPerson
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