This actress started studying dancing. Her teacher encouraged her to participate in her first film, in 1974. After that, she was taken by the director 'Narciso Ibáñez Serrador' to be one of the maids in his famous TV contest Un, dos, tres ('One, two, three'), and so she became well known all over Spain. Since 1975 she made several films in France and Italy. In Spain she had great success with _Muchacha de las bragas de oro, La (1979)_ , directed by Vicente Aranda. In 1987 she won the prize to the Best Female Performance in the Festival of San Sebastián for El Lute (camina o revienta). In 1991 she won the Golden Bear to the Best Actress in the Festival of Berlin for her work in Amantes. In 1995 she won the prize to the best actress at the San Sebastian film festival for her work in Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto.
Has lived in France since 1982 Has two sons with director Gérard de Battista, Martin (born in 1990) and Felix (born in 1992). In addition to her native tongue Spanish, she is perfectly fluent in French and Italian. Her English is not quite as good as the other 3 languages, but good enough for some English speaking roles (as in 101 Reykjavík). Her powerful performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! ("Tie me up, tie me down!") inspired Penélope Cruz to become an actress.