Still from The Headless Woman by Lucrecia Martel
The Argentine actress María Onetto was found dead in her apartment in Buenos Aires, according to multiple reports by the local press. The causes of her death are unknown. A versatile theater, television, and cinema actress, she was best known to international audiences for starring in Lucrecia Martel’s 2008 acclaimed film The Headless Woman / La mujer sin cabeza, which was selected as one of the best Latin American films of the aughts according to a poll by Cinema Tropical.
Born August 18, 1966 in Buenos Aires, she studied Psychology while taking acting classes at the same time. Despite studying and later teaching acting, her professional debut came 13 years in theater. Her film debut was in the 2000 short film Lejanía by Leonora Kievsky, followed by the feature film Cuatro mujeres descalzas by Santiago Loza in 2005.
In 2008, she was cast in the main role of Martel’s The Headless Woman, where she starred as Verónica, a woman that hits something as she tries to answer her cell phone while driving down on a deserted road. After admitting to her husband, that she thinks she may have killed someone, all traces of Veronica's activities in the previous days begin to disappear. What ensues is a psychological exploration of an unfaithful wife whose unconscious battle with guilt begins to unravel not only her life but also her grip on reality.
The Headless Woman, which was produced by Pedro Almodóvar, premiered at Cannes’ official competition, and it played successfully at numerous film festivals, and securing international distribution. The film was included in a list of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century by the BBC, as well as one of the best films of the Argentine cinema in a poll organized last year with local film professionals.
Following the success of The Headless Woman, Onetto starred in Puzzle / Rompecabezas by Natalia Smirnoff, which premiered at the 2010 Berlinale’s Golden Bear competition. The film tells the story of a middle-aged housewife who suddenly finds she has a gift for assembling puzzles. The film had an American remake in 2018.
Onetto also participated in the 2014 international hit Wild Tales / Relatos salvajes by Damián Szifron, playing the role of Helena in the segment "The Proposal.” Other of her film credits include Lock Charmer / El cerrajero by Smirnoff, The Other / El otro by Ariel Rotter, and La vida después by Pablo Bardauil and Franco Verdoia.
