Maria Canals-Barrera

Maria Canals-Barrera, born Maria Pilar Canals on September 28, 1966, in Miami, Florida, began her career in theater in Miami and Los Angeles. Of Cuban and Catalan descent, she graduated from Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School and received a theatrical scholarship to the University of Miami. Her early work included starring as Amanda in a 1990 production of “The Glass Menagerie” and appearing in Brian Michael Riley’s “A Cradle of Sparrows” in 1992. She also took on roles in the Telemundo telenovela “Marielena” and had a recurring part in the Fox comedy-drama “Key West.” Throughout the 1990s, Canals-Barrera made guest appearances in various television series such as “21 Jump Street,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Caroline in the City.” Her first regular television role was as Carmen Cruz in the short-lived NBC sitcom “The Tony Danza Show” in 1997.

Canals-Barrera gained significant recognition for her voice work in animated series, portraying Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol in “Justice League” (2001–2004) and “Justice League Unlimited” (2005–2006). She also voiced news reporter Shelly Sandoval in “Static Shock” and Paulina in “Danny Phantom,” the title character’s high school crush. Her work extended to video games, including voicing Mercedes “Meche” Colomar in “Grim Fandango” (1998) and She-Hulk in “Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds” (2011). In live-action, she had supporting roles in films such as “America’s Sweethearts” (2001), “The Master of Disguise” (2002), and “Imagining Argentina” (2003).

Her career continued with prominent roles in Disney productions. From 2007 to 2012, Canals-Barrera co-starred as Theresa Russo, the mother of the lead character, in the Disney Channel series “Wizards of Waverly Place,” and reprised her role in “Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie” (2009). She also played Connie Torres in the Disney Channel Original Movies “Camp Rock” (2008) and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” (2010). More recently, she joined the cast of the ABC comedy series “Cristela” (2014–2015) as Daniela Gonzalez and had a recurring role as Sunset Boulevardez in “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” (2022–present). Her film credits also include “Larry Crowne” (2011) and “God’s Not Dead 2” (2016). She is married to actor David Barrera, with whom she has two daughters.