Profiles: Juana Acosta | Proimágenes Colombia

Juana Acosta Restrepo, better known as Juanita Acosta, was born in Cali, Colombia on November 28, 1976. This film, stage and television actress is now based in Spain, where she has worked for much of her career, and recently began working in France as well. She has modeled in a number of advertising campaigns and is the new muse for the French perfume Eau de Rochas.
 
In the mid-90s Acosta began appearing on national television, first as a presenter on Panorama and then in TV soaps Mascarada (1995), La dama del pantano (1999), La Reina de Queens (2000) and the series Mujeres asesinas (2008). Her work on Spanish television includes the shows Policías, en el corazón de la calle (2001), Javier ya no vive solo (2002), Hospital Central (2002), El Comisario (2003), Génesis, en la mente del asesino (2006), Hospital Central (2008-2009), Adolfo Suarez (2009), Crematorio (2010) and Hispania, la leyenda (2011). In France she appeared in Les Beaux Mecs (2011).
 
She made her film debut in Sergio Cabrera’s Golpe de estadio (1998) and continued with Es mejor ser rico que pobre (1999) by Ricardo Coral, Kalibre 35 (2000) by Raúl García and Juegos bajo la luna (2000) by Mauricio Walerstein. Juanita acted in the short films Canciones de invierno (2004) by Félix Viscarret, Mythosis by Álvaro Díez and Amores breves by Cristobal H. Pinto. Her Spanish films include Miguel Martí’s Slam (2003), Juan Vicente Córdoba’s A golpes (2005), Los dos lados de la cama (2005) by Emilio Martínez Lázaro, WC (2005) by Enio Mejía, Diario de un Skin (2005) by Jacobo Rispa, El asesino de parking (2006) by Isidro Ortiz and Bienvenido a casa (2006) by David Trueba. She was part of the cast in the French film Carlos, el chacal (2010) by Olivier Assayas and has been a presenter at the Cannes Film Festival. Her work in “Carlos” helped the series win a Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series. Her most recent film, Another Hour in the Canaries (2010) directed by David Serrano, was released in Colombia as Con amor y sin amor (2011). Juanita also stars in Carlos Moreno’s El cartel de los sapos.
 
Juanita studied acting in Madrid at the Juan Carlos Corazza Studio and attended a number of seminars including Analysis of Shakespearean Texts directed by Augusto Fernández, Scenic Spaces with Jean Guy Lecat (Peter Brook’s set designer), a clown course with Gabriel Chamé (clown with the Cirque de Soleil del Sol), technique with Manuel Morón and Lorena García; “Roles y Registros” with Catalina Llado and jazz with Karen Talft. She studied Comedia del Arte in Argentina with Marcelo Savignone, acting with Alfonso Ortiz in Colombia and Fine Arts at the Universidad de Los Andes. Juanita also studied modern dance with María Sanford and classical ballet with Ana Pavlova.
 
Her stage work includes Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” directed by Juan Carlos Corazza, Dostoyevski’s “The Possessed” directed by Pavel Nowisky and “Las convulsiones” by Luis Vargas Tejada also directed by Pavel Nowisky.