---
name: "Rossy de Palma"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rossy-de-palma"
fi1m_id: "rossy-de-palma"
imdb_id: "nm0658041"
tmdb_id: 25258
wikidata_id: "Q266626"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "16 September 1964"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-03T02:12:11.254776+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Rossy de Palma

## Identity

Rossy de Palma

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/rossy-de-palma
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** rossy-de-palma
- **IMDb ID:** nm0658041
- **TMDB ID:** 25258
- **Wikidata ID:** Q266626
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossy_de_Palma, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q266626, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658041/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25258

Actor. Born 16 September 1964 in Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 16 September 1964, Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain
- **Active:** 1988–present
- **Also known as:** Rosa Elena García Echave, روسی د پالما
- **Frequently works with:** [Pedro Almodóvar](https://film.one/person/pedro-almodovar.md), [Agustín Almodóvar](https://film.one/person/agustin-almodovar.md), [Aitana Sánchez-Gijón](https://film.one/person/aitana-sanchez-gijon.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 84 (1), 2000s 66 (1), 2010s 80 (1), 2020s 73 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 74 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Comedy 2, Romance 2, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $96m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossy_de_Palma, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q266626, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0658041/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/25258

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown*](https://film.one/film/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Rossy de Palma

> Rossy de Palma has spent nearly forty years walking into Pedro Almodóvar's films and raising the temperature. A face nobody else has, a delivery that plays it straight while everyone around her frets, and a career that has never quite needed to leave his company.

Rossy de Palma does not need to do much. She comes through a door, the camera finds a face that has been called cubist, and everyone else in the scene starts behaving slightly differently. In *Bitter Christmas* (2026) she is Gabriela, and we noted at the time that the temperature rose a degree or two when she arrived, as it has in Almodóvar's films since the 1980s. The parts are rarely large. They are rarely forgettable either.

She came out of the Madrid Movida as a singer and dancer with the band Peor Impossible, which is where Almodóvar found her in 1986, having come to see them perform. He put her in *Law of Desire* (1987) and then gave her Marisa in *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988), the part that introduced her to audiences outside Spain. *Kika* (1993) and *The Flower of My Secret* (1995) followed, and by the mid-1990s the label chicas Almodóvar had attached itself to her and stuck. Eight films with him so far, the most recent being *Parallel Mothers* (2021), as Elena, and *Bitter Christmas*. In between she has modelled for Jean-Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler, and worked for Robert Altman in *Prêt-à-Porter* (1994) and Terry Gilliam in *The Man Who Killed Don Quixote* (2018).

What she does in *Women on the Verge* is the model for everything since. Carmen Maura's Pepa is the centre and the film is hers, and de Palma's Marisa is one of the people around her whose differences stop the farce from running on one note. She does not compete with Maura; she gives her something to bounce off. We found ourselves pleased every time the film came back to her, and a little disappointed by how little it asked her to do, because the face and the timing are so plainly enough to build a scene on. Almodóvar knows exactly how many seconds of each a scene can take, and he has never been tempted to give her more.

*Bitter Christmas* shows the limit. The film is slack through the middle, Bárbara Lennie carries it, and Gabriela is a warmth the script switches on when it needs one. Almodóvar has said the part is close to her own persona, and that is the problem as much as the compliment: after forty years he no longer has to ask her for anything. She has said herself that working with him needs few retakes. We believe her. We would still like to see what a director who did not already know that face so well might ask of it.

## Biography

Rossy de Palma is a Spanish actress and model. Born Rosa Elena García Echave on 16 September 1964 in Palma, Balearic Islands, she moved to Madrid in the 1980s during the Movida cultural movement. She was a singer and dancer in the pop group Peor Impossible before being discovered by Pedro Almodóvar in 1986.

She made her film debut in Almodóvar’s *Law of Desire* (1987) and gained international recognition for her role as Marisa in *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988). She has appeared in several other Almodóvar films, including *Kika* (1993) and *The Flower of My Secret* (1995), receiving Goya Award nominations for both. She has also worked with directors such as Robert Altman, appearing as Pilar in *Prêt-à-Porter* (1994).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Bitter Christmas* (2026), Fi1m 64, as Gabriela — [page](https://film.one/film/bitter-christmas.md)
- *Parallel Mothers* (2021), Fi1m 82, as Elena — [page](https://film.one/film/parallel-mothers.md)
- *Julieta* (2016), Fi1m 80, as Marian — [page](https://film.one/film/julieta.md)
- *Broken Embraces* (2009), Fi1m 66, as Julieta — [page](https://film.one/film/broken-embraces.md)
- *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988), Fi1m 84, as Marisa — [page](https://film.one/film/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown.md)

## Complete filmography (99)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Misión imposible, no... lo siguiente* (2026), Actor
- *Día de caza* (2026), as Rosa
- *La Tarara* (2026), Actor
- *Bitter Christmas* (2026), as Gabriela — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/bitter-christmas.md)
- *Estrella, cometa, satélite y planeta* (2025), Actor
- *Honeymoon Crasher* (2025), as Gloria
- *The Opera! Arias for an Eclipse* (2025), as Moire
- *Dear Paris* (2024), as Dolorès
- *Escort Boys* (2023), series, as Mimi
- *3 Days Max* (2023), as Alba Suarez
- *La Mesías* (2023), series, as Laia Baró (mayor)
- *Carmen* (2023), as Masilda
- *Apaches: Gang of Paris* (2023), as Sarah Bernardt
- *The House* (2022), as Brigida
- *The Sweet Taste of Success* (2022), as Rossy de Palma
- *Rainbow* (2022), Actor
- *Cinco Tenedores* (2022), series, as Jueza
- *Once Upon a Time... Happily Never After* (2022), series, as Narrator (voice) / María / Mamen
- *El refugio* (2021), Actor
- *Parallel Mothers* (2021), as Elena — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/parallel-mothers.md)
- *Do You Do You Saint-Tropez* (2021), as Carmen
- *Carrément craignos* (2021), series, as Héléna
- *Little Birds* (2020), series, as Contessa Mandrax
- *A Mermaid in Paris* (2020), as Rossy
- *The Rodriguez and the Beyond* (2019), as Doctora Pilar
- *My Brother Chases Dinosaurs* (2019), as Auntie Rock / Zia Dolores
- *I Miss You* (2019), as Rosaura
- *Despite Everything* (2019), as Inés
- *For the Ones We Loved* (2019), as Artémis
- *Le vieux juif Blonde* (2018), as Voyante
- *Black Is Beltza* (2018), as Ruth Abramson (voice)
- *The Man Who Killed Don Quixote* (2018), Actor
- *Brillantissime* (2018), as Charline
- *The Exchange* (2017), as Dómina
- *Toc Toc* (2017), as Ana María
- *Madame* (2017), as Maria
- *Lord, Give Me Patience* (2017), as María Ramos
- *The White Princess* (2017), series, as Isabella I of Castile
- *En tu cabeza* (2016), as Milagros (Vecina)
- *Julieta* (2016), as Marian — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/julieta.md)
- *Stranded* (2015), as Mercè
- *Spy Time* (2015), as Madre de Katia
- *Just a Little Chemistry* (2015), as Bárbara Sullivan
- *Graziella* (2015), as Graziella
- *Anchored* (2015), series, as Palmira
- *Do Not Disturb* (2014), as Maria
- *Love of My Loves* (2014), as Carmina
- *Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart* (2014), as Luna (voice)
- *Three Many Weddings* (2013), as Madre de Ruth
- *I Don't Know Whether to Slit My Wrists or Leave Them Long* (2013), as Lola
- *&Me* (2013), as Edurne's Mother
- *Run a way* (2012), as La benemérita
- *Bright Spin* (2012), as Amie de Patrick
- *Miss Tacuarembo* (2010), as Patricia Peinado
- *Gigola* (2010), as Dominique
- *No Pasaran* (2009), as Inès
- *Broken Embraces* (2009), as Julieta — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/broken-embraces.md)
- *La que se avecina* (2007), series, as María Luisa Romero
- *Les Aristos* (2006), as La duchesse Maria de Malaga i Benidorm
- *Girlfriends* (2006), as La mère de Marie
- *Caterina e le sue figlie* (2005), series, as Estrella Toledo
- *20 Centimeters* (2005), as La Frío
- *Have You Met Claudia?* (2004), as Aldo's Claudia
- *Double zéro* (2004), as Le Monocle
- *People : Jet Set 2* (2004), as Pilar
- *Leave Your Hands on My Hips* (2003), as Myriam Bardem
- *Dead Weight* (2002), as Pauline Reggio
- *L'origine du monde* (2001), as The Sphynx
- *The Mule* (2000), as La Colombienne
- *The Damned Rib* (1999), as Margarita
- *Nag la Bombe* (1999), as Leïla
- *The Loss of Sexual Innocence* (1999), as Blind Woman
- *Foul Play* (1998), as Concepcion Alibera
- *Talk of Angels* (1998), as Elena
- *Franchesca Page* (1998), as Veronica
- *La Femme du cosmonaute* (1997), as Catherine
- *Airbag* (1997), as Carmiña, mujer de Pazos en una fotografía
- *A Body in the Woods* (1996), as Teniente Cifuentes
- *The Worker and the Hairdresser in a Whirlwind of Sex and Politics* (1996), Actor
- *Chicken Park* (1996), as Necrophilia
- *The Flower of My Secret* (1995), as Rosa
- *Peggio di così si muore* (1995), as Myrna
- *What's It All About* (1995), as Librarian
- *Prêt-à-Porter* (1994), as Pilar
- *Fea* (1994), Actor
- *Kika* (1993), as Juana
- *Rose rosse per una squillo* (1993), as Juliette
- *Mutant Action* (1993), as Invitada de lujo
- *Sam's Enough* (1992), as Chichi
- *Aquí, el que no corre... vuela* (1992), Actor
- *The Naked Target* (1992), as Dama 2
- *The Family Jewels* (1991), as Donatella
- *In The Rose Garden* (1990), as Rosy
- *Don Juan, My Dear Ghost* (1990), as Viuda de Prodini
- *Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!* (1990), as Camello en Vespa
- *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988), as Marisa — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown.md)
- *Law of Desire* (1987), as Locutora tele
- *Becoming Capa*, Actor
- *Second to Nun*, as Madame Laduree

## Gallery

- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-3a6b13b73ce9.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Pedro J Pacheco, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Premios_Goya_2026_-_Rossy_de_Palma_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Premios_Goya_2026_-_Rossy_de_Palma_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Présentation de "L'Homme qui tua Don Quichotte" au festival de Cannes (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-54cbeea2e523.jpg) Présentation de "L'Homme qui tua Don Quichotte" au festival de Cannes (2018) — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Cannes_2018_33.jpg/1280px-Cannes_2018_33.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Présentation de "L'Homme qui tua Don Quichotte" au festival de Cannes (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-618a76a829b5.jpg) Présentation de "L'Homme qui tua Don Quichotte" au festival de Cannes (2018) — Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Cannes_2018_41.jpg/1280px-Cannes_2018_41.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![18th Chéries-Chéris Festival Film, Forum des Images, October 2012, Paris, France.](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-37fc6aaddac2.jpg) 18th Chéries-Chéris Festival Film, Forum des Images, October 2012, Paris, France. — Josef Kocmid from Joinville le Pont, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Ch%C3%A9ries-Ch%C3%A9ris_%26_Philippe_Besson_et_Matthieu_Charneau_et_Rossy_de_Palma_%28Le_jury_longs_m%C3%A9trages%29_et_Pascale_%288097765782%29.jpg/1280px-Ch%C3%A9ries-Ch%C3%A9ris_%26_Philippe_Besson_et_Matthieu_Charneau_et_Rossy_de_Palma_%28Le_jury_longs_m%C3%A9trages%29_et_Pascale_%288097765782%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-1907b0163315.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Image via TMDB
- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-fb00958b2b9d.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Image via TMDB
- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-87268821c38b.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Image via TMDB
- ![18th Chéries-Chéris Festival Film, Forum des Images, October 2012, Paris, France.](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-0eb075138f1e.jpg) 18th Chéries-Chéris Festival Film, Forum des Images, October 2012, Paris, France. — Josef Kocmid from Joinville le Pont, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Ch%C3%A9ries-Ch%C3%A9ris_%26_Rossy_de_Palma_et_Matthieu_Charneau_%28Le_jury_longs_m%C3%A9trages%29_%288097753094%29.jpg/1280px-Ch%C3%A9ries-Ch%C3%A9ris_%26_Rossy_de_Palma_et_Matthieu_Charneau_%28Le_jury_longs_m%C3%A9trages%29_%288097753094%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dia de Caza Cast & Crew at the Photocall at Muelle Uno during Málaga Film Festival 2026 (2025)](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-7b3f31ed285d.jpg) Dia de Caza Cast & Crew at the Photocall at Muelle Uno during Málaga Film Festival 2026 (2025) — Pedro J Pacheco, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/M%C3%A1laga_Film_Festival_2026_-_Equipo_D%C3%ADa_de_caza_-_1.jpg/1280px-M%C3%A1laga_Film_Festival_2026_-_Equipo_D%C3%ADa_de_caza_-_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-29cd54e0d296.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Image via TMDB
- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-61954f15082f.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Image via TMDB
- ![Rossy de Palma](https://film.one/media/person/119409/gallery-49cb0d5fca30.jpg) Rossy de Palma — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts 2019: Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts (won)
- Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 2013: Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/rossy-de-palma