Elsa Pataky (born Elsa Lafuente Medianu, 18 July 1976) is a Spanish model and actress. She first gained attention for the lead role of Raquel Alonso in the Spanish teen drama Al salir de clase, then international recognition as Elena Neves in the Fast & Furious franchise. She has also appeared in films such as Snakes on a Plane and Giallo, and in 2024 played two roles in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Early life and career
Pataky was born in Madrid to a Spanish biochemist father and a Romanian publicist mother. She studied journalism at the Universidad CEU San Pablo while taking acting classes, and she is fluent in Spanish, Romanian, English, Italian, Portuguese and French. She was a member of the Madrid theatre company Teatro Cámara de Ángel Gutiérrez before leaving school to join a television series. Later co-productions with the United Kingdom and France introduced her to work in English and French.
Other work and personal life
Beyond acting, Pataky co-founded the skincare brand Purely Byron, which entered administration in March 2023. She has been married to the Australian actor Chris Hemsworth since 2010, and the couple have three children. In 2012 she won a ruling against the Spanish magazine Interviú, which had published topless photographs of her taken without consent.