Natalia Cordova-Buckley

Natalia Cordova-Buckley, sometimes credited as Natalia Córdova, (born November 25, 1982) is a Mexican-American actress. She is best known for starring as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez in the ABC superhero drama series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020).[1]

Natalia Cordova-Buckley
Cordova-Buckley in March 2019
Born	November 25, 1982 Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality	Mexican American
Education	California Institute of the Arts
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2008–present
Spouse(s)	Brian Buckley ​ (m. 2011)​
Family	Pancho Córdova (grandfather)

Early life

Cordova-Buckley was born in Mexico City and raised in Cancún.[2] Her grandfather is Pancho Córdova, an actor in Mexican and American cinema, whom she never met.[3]

Cordova-Buckley was classically trained as a ballet dancer, training under Fernando Alonso in the dance company Centro de Arte Siglo XXI.[2] Finding the occupation too restricting, she decided to become an actress instead. She had reconsidered acting after trying to avoid it due to being teased about her voice in her youth. She stated: "the kids wouldn’t chase me around when we played tag because they would say that I screamed like a Godzilla. It wasn’t just my voice, but [also] the fact that I have a pretty strong personality and was always very outspoken and opinionated."[4]

At the age of 17, she moved to the U.S. after getting accepted to the drama department of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, a high school program for seniors in fine arts. After graduating, she attended the theatre conservatory at the California Institute of the Arts.[2]

Career

Cordova-Buckley made her acting debut in Mexican comedy-drama series Los simuladores (2008–2009). This was followed by supporting roles in numerous Spanish-language films, such as Sucedió en un día (2010) and Lluvia de Luna (2011). She earned her first major leading role in the drama film Ventanas al mar (2012), opposite veteran actors Charo López and Fernando Guillén.

Cordova-Buckley earned her first American acting role in the sports drama film McFarland, USA (2015), opposite Kevin Costner.[2] She almost quit acting before winning the role of Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez in the ABC superhero drama series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), gaining further recognition in the process.[3] During the series' fourth season, she headlined a 6-episode miniseries, Slingshot, which debuted online on December 13, 2016.[5] The series was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series.[6]

In 2017, she guest starred as attorney Julia Ramos in the A&E horror drama series Bates Motel, where she worked opposite Vera Farmiga and Freddie Highmore.[7] Also that year, she voiced the role of artist Frida Kahlo in the Disney-Pixar animated musical film Coco, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[4][8]

In 2018, Cordova-Buckley portrayed Det. Gavras in the crime thriller film Destroyer, opposite Nicole Kidman.

Personal life

Cordova-Buckley has been married to musician and actor Brian Buckley since 2011. Together, the couple reside in Los Angeles with their two dogs, Lorca and Bukowski.[2]

One of her inspirations and roles models was artist Frida Kahlo, whom she portrayed in Coco.[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Sucedió en un día	Natalia
2011	Lluvia de Luna	Martha
2011	Ella y el candidato	Andrea
2012	Ventanas al mar	Ana
2014	Yerbamala	Bárbara
2015	McFarland, USA	Señora Valles
2015	Vámonos	Del	Short film
2016	Icebox	Gabriela Fernandez	Short film
2017	Welcome Back	Carmen	Short film
2017	Coco	Frida Kahlo (voice)
2018	Destroyer	Det. Gavras

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008–2009	Los simuladores	Natalia	6 episodes
2008	Terminales	Rita	2 episodes
2010	Los minondo	Isabel	Main role; 10 episodes
2011	Bienes raíces	Olga	4 episodes
2016–2020	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez	Main role; 62 episodes
2016	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot		Lead role; 6 episodes
2017	Bates Motel	Julia Ramos	2 episodes
2021	Coyote	Paloma Zamora	3 episodes

References

1. Lovett, Jamie (February 16, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Casts Natalia Cordova-Buckley As Slingshot". ComicBook.com.
2. "Natalia Cordova-Buckley". ABC. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
3. Cavassuto, Maria (April 14, 2016). "International Star You Should Know: 'Agents of SHIELD's' Natalia Cordova-Buckley". Variety.
4. Tracy, Brianne (November 20, 2017). "Five Things to Know About Coco Star and Outspoken Mexican Actress Natalia Cordova-Buckley". People. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
5. Schick, Michal (December 28, 2016). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.': Natalia Cordova-Buckley talks 'Slingshot' and Yo-Yo's next adventure". Hypable. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
6. "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
7. Birnbaum, Debra (March 21, 2017). "'Agents of Shield' Star Natalia Cordova-Buckley Joins 'Bates Motel' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
8. "The 90th Academy Awards (2018) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2020.

External links

• Natalia Cordova-Buckley at IMDb