Award-winning Spanish actress Pilar Bardem, mother of Javier Bardem, dies at 82

Spanish actress Pilar Bardem, the mother of Javier Bardem, has died at 82. Her son Carlos, also an actor, announced the sad news Saturday.

The award-winning actress and activist died Saturday at the Ruber Hospital in Madrid due to complications from lung disease not related to COVID-19, Deadline reported.

"We want to share the news that Pilar Bardem, our mother, our example, has died," Carlos tweeted in Spanish. "She departed in peace and without suffering, surrounded by the love of her family. We know the love and admiration many felt for her, both in Spain and beyond, for her work as an actress and as a fighter who always stood in solidarity. We appreciate with all our heart the love toward our mother. Thank you from her children, Carlos, Mónica, and Javier."

On Sunday, Carlos shared a photo with Javier and their sister, actress Mónica Bardem, with memorabilia of their mother.

"We bid farewell to my mom with a heart full of love. With tenderness and a smile," he wrote. "And with our soul overflowing with gratitude for the thousands and thousands of messages of affection, respect, and admiration for Pilar Bardem. Thank you for this wave of love."

One of Spain's most famous actresses, Pilar is best known for starring in the 1995 film Nadie hablará de nosotras cuando hayamos muerto (Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead), which garnered eight Goya Awards, Spain's highest honor recognizing cinematic achievement. She was nominated again in 2005 for Best Leading Actress in María querida. An activist, Pilar also worked to advance labor rights for actors and civil rights for women. In 2003, she publicly opposed the Spanish government's decision to send troops to Iraq.

Acclaimed actress and Javier's wife Penelope Cruz shared a lengthy tribute in Spanish, saying she "couldn't have dreamed of having a better mother-in-law." The two co-starred in films like Live Flesh and No News from God (also with Javier), as well as Entre rojas.

Antonio Banderas, who acted alongside Pilar in the 1990 film Contra el viento, also expressed his condolence. "Spanish theater is losing a great actress," he wrote in Spanish.

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