Mariela Garriga is an actress, producer and screenwriter.  She was born and raised in Havana, Cuba where she initially dreamt of becoming an archaeologist. She is trilingual and speaks Spanish, Italian and English fluently. She holds Cuban, Italian and American citizenship. Mariela is currently shooting the next two installments of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE saga -DEAD RECKONING I and II under the direction of Christopher McQuarrie.

Mariela’s parents separated when she was two years old and for most of her childhood, she was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother. Growing up and seeing her mother’s sacrifices to provide and ensure they had food to eat made Mariela aware of life’s harshness. From an early age, she realized if you wanted to achieve something you had to work hard to get it. She grew up in the same house as her cousin Isandra who was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. Since Mariela learned to read and write at the age of 4, she was able to assist her disabled cousin with her schoolwork. She considers Isandra her hero and life inspiration.

At age 11, Garriga met a man whom she immediately knew would be her mother’s life companion. She encouraged her mother to meet him, the couple subsequently married that same year. They eventually had two children together. Mariela studied hard and participated in school tournaments which would enable her admission to the science boarding school in Cuba. It would allow her to apply to University to study archeology. When her mother unexpectedly fell ill and was unable to walk, Mariela took responsibility for the entire family and abandoned her dreams of archaeology.

Mariela began to work when she was 13, starring in several tv commercials, music videos and fashion shows. Shortly after, she was offered to work as a professional dancer at the Cuban Television Ballet. They gave her six months to demonstrate her work ethic, talent and worth to join the dance company. After a long and arduous training period, she passed the test and consequently juggled her dancing career with her high school studies and family duties. Mariela’s mother eventually recovered fully; from then on, she could focus more on her work. Many foreign companies wanted to hire her for international dancing shows, but she refused due to her young age and not wanting to leave her family.

In 2009, Mariela was scouted by a modeling agent. Due to the global economic crisis, she decided to accept and started working internationally. Soon afterward, she was working as a model in Milan. The cruel reality of the fashion world was traumatic, but she was determined to make it work for her and her family. She swiftly learned how to navigate the modeling world. She met Stefano Mongardi, a university student in Milan who stole her heart and whom she married a few years later.

In 2010, Mariela was called to audition as a lead for an Italian feature film. Even though she had never considered becoming an actress, the audition awakened her curiosity about acting. She visited the Michael Rodgers Acting Studio in Milan where Mariela fell in love with character interpretation and finally found the right path in her professional career. Her acting studies then took her to New York where she trained at Terry Schreiber and The Actors Studio. Since then, she’s been a professional working actress balancing roles between Italy, Mexico, Spain and the United States.

Mariela was recently seen in the Paramount+ series-biopic BOSÉ, where she plays the lead’s love interest, Giannina Facio. In addition to Mariela’s extensive work in LatAm and Europe, her US work includes recurring roles in emblematic TV series such as NCIS: LA, LAW & ORDER SUV, and NCIS; and co-lead roles in features such as NIGHTMARE CINEMA and BLOODLINE, opposite Sean William Scott. In 2019, she starred in the short film SOMBRA CITY, which earned her the Best Actress Award at the Queen Palm International Film Festival.

Last year, Mariela wrote and produced E.L.I Project, a short documentary to raise awareness against environmental crimes and endangered animals. She also founded her own production company, FACTUM FILMS and already has an impressive slate of projects including scripts that she has written herself.  Her mission with Factum is to produce stories that create social impact and build bridges that transcend cultures and borders.

Mariela is highly proactive. She drives her private and professional life with integrity and ethics. She’s currently based in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and their 2-year-old rescue dog Havana.

FILMOGRAPHY (ACTRESS)

FILMOGRAFIA (Producer)
2023 – The Empire of Havana (TV series, developing) | Dir. Gabriel Beristain | Vedado Films | USA
2022 – E.L.I. (documentary) | Dir. Gabriel Beristain | Factum Films | USA
2018 – Pebbles, Ripples and Waves: The Life and Times of Gordon Hunt (documentary) | Dir. Roger Bridges | Eleanor’s Boy Productions | USA