1975, Madrid
Born in Madrid to a British mother and ‘Gaditano’ father, Leanor’s first years were driven by her desire to become a ballerina. When she was 8-years-old she began studying classical ballet but her dreams were cut short by an injury to her knee. This led her to change into the field of acting where she took her first steps in amateur theatre in various cultural centres. In 1993 her first break in cinema arrived with Pablo Llorca’s Jardin colgantes.
After this, Leanor moved to London to train at the Actor’s Centre, taking advantage of the fact that she is a native English speaker. On her return to Spain, and after performances in various television series, Leanor consolidated her place in the film industry by gaining a Goya nomination for Best Actress in Antonio Mercero’s, La hora de los valientes (1998). She would go on to work alongside Cayetana Guillén Cuervo in the series, Raquel busca su sitio and would take the lead role in Bigas Luna’s Sound of the sea (2001). In 2002 she featured in Daniel Fejerman and Inés París’s comedy, My mother likes women, with a leading role that saw her nominated again for a Goya Award. For this same part she was awarded the Fotogramas de Plata for Best Actress. In the same year Pedro Almodóvar released Talk to her, a film that contributed to her growing prestige and in which she took the part of a Ballarina in a coma.
Later she would star in numerous films, including: Isabel Coixet’s My life without me; Cesc Gay’s In the city; Patrick Alessadrin’s French comedy, Mauvais esprit; Joaquín Oristrell’s Unconscious; Manuel Huerga’s Salvador; Glenio Bonder’s Belle du seigneur; Alex de la Iglesias’s The Oxford Murders; and Alessandro Baricco’s Lezione 21 (2007).
Between 2008 and 2012 the actress films Andrucha Waddington’s The outlaw, Dark impilse directed by Mariano Barroso and Joan Carr-Wiggin’s If I were you.
In 2013 repeats shooting with Cesc Gay in the movie A gun in each hand.
In 2016 Leonor stars in the Antena 3 series Pulsaciones with Pablo Derqui. She also performs in the film Muse by Jaume Balagueró. In 2018 she joins the Telecinco serie Vivir sin permiso starring José Coronado and Álex González. In 2019, she filmed the series Nasdrovia for Movistar+ and the series La templanza for Prime Video. Her most recent works include the films No mires a los ojos by Félix Viscarret and Chinas by Arantxa Echevarria, as well as the TNT series No me gusta conducir. In the summer of 2023, she films the third season of the series The Mallorca Files for BBC One.
Her upcoming project is the feature film Anatema by Jimina Sabadú, in which Leonor will star alongside Pablo Derqui.
Alongside her cinematographic career, Leonor Watling has also triunfed as a singer/songwriter in the band Marlango.


MOVIES
ANATEMA · Dir. Jimina Sabadú
CHINAS · Dir. Arantxa Echavarria
NO MIRES A LOS OJOS · Dir. Félix Viscarret
MUSE · Dir. Jaume Balagueró
CLAVIUS · Dir. Kevin Reynols
MI OTRO YO · Dir. Isabel Coixet
AMOR EN SU PUNTO · Dir. Dominic Harari, Teresa Pelegri
UNA PISTOLA EN CADA MANO · Dir. Cesc Gay
IF I WERE YOU · Dir. Joan Carr · Wiggin
LO MEJOR DE EVA · Dir. Mariano Barroso
LOPE · Dir. Andrucha Waddington
VIAJE MAGICO A AFRICA · Dir. Jordi Llompart
LEZIONE 21 · Dir. Alessandro Baricco
LOS CRÍMENES DE OXFORD · Dir. Alex de la Iglesia
TERESA, EL CUERPO DE CRISTO · Dir. Ray Loriga
LA HABITACIÓN DEL NIÑO · Dir. Alex de la Iglesia
SALVADOR · Dir. Manuel Huerga
PARIS, JE T’AIME · Dir. Olivier Assayas
TIRANTE EL BLANCO · Dir. Vicente Aranda
MALAS TEMPORADAS · Dir. Manuel Martin Cuenca
LA VIDA SECRETA DE LAS PALABRAS · Dir. Isabel Coixet
INCONSCIENTES · Dir. Joaquín Oristrell
CRÓNICAS · Dir. Sebastián Cordero
LA MALA EDUCACIÓN · Dir. Pedro Almodovar
MALA LECHE · Dir. Patrick Alessandrin
EN LA CIUDAD · Dir. Cesc Gay
MI VIDA SIN MÍ · Dir. Isabel Coixet
DESEO · Dir. Gerardo Vera
HABLE CON ELLA · Dir. Pedro Almodóvar
A MI MADRE LE GUSTAN LAS MUJERES · Dir. Daniela Féjerman
SON DE MAR · Dir. Bigas Luna
LA ESPALDA DE DIOS · Dir. Pablo Llorca
EL FIGURANTE · Dir. Rómulo Aguillaume
NO RESPIRES, EL AMOR ESTA EN EL AIRE · Dir. Joan Potau
THE LONG KILL: LA JUSTICIA DE LOS FORAJIDOS · Dir. Bill Corcoran
LA HORA DE LOS VALIENTES · Dir. Antonio Mercero
TODAS HIEREN · Dir. Pablo Llorca
LA PRIMERA NOCHE DE MI VIDA · Dir. Miguel Albaladejo
GRANDES OCASIONES · Dir. Felipe Vega
JARDINES COLGANTES · Dir. Pablo Llorca
SHORT FILMS
MI HERMANO JUAN · Dir. Cristina Martín Barcelona & María José Martín Barcelona
TÓCATE · Dir. Eduardo Chapero-Jackson
LA CAÑADA DE LOS INGLESES · Dir. Víctor Matellano
LOS SUEÑOS DE ULMA · Dir. Rómulo Aguillaume & Leonor Watling
RUIDO · Dir. Diego Postigo
EL ELEFANTE DEL REY · Dir. Víctor García León
EL FIGURANTE · Dir. Rómulo Aguillaume
LLOMBAI · Dir. Verónica Cerdán Molina
EL NACIMIENTO DE UN IMPERIO · Dir. José María Borrell
SUEÑOS DE SAL · Dir. Gloria Núñez
UN SOLO DE CELLO · Dir. Daniel Cebrián
TELEVISION
THE MALLORCA FILES · BBC One
NO ME GUSTA CONDUCIR · Movistar + / HBO Max
BESOS AL AIRE · Disney +
LA TEMPLANZA · Prime Video
NASDROVIA · Movistar+
VIVIR SIN PERMISO · Netflix
ASESINATO EN LA UNIVERSIDAD · TVE
PULSACIONES · ATRESPlayer / Prime Video
RAQUEL BUSCA SU SITIO · RTVE Play
PETRA DELICADO · Telecinco
QUERIDO MAESTRO · Telecinco
HERMANOS DE LECHE · ATRESPlayer
FARMACIA DE GUARDIA · ATRESPlayer
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Iris Awards: Television Actress · PULSACIONES
Circle of Film Writers: Best Actress, Nominee · LOPE
Silver Frames Awards: Best Film Actress, Nominee · MALAS TEMPORADAS
Actors Union: Best Supporting Film Actress · MI VIDA SIN MÍ
Circle of Film Writers: Best Supporting Actress · MI VIDA SIN MÍ · EN LA CIUDAD
Silver Frames Awards: Best Film Actress · A MI MADRE LE GUSTAN LAS MUJERES
Goya Awards: Best Female Leading Performance, Nominee · A MI MADRE LE GUSTAN LAS MUJERES
Actors Union: Best Film Actress, Nominee · A MI MADRE LE GUSTAN LAS MUJERES
Circle of Film Writers: Lead Actress, Nominee · A MI MADRE LE GUSTAN LAS MUJERES
Cartagena Film Festival: Best Actress · A MI MADRE LE GUSTAN LAS MUJERES
Sant Jordi Awards: Best Spanish Actress · LA HORA DE LOS VALIENTES · LA PRIMERA NOCHE DE MI VIDA · TODAS HIEREN
Goya Awards: Best Female Leading Performance, Nominee · LA HORA DE LOS VALIENTES
TRAINING
Acting · The Actors’ Center
LANGUAGES
Spanish, English