1996-2020: Early years and career beginnings , where Bakalova studied acting|alt=A photograph of The National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts Maria Valcheva Bakalova was born on 4 June 1996 in
Burgas to Rumyana Bakalova, a nurse, and Valcho Bakalov, a chemist. She began taking singing lessons and playing the flute around age six, and sang in a choir that toured across Europe. Bakalova enrolled in acting classes at the age of 12, majoring in
drama theater and minoring in flute at the National School of Music and Stage Arts in Burgas, where she was a straight A student; she recalled, "I was a super-disciplined child. I was reading too many books. I was obsessed with
Dostoyevsky, at like 15, 16". She was inspired to pursue film acting after watching
The Hunt, and has cited filmmaker
Thomas Vinterberg as her biggest influence alongside
Susanne Bier,
Pedro Almodóvar,
Paolo Sorrentino and
Andrea Arnold as other major influences. Bakalova later moved to
Sofia where she majored in drama at the
National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. As a student, she appeared in various stage productions, including
Les Liaisons dangereuses,
Sexual Perversity in Chicago, ''
Kennedy's Children and The Trial. Bakalova made her on-screen debut playing a supporting part in the 2017 comedy-drama film XIIa. In the same year, she made her first headlining appearance in Transgression'', where she played Yana, a young girl who has an unusual relationship with an aging rock musician. She secured the role after a classmate of hers signed her up for a
blind audition during her first year at university. The film was screened at several film festivals in Europe and North America, before being released through
HBO Max in 2021. In 2018, Bakalova won the award for Best Actress at Toronto's Alternative Film Festival for her performance. '' in 2019 In her third year of studies, she volunteered to help filmmakers
Kristina Grozeva and
Petar Valchanov, who taught the only film acting class at the academy, with scheduling and other tasks, and traveled with them to the set of a film they were working on so that she could watch how they worked and learn from them. One of the directors invited her to audition for a
bit in their film
The Father (2019); she landed the part and filmed a brief
flashback scene as the young version of one of the characters.
The Father won the
Crystal Globe award for Best Film at the
54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and was selected as the
Bulgarian entry for the
Best International Feature Film category at the
93rd Academy Awards. Driven by her fascination with Danish cinema—particularly with the work of Vinterberg,
Lars von Trier and their
Dogme 95 movement—Bakalova used part of her university scholarship to take her parents on a trip to Denmark a few months before graduating. There, she visited
Zentropa's headquarters, and asked if she could become a
P.A. or a runner on von Trier's next film. She was sent away because she didn't speak Danish, prompting her to begin studying the language, before eventually graduating and moving to Los Angeles in 2019. Bakalova next starred in the 2020 comedy-drama
Last Call as Alexandra, a suicidal girl who is on the verge of ending her life. Her performance was received positively by critics, and Yanko Terziev of
Capital wrote that her portrayal of the character brought "warmth and lyricism" to the film.
2020-present: Hollywood breakthrough In 2020, Bakalova portrayed Tutar Sagdiyev, the daughter of fictional Kazakh reporter
Borat Sagdiyev, in the mockumentary
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, alongside
Sacha Baron Cohen. Although she was initially credited as Irina Nowak, reports later revealed her involvement. During the audition process, Bakalova had to travel to London for a callback; the secrecy around the project made her concerned that she might have become part of a
human trafficking scheme. The film was lauded as "the most impactful piece of political entertainment" in the weeks leading up to the
2020 United States presidential election, as a scene in which
Rudy Giuliani appears to put his hands down his trousers while reclining on a bed in the presence of Bakalova's character garnered significant media attention. Critics praised her performance, with some stating it was among the year's best. Matt Fowler of
IGN noted that "the film's fantastic find, Maria Bakalova, every bit Sacha Baron Cohen's on-screen equal, is who, and what, most people will be talking about."
Los Angeles Times film critic
Justin Chang described her performance as "terrific," praising her portrayal of her character's journey "with madcap energy and touching conviction." For her performance, Bakalova won the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the
Academy Award,
BAFTA Award, and
Actor Award in the same category. She was also nominated for
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. She became the
first Bulgarian actress to be nominated for these accolades. and
Rachel Sennott at
SXSW in 2022 Bakalova next starred as Sonja, a 19-year-old girl who discovers she is HIV-positive and is in denial about her need for treatment, in
Women do cry (2021), directed by
Mina Mileva and
Vesela Kazakova. The film premiered to positive reviews from critics at the
2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed in the
Un Certain Regard section, and received a
Queer Palm nomination. The same year, Bakalova joined the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a member of the Actors Branch. In 2022, she starred alongside
Amandla Stenberg and
Pete Davidson in
A24's horror film
Bodies Bodies Bodies. The film received predominantly favorable reviews; some felt that her comedic talents were wasted by playing a serious character. Her next role was in
Judd Apatow's
The Bubble (2022), part of an
ensemble cast that included
Karen Gillan,
David Duchovny,
Leslie Mann and
Pedro Pascal. The film generated mostly negative reviews, and
New York Times critic Ben Kenigsberg wrote that it "underused" Bakalova. After voicing
Cosmo the Spacedog in
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), she starred in the romantic comedy
The Honeymoon (2022), which marked her first production venture. The film saw her play Sarah, whose honeymoon is ruined by her husband's troublesome best friend and who is pursued by the Italian gangster Giorgio, played by
Lucas Bravo. Bakalova next appeared in Andrew Durham's directorial debut
Fairyland (2023), which premiered at the
2023 Sundance Film Festival. She reprised her role as
Cosmo the Spacedog in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), also providing the
motion capture performance for the character. With box office takings of $845.6 million worldwide,
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the
fourth highest-grossing picture of the year, and became Bakalova's highest-grossing film. Bakalova began 2024 by starring in Hala Matar's directorial debut
Electra. After making a cameo appearance in
Jerry Seinfeld's directorial debut
Unfrosted (2024), Bakalova starred as
Ivana Trump in
The Apprentice (2024), directed by
Ali Abbasi, which premiered at the
2024 Cannes Film Festival and competed for the
Palme d'Or. She next reunited with
The Father directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov for the black comedy
Triumph (2024), which she also produced. The film marked her return to Bulgarian cinema following her Hollywood breakthrough. It premiered at the
2024 Toronto International Film Festival and was selected as the Bulgarian entry for the
Best International Feature Film category at the
97th Academy Awards. In November 2022, Bakalova joined the cast of the action thriller film
Dirty Angels, directed by
Martin Campbell. She will also star in
Madeleine Sackler's sci-fi comedy drama
O Horizon. In April 2024, she was cast in the
Apple TV+ action adventure film
Mayday. ==Public image==