Argentine actress Cecilia Roth has turned 70 years old, marking over four decades of performances across cinema and television in Spain and Argentina.
Roth built her screen career across both countries by playing complex, vulnerable, and contradictory characters. Her body of work links the two film industries through auteur cinema, international box-office hits, family dramas, comedies, and television productions.
Her career includes early roles during Madrid's cultural movement following Spain's democratic transition, as well as major collaborations with directors Pedro Almodóvar, Adolfo Aristarain, Daniel Burman, and creators Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.
To celebrate her seven decades, a retrospective highlights eight films and three television series currently available on Spanish streaming platforms that trace her most significant roles.
Early Spanish cinema and Oscar success
Director Pedro Almodóvar's drama All About My Mother holds a central place in Roth's filmography. She stars as Manuela, a mother who travels from Madrid to Barcelona following the death of her son to search for the young man's father and rebuild a piece of her past.
Her performance combines grief, strength, and generosity in a narrative exploring motherhood, identity, and chosen families. The film won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and established Roth as a globally recognized figure. It is currently available on Netflix, Movistar Plus+, and RTVE Play, as well as for digital rental.
In director Adolfo Aristarain's drama Martín (Hache), Roth plays Alicia, an intelligent, passionate, and emotionally vulnerable woman in a complicated relationship with an Argentine filmmaker living in Madrid. Through intense dialogue, the story addresses exile, identity, emotional dependencies, and family conflicts. Alicia remains one of her most remembered characters and a landmark performance in 1990s Argentine cinema, accessible on Movistar Plus+ and FlixOlé.
Director Iván Zulueta's cult classic Arrebato features Roth as Ana, the former partner of a B-movie director caught between artistic creation, drugs, and an obsession with a mysterious Super-8 camera. The film presents an unsettling examination of addiction, desire, and cinema's absorbing power. It remains an essential work for understanding the Spanish cultural transition and creative environments prior to the Movida movement, streaming on Movistar Plus+, Filmin, and FlixOlé.
Political drama and family conflicts
Set during the Argentine military dictatorship, Kamchatka follows a family forced into hiding to escape political persecution. Roth and Ricardo Darín play parents trying to protect their children as their daily existence crumbles around them. Because the narrative is observed primarily through the eyes of one of the children, political violence and fear remain contained, with Roth portraying a mother defined by resilience, concern, and family unity. The film is streaming on Movistar Plus+.
One of her most prominent recent roles arrived in Family Crimes, available on Netflix. Roth plays Alicia, an affluent woman who attempts to defend her son after he is accused of raping and trying to murder his former partner. As judicial proceedings unfold, the protagonist must confront her family's internal contradictions, social privilege, and her own denial, in a story examining violence against women and social inequality.
In director Daniel Burman's dramatic comedy Empty Nest, Roth stars as Martha, a woman who uses her children's departure from the family home to resume her studies, alter her routines, and pursue long-dormant interests. Her transformation contrasts with her husband's disorientation as he struggles to adapt to the empty household. The film is available on Filmin and on AMC Channels via Prime Video.
True crime and Almodóvar reunions
Director Luis Ortega's El Ángel draws inspiration from the true story of Argentine serial killer Carlos Robledo Puch, following an angelic-looking teenager who commits robberies and murders during the 1970s. Roth portrays Aurora, the protagonist's mother, alongside a cast headed by Lorenzo Ferro, Chino Darín, and Mercedes Morán. Her role adds a domestic dimension to a story dominated by violence, seduction, and a lack of remorse, available on HBO Max and Movistar Plus+.
Roth reunited with Almodóvar for Pain and Glory, starring Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo, a film director confronting physical and creative crises while reflecting on key moments in his life. Roth appears as Zulema, a former professional colleague of the main character. Although a brief appearance, the film completes the record of her artistic partnership with Almodóvar and is available on Netflix.
Major television series roles
The eight-episode series Furia highlights Roth's recent television work. She plays Victoria, a former erotic cinema star who discovers she has been deceived and financially exploited for years. The dramedy brings together five mature women pushed to their limits by personal crises, co-starring Candela Peña, Carmen Machi, Nathalie Poza, and Pilar Castro in a story combining dark humor, anger, and social critique on HBO Max.
Created by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the miniseries La Mesías examines religious fanaticism and family trauma resulting from an authoritarian mother and the public exposure of her daughters' music group. Roth plays Alicia as part of an ensemble cast featuring Roger Casamajor, Macarena García, Lola Dueñas, Ana Rujas, Carmen Machi, and Albert Pla. The production became one of the most acclaimed Spanish series of its year and is streaming on Movistar Plus+.
The series The Pier begins when an architect discovers after her husband's death that he maintained a secret double life with another woman. Roth joins a main cast led by Verónica Sánchez, Irene Arcos, and Álvaro Morte in a drama combining mystery, romance, and emotional reconstruction, streaming on Prime Video.
Across more than four decades on screen, Roth has demonstrated a capacity for transformation while retaining a distinct acting identity. Her characters have explored themes of desire, loss, motherhood, guilt, resilience, and new beginnings. At 70, the Argentine actress continues to pursue new creative challenges, remaining active in contemporary cinema and television.
