Biography

Maria del Mar del Castillo (who works as an actress under the name Maria del Mar) is a Canadian television actress, who has starred in series such as Street Legal, Tek War, Relativity, Mercy Point, Terminal City and Blue Murder. She was born in Madrid, Spain in 1964, and grew up in Ottawa, Ontario. She is sometimes mistakenly credited with having been the lead singer of the 1980s Canadian goth rock band National Velvet, which was in fact fronted by a different Maria del Mar. Her performance in A Touch of Grey (2009) earned her a Canadian Comedy Award in the 13th ceremony for the best female performance in a feature and nominated in 2001 to Gemini Award in the 16th edition for best performance by an actress in a continuing leading dramatic role for Blue Murder. Maria is the 2024 recipient of the ACTRA Award of Excellence, voted by her peers for her years of volunteerism with the union. She’s a two-term ACTRA Toronto Councillor, a former chair of the ACTRA Awards Committee and an alternate at the National Council table.