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Mabel Cadena

Mexican actress (born 1990)

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Mitzi Mabel Martínez Cadena (born 23 September 1990) is a Mexican actress known for starring in the 2020 films Dance of the 41 and La diosa del asfalto, as well as the 2019 television series Hernán. She made her Hollywood debut playing Namora in the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

01Early life and education

Mabel Cadena was born in Atizapán de Zaragoza on 23 September 1990, and grew up in Minatitlán, Veracruz. She studied for a licentiate in psychology at the Universidad Veracruzana. She began her acting training at the CasAzul Artes Escénicas Argos academy in Tlalnepantla de Baz.

02Career

After acting in some plays, Cadena shifted to television in 2012, playing the role of Adela Rosa Chávez in the HBO series Capadocia. Her TV career continued in productions such as Camelia la Texana (2014), El Señor de los Cielos (2014), Érase una vez (2017), Las Malcriadas (2017), El Vato (2017), Ingobernable (2017), Por la máscara (2018), La Bandida (2018), and Monarca (2019). Despite some initial misgivings, she learned to speak Nahuatl to play the role of Tecuelhuetzin in the 2019 series Hernán.

Just when I had the first rehearsal with the director, I panicked. I came home to cry, because it is not the same to act in a language that is yours; you master and you know it.

She ventured into cinema with The Eternal Feminine (2017), La diosa del asfalto (2020) by Julián Hernández, and Dance of the 41 (2020) by David Pablos. The latter gained her fame in Mexico when she portrayed Amada Díaz, stepdaughter of Porfirio Díaz. Among the short films in which she has appeared are Menage à trois (2015), Cuatro Minutos (2021), and Venganza póstuma (2022).

Cadena made her Hollywood debut in 2022 with the Marvel Studios film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the role of Namora, cousin of Namor. She will reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday (2026).

03Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
2015 Ménage à Trois Cris Short film
2016 The Eternal Feminine
2018 Dos veces tú Nurse
2020 La diosa del asfalto Ramira
Dance of the 41 Amada Díaz
2021 Cuatro Minutos Girl Short film
2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Namora
Venganza póstuma Short film
2025 Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip Lupe
2026 Avengers: Doomsday Namora Post-production

Television series

Year Title Role
2012 Rosa diamante La Caimana
Capadocia Adela Rosa Chávez
2014 Camelia la Texana Valeria
El Señor de los Cielos Mercedes
2017 Érase una vez Evelina
Las Malcriadas Juana Ortiz
El Vato Meche
Ingobernable Citlalli López
2018 Por la máscara Usnavy
La Bandida Pilar
2019 Hernán Doña Luisa / Tecuelhuetzin
Monarca Itzel
2021 Not My Fault: Mexico Julia
2022 Señorita 89 Nora
Los enviados Helena Flores
2023 Drag Race México Herself / Guest judge

04Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2021Ariel AwardBest Leading ActressDance of the 41Nominated
2022Ariel AwardBest Supporting ActressLa diosa del asfaltoNominated
Watch videos about Mabel CadenaExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Mabel Cadena, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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