Luisa Martín

Martín still preserves a photograph that her father José Luis took of her when she was four years old, in which he wrote: "Mi cómica hija María Luisa tienes madera de actriz, ¿pero será bueno eso para ti?" ("My funny daughter María Luisa, you have the material of an actress, but will this be good for you?".[1]

Years later, when she was seventeen years old and decided that she wanted to be an actress, her father influenced her in that decision and continued to influence her when she entered the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático in Madrid from where she graduated in 1980.

Later she joined the William Layton's Workship in the National School of Classical Theatre. She began her professional career in theater with the company Teatro estudio 80.

During the 1980s she cut her teeth on stage with plays like The travels of Pedro the lucky, The scandals of a village, The balconies of Madrid, Phaedra, The rhinoceros, and Can't Pay? Won't Pay!.

Her television debut was in 1990 in Teresa Rabal's program La guardería. Later, she would appear in other shows like Noche Noche with Emilio Aragón, The Pedro Ruiz Show, and Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez, where she played different characters every week.

Her first successful television role was in 1993 with the character of la Chirla, the young apprentice to the fishmonger in ¿Quién da la vez? a series created by Vicente Escrivá .

However it was only in 1995 when she became a household name as a result of her involvement in the series Médico de familia where she played the role of domestic assistant Juani Ureña, a role for which she won the Actors' Guild Award for Best Actress in 1996 and the Best Actress Award at the 1997 International Festival of Cinema and Television in Cartagena de Indias.

After this break in television in 1999 she embarked on a successful theatrical project alongside the actor Juan Echanove, of Luis García Berlanga and Rafael Azcona's Not on Your Life. Her performance in the role of "Carmen" won her the SGAE Miguel Mihura Award, the Ercilla Theatre Award, and the Silver Screen Award; and a nomination for the Max Award; in 2000.

In this same year 2000 she made her cinematic debut in the film Terca Vida by Fernando Huertas. Later, in 2004, she would film José Luis Garci's Tiovivo c. 1950, and in 2006, Emilio Martínez Lázaro's Las 13 rosas.

In 2003 together with her production partner Albert Bori she started the theatrical company Art Media Producciones with whom she produced her own shows after her divorce from Joan Llaneras. One of them was Historia de una vida [2004), where she was reunited with her Médico de familia co-star Isabel Aboy.

In 2007 she returned to the stage with the work Like bees trapped in honey, and starred the television series Desaparecida ('Missing').

In 2008 she returned to the television with the 2-part miniseries Wanninkhof Case, in which she played the part of Dolores Vázquez. The cast included Juanjo Puigcorbé, Frank Feys and Belén Constenla, In 2010 she joined the new production of Gran Reserva on Televisión Española in which she played a police officer.

On 27 and 28 December 2011, Telecinco released two episodes on the life of Rocío Dúrcal, with the title of Rocío Dúrcal, volver a verte. she played the part of Rocío's mother, María Ortiz.

In September 2013, she announced her signing by the series B&B, de boca en boca on the Telecinco network, and after that series ended, she signed on for Frágiles on the same network, that premiered in 2013.

Martín has collaborated with the organisation Doctors Without Borders since 1986, and has traveled with them to Kenya, Ecuador, and Kosovo, among other places, and collaborated in diverse activities of the organisation in her home country.

She is separated from the actor Joan Llaneras and is in a relationship with Albert Bori. They have a son.[2]