Martha Elba Higareda Cervantes (born August 24, 1983 in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico) is a Mexican actress, producer and screenwriter.
Daughter of an actress, she began acting on theater stages at a very early age, along with dancing jazz, flamenco, tap and folklore. In In 2002, she had her first major role in the Mexican box office hit movie Amar Te Duele as Renata. The film launched Martha's career giving her the nickname "The Mexican Sweetheart". She received Diosas de Plata (The Silver Goddess) award and the won the MTV Latino movie awards for "Favorite Actress" for her performance.
She made her debut in an American movie in 2007 with Borderland and she moved to Hollywood in 2008 to audition and study script writing. She went back to Mexico with three finished scripts and at the age of 25 she wrote and produced her first independent film in 2010, Te presento a Laura which was in the top ten films in box-office for 10 consecutive weeks.
In 2018 she played Kristin Ortega in the Netflix Sci-Fi / Cyberpunk series Altered Carbon, an adaptation of the Takeshi Kovacs book trilogy by written by Richard K. Morgan.
Selected Filmography
- Amar Te Duele (2002) as Renata
- El Sueno De Elias (2003) as Maria
- Casa De Los Babys (2003) as Celia
- Al Otro Lado (2004) as Erendira
- Sexo Amor Y Otras Perversiones (2006) as Maria
- Fuera Del Cielo (2006) as Elisa
- Asi Del Precipicio (2006) as Cristina
- Borderland (2007) as Valeria
- Charm School (2007) as Adela León
- Hasta El Viento Tiene Miedo (2007) as Claudia
- All Inclusive (2008) as Camila
- Street Kings (2008) as Grace Garcia
- Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010) as Ariella Martinez
- Sin Memoria (2010) as Monica
- Mentiras A Vista (2010) as Sofia Delgado
- Te Presento A Laura (2010) as Laura
- Mariachi Gringo (2011) as Lilia
- Malaventura (2011) as Mitzy
- Hello Herman (2012) as Isa Luz
- Get Married If You Can (2014) as Ana Paula
- McFarland, USA (2015) as Lupe
- Una Ultima Y Nos Vamos (2015) as Flor
- No Manches Frida (2016) as Lucy
- Vive Por Mi (2016) as Ana
- 3 Idiotas (2017) as Mariana
- Deadtectives (2018) as Abril
- No Manches Frida 2 (2019) as Lucy
- Enamorate (2003) as Celeste
- Gitanas (2004) as Young Jovanka Sanchez
- Las Juanas (2004 — 2005) as Juana Carolina
- Tiempo Final (2008) as Flor
- Carlos (2010) as Amparo
- CSI: Miami (2011) as Luisa Romero
- Hawaii Five-0 (2013) as Flora
- El Mariachi (2014) as Celeste Sandoval
- Royal Pains (2014) as Viviana Torres
- Altered Carbon (2018) as Kristin Ortega
- Queen of the South (2018) as Castel
- La Leyenda De La Nahuala (2007) as Xochitl
- Steven Universe (2017) as Topaz
- Marcianos vs. Mexicanos (2018) as Zafiro
This actress provides examples of:
- Billing Displacement: In Latin America she appears in most of the posters and publicity used in that region for Altered Carbon, especially in her native Mexico, over the main protagonist Takeshi Kovacs. This could be somewhat justified, as science fiction is considered a niche genre in that region.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's gorgeous and her characters tend to reflect it.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: She has dark hair and light skin.
- Spicy Latina: Part of her appeal, especially in her roles in American media.
- Star-Making Role: Her first major role in Amar Te Duele made her famous in Mexico.
- Romance on the Set: A short one with Keanu Reeves in Street Kings.
