Karla Sofía Gascón before transition: The Career Most People Missed

You might know her as the fierce, history-making star of Emilia Pérez who swept the Cannes Film Festival and snagged an Oscar nomination in 2025. But honestly? Karla Sofía Gascón didn’t just drop out of the sky. Before she became the first trans woman to reach these heights, she spent decades grinding in an industry that saw her very differently.

She was everywhere.

For over twenty years, the actor known then as Juan Carlos Gascón was a staple of Spanish and Mexican television. We’re talking about a career that started in the mid-90s. It wasn’t some "hidden" past; it was a loud, prolific run in the world of high-drama telenovelas and blockbuster comedies.

The Madrid Beginnings and the "Puppet" Phase

Gascón was born in 1972 in Alcobendas, Spain. If you think her acting chops in Emilia Pérez were a fluke, consider this: she’s been at it since she was 16. After getting a degree from ECAM (the School of Cinematography and Audiovisual of the Community of Madrid), she took the jobs most young actors do—the ones that pay the rent but don't exactly scream "future icon."

Did you know she worked in London on a BBC series for Spanish learners? Or that she voiced puppets in Milan? One of those puppets was actually Gustavo the Frog (the Italian version of Kermit). It's a wild mental image, but it shows the range she was building.

Her TV debut came in 1995 with a guest spot on Los ladrones van a la oficina. From there, she hit the "soap opera" circuit in Spain with shows like El súper and Calle nueva. She was the reliable, handsome lead or the charming supporting character. But Spain felt a bit small.

📖 Related: Alfonso Cuarón: Why the Harry Potter 3 Director Changed the Wizarding World Forever

Moving to Mexico: The Telenovela Years

In 2009, director Julián Pastor convinced Gascón to move to Mexico. It was a gamble. It paid off.

Mexico basically adopted her. She landed the role of Branko in Corazón salvaje, playing a gypsy character that she actually had to fight for because producers didn't think she fit the look. It was a massive hit. Suddenly, she was the go-to guy for intense, often morally grey characters in the world of Televisa and Telemundo.

Check out this run:

• Llena de amor (2010): Playing Jorge Jauma.
• Nosotros los Nobles (2013): This is the big one. She played Peter Pintado, the gold-digging, fake-Spanish boyfriend of Karla Souza’s character. It’s one of the highest-grossing Mexican films ever.
• El Señor de los Cielos (2014): She played Iñaki Izarrieta, a "ruthless" associate of the main drug lord.

It’s ironic, isn't it? Long before she played the cartel boss Emilia Pérez, she was already deep in the world of "narcoseries" as Iñaki. She was playing these hyper-masculine, often violent roles while internally grappling with who she really was.

The Over-Masculinization Trap

Gascón has been pretty open about this recently. She’s mentioned that growing up in Spain near the end of a dictatorship meant that "just wearing a pink jumper" could get you in trouble. To survive, and to succeed in the industry, she leaned into a specific kind of masculinity.

👉 See also: Why the Cast of Hold Your Breath 2024 Makes This Dust Bowl Horror Actually Work

She calls it "over-masculinization."

You can see it in her early roles—the ruggedness, the sharp suits, the "alpha" energy of Iñaki Izarrieta. It was a performance on top of a performance. When she eventually transitioned at age 46 in 2018, she didn't just change her life; she risked a career she’d spent 25 years building.

She even wrote a book about it called Karsia. Una historia extraordinaria. It was a memoir, but it was also her public "coming out." She thought she’d never work again. Honestly, most people in the industry probably thought the same. It took nearly four years to land a major role again, which eventually happened with the Rebelde reboot on Netflix.

Why Karla Sofía Gascón before transition matters now

Looking back at her work as Carlos Gascón isn't about "deadnaming" or dwelling on the past. It’s about context. When Jacques Audiard was looking for someone to play both the before-and-after versions of a drug lord in Emilia Pérez, he didn't just need a trans actress. He needed an actor with the technical skill to play a hardened criminal and a woman finding her soul.

Gascón had that skill because she’d already lived it on screen for two decades.

✨ Don't miss: Is Steven Weber Leaving Chicago Med? What Really Happened With Dean Archer

She used her old roles as research. For the masculine "Manitas" part of the film, she drew from Marlon Brando and even the Spanish-dubbed version of Rambo. She wasn't just "playing a man"—she was playing the idea of a man she had been forced to project for years.

Lessons from a Two-Part Career

If you’re following Gascón’s journey, there are a few things to take away from her pre-transition era:

1. Professionalism pays off. She didn't just "get lucky" with Emilia Pérez. She had twenty years of technical experience in high-pressure environments like daily soap operas.
2. Identity is complex. Her ability to play both sides of the character in her breakout film came from a deep, personal understanding of how gender is performed in society.
3. It’s never too late. Transitioning at 46 and then reaching global superstardom at 52 is a massive middle finger to the "youth-obsessed" Hollywood narrative.

To really appreciate where she is now, you have to look at the work she put in when the world didn't know her name. From voicing puppets in Italy to playing the "gold-digger" in Mexico's biggest comedy, Karla Sofía Gascón has always been a powerhouse. She just finally found the role that let her be herself.

If you want to see her early work, look for Nosotros los Nobles on streaming services. It’s a great example of her comedic timing before the world knew her as the dramatic force she is today. You can also track down her memoir if you can find a Spanish copy—it’s the rawest account of that period in her life.

Next Steps for Deep Diving:

• Watch Nosotros los Nobles (2013) to see her most famous pre-transition role.
• Look for her episodes in El Señor de los Cielos (Season 2) for her work in the narco-drama genre.
• Read her 2018 book Karsia. Una historia extraordinaria for the personal narrative of her transition.