AllMovie

Stunningly beautiful Cuban-born actress Maria Conchita Alonso emigrated with her family to Caracas, Venezuela when she was five years old; there she appeared in films and commercials while still a child. At age 14 she won the title of Miss Teenager of the World. Four years later, she became Miss Venezuela, going on to combine a successful modeling career with acting and making TV commercials; eventually, she starred in four Venezuelan films and appeared in ten Spanish-language soap operas. She moved to the United States in 1982, going on to make her English-speaking film debut in Abel Ferrara's Fear City (1984); though only a small part in a large cast, this led to a supporting role as Robin Williams's girl friend in Moscow Hudson (1986), which moved her up in the film world to the status of a co-star. In addition to finding steady work in films such as Running Man (1987), House of the Spirits (1993), Caught (1995), Alonso is also a Grammy-nominated singer who has become a top-selling artist in South America. In 1995, while filming Caught, Alonso became the first South American woman to star on Broadway when she won the role of Aurora/Spider Woman in Kiss of the Spider Woman. She continued to work steadily for the next fifteen years playing lead parts in a variety of films ranging from Catherine's Grove The Code Conspiracy, and Chasing Papi, as well as finding work on various television shows including Kingpin.