Maria Canals-Barrera — Biography
Maria Canals-Barrera was born to Cuban parents who traced their lineage to Catalonia. She is fluent in Spanish and pursued drama during her middle school years. After completing her studies at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School, she earned a theatrical scholarship to the University of Miami.
In her formative years as an actress, Canals-Barrera dedicated herself to theater work, performing in both Miami and Los Angeles. Her stage credits include portraying Amanda in a 1990 production of The Glass Menagerie and taking on a role in Brian Michael Riley's A Cradle of Sparrows in 1992. That same year marked her foray into television with a starring role in the Telemundo Spanish-language telenovela Marielena. She subsequently held a recurring part in the brief 1993 Fox comedy-drama Key West. Throughout the 1990s, Canals-Barrera also made guest appearances on various television shows such as 21 Jump Street, Murder, She Wrote, Almost Perfect, and Caroline in the City. In 1996, she took on the titular role in a production of Hedda Gabler, followed by her performance as Digna in Guillermo Reyes' Chilean Holiday the next year. Her first permanent television role came in 1997 on the short-lived NBC sitcom The Tony Danza Show. The early 2000s saw Canals-Barrera in supporting roles in films like America's Sweethearts, The Master of Disguise, and Imagining Argentina. She achieved considerable recognition among comic book enthusiasts for her portrayal of Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol in Bruce Timm's animated series Justice League (2001–04) and Justice League Unlimited (2005–06). Her voice acting portfolio also includes a recurring role as news reporter Shelly Sandoval in Static Shock, and as Paulina, the high school crush of the title character, in Danny Phantom. In 1998, she lent her voice to Mercedes "Meche" Colomar in the video game Grim Fandango. Additionally, Canals-Barrera performed minor characters in two episodes of The Boondocks. From 2007 to 2012, she co-starred as Theresa Russo, the mother of the protagonist Alex Russo, in the Disney Channel family sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place. This role extended to Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, a 2009 Disney Channel Original film. She also appeared as Connie Torres, the mother of Demi Lovato's character, in the Disney Channel Original Movies Camp Rock (2008) and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). In 2011, she shared the screen with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne. In 2014, Canals
In her formative years as an actress, Canals-Barrera dedicated herself to theater work, performing in both Miami and Los Angeles. Her stage credits include portraying Amanda in a 1990 production of The Glass Menagerie and taking on a role in Brian Michael Riley's A Cradle of Sparrows in 1992. That same year marked her foray into television with a starring role in the Telemundo Spanish-language telenovela Marielena. She subsequently held a recurring part in the brief 1993 Fox comedy-drama Key West. Throughout the 1990s, Canals-Barrera also made guest appearances on various television shows such as 21 Jump Street, Murder, She Wrote, Almost Perfect, and Caroline in the City. In 1996, she took on the titular role in a production of Hedda Gabler, followed by her performance as Digna in Guillermo Reyes' Chilean Holiday the next year. Her first permanent television role came in 1997 on the short-lived NBC sitcom The Tony Danza Show. The early 2000s saw Canals-Barrera in supporting roles in films like America's Sweethearts, The Master of Disguise, and Imagining Argentina. She achieved considerable recognition among comic book enthusiasts for her portrayal of Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol in Bruce Timm's animated series Justice League (2001–04) and Justice League Unlimited (2005–06). Her voice acting portfolio also includes a recurring role as news reporter Shelly Sandoval in Static Shock, and as Paulina, the high school crush of the title character, in Danny Phantom. In 1998, she lent her voice to Mercedes "Meche" Colomar in the video game Grim Fandango. Additionally, Canals-Barrera performed minor characters in two episodes of The Boondocks. From 2007 to 2012, she co-starred as Theresa Russo, the mother of the protagonist Alex Russo, in the Disney Channel family sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place. This role extended to Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, a 2009 Disney Channel Original film. She also appeared as Connie Torres, the mother of Demi Lovato's character, in the Disney Channel Original Movies Camp Rock (2008) and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). In 2011, she shared the screen with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne. In 2014, Canals
