Alba González Villa (born October 27, 1986), known professionally as Alba Flores, is a Spanish actress. She is best known for her roles as Saray Vargas in the prison crime drama series Vis a Vis (2015–2019) and Nairobi in the heist series Money Heist (2017–2021).
Early life
Flores is the daughter of musician and composer Antonio Flores and Ana Villa, a theatrical producer.[1] Her family consists of Romani performers, musicians, and actors: She is the granddaughter of Lola Flores, known as "La Faraona" ("The Pharaoh"), niece of singers Lolita Flores and
Rosario Flores, and cousin of actress Elena Furiase.[2][3]
Her paternal grandfather, Antonio González[es] referred to as "El Pescaílla" was also a Spanish singer and guitarist, and is considered to be one of the fathers of Catalan Rumba. She is Romani.[4][5][6] Her father composed a song dedicated for her entitled "Alba". She was nine years old when her father died.[7]
Flores studied dramatic interpretation from the age of 13, with secondary training in piano performance. Her early roles on stage included Luna de miel en Hiroshima (Honeymoon in Hiroshima) (2005) and the Romani version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2007).[8]
She trained at the Corazza Acting Studio by the renowned acting coach Juan Carlos Corazza.[12] She participated in the studio's 2011 theater play, Comedia Y Sueno (Comedia and Dream, the most beautiful lie).[13]
From 2015 to 2019, she played Saray Vargas de Jesús, a Romani woman who initially faced a 5-year prison sentence for Assault in the prison crime drama series Vis a Vis (Locked Up). Considered a clever and thrilling breakout out hit by critics, the show gave Flores her first breakout role in television. For this, she received her first TV Award, a shared Onda Award for Best Female Performer in Fiction with the female cast of the series, a Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series Award from the Spanish Actors Union Awards, and several other nominations.[15][16][17][18] In 2017, Netflix bought Global streaming rights for the show. With a strong following, the show ran for a total of four seasons plus the spinoff fifth season Vis a vis: El Oasis (2020). Flores, who played an essential character on Vis a Vis, had a special guest appearance in the finale of El Oasis.
In 2016, she performed in the Spanish theatrical production of La Rosa Tatuada by Tennessee Williams.[19] In 2017, she played Políxena, the daughter of the King of Troy, in production of Troyanas, based on the tragedy written by Greek playwright Euripides about the Women of Troy after the end of Trojan War. It premiered on Mérida International Classical Theatre Festival. Flores was nominated for Best Supporting Actress Award in Spanish Actors Union Awards for her performance.[8]
2017–present: International recognition with La Casa de Papel
While working with Álex Pina in Vis a Vis, the producer asked her if she wanted to join his new show La Casa de Papel (Money Heist). She did not audition as Pina wrote a role for her as one of the bank robbers, nicknamed Nairobi, an expert in counterfeiting and forgery in charge of printing the money in Parts One and Two and overseeing the melting of gold in Parts Three and Four.[20] After the series was cancelled after its one-season run, Netflix acquired the global streaming rights in 2017 and ordered additional seasons. Since then, it gained worldwide recognition, becoming Netflix's most viewed non-English series. It received critical praise and won several awards including best drama series at the International Emmy Awards. Her role as Nairobi brought her international recognition as well as several acting accolades, including winning an Iris Award for Best Actress.[21][22]
In 2017, Flores performed in the musical play "Drac Pack" co-written by her Vis a Vis co-star and friend Najwa Nimri.[23][24] In 2020, she served as the Spanish narrator for the Netflix nature documentary Night on Earth.[25] In 2021, she performed in the Spanish theatrical production of La excepción y la regla by German Playwright Bertolt Brecht, for which she was nominated for Best Theatre Actress by Fotogramas de Plata.[26]
In March 2022, she was among 151 international feminists who signed the Feminist Resistance Against War: A Manifesto in solidarity with the Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance.[28][n. 1]
