Why Maria Bakalova is so much more than just the girl from 'Borat'

There’s no denying that Maria Bakalova’s role in Borat's Subsequent Moviefilm has catapulted the 24-year-old Bulgarian-born actress to international stardom. Her performance as Borat's daughter Tutar Sagdiyev has earned Bakalova—who is Los Angeles-based—a plethora of award nominations—including an Academy Award nom for Best Supporting Actress.

But upon some Borat-style investigation of our own, we discovered that Bakalova brings a lot more to the table than only Borat. Here are five things about the first-ever Bulgarian actress nominated for an Oscar that you need to know.

She has partnered with a production company to promote Balkan talent

Recently spotlighted as the next generation of talent in Forbes Europe’s Forbes Under 30 list, Bakalova has been advocating for the normalization of foreign accents on-screen and shedding negative stereotypes. In 2021, Bakalova became a partner in JupiterLights Pictures alongside founder and fellow Bulgarian actor, Julian Kostov. The production company—which operates in Bulgaria, the U.K. and the U.S.—represents the highest level talent from the Balkans and the rest of the world and actively strives for authenticity in casting.

She’s an accomplished and worldly reader

In a recent interview with Bustle, Bakalova explained that she didn’t grow up watching movies like Borat. Instead, her childhood was spent reading some of the world's greatest writers of all time. She turned to literature as an escape, Bakalova told the outlet. “I was a huge bookworm. I was obsessed with Gabriel García Márquez, [Jorge Luis] Borges’ magical realism, and a lot of Russian literature.” The Russian great writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a favourite.

Interestingly, Bakalova’s first tattoo was a quote from Mikhail Bulgakov’s (another great Russian writer) satire, The Master and Margarita. “I wanted to disappear from this reality and go somewhere else [like] the moon or [Márquez’s fictional setting of] Macondo. That’s how acting came along.”

She has pledged to help end the stigma around menstrual periods

In honour of International Women’s Day, Bakalova announced on Instagram that she was joining with a global community of menstrual equity advocates to help break societal taboos surrounding periods. She said that the “Moonblood Fertility Dance stunt” in the Borat 2 film showed her that there were many people who supported Tutar’s performance.

“The culture is changing and it’s inspiring to know we have allies,” she said. “[But] we have more work to do in educating to destigmatize periods.” Bakalova is a supporter of @thepadprioject—an non-profit whose mission is to create and cultivate local and global partnerships to end period stigma and empower women. The organization created the Oscar-winning Netflix documentary, Period. End of Sentence.

She’s fashion-forward

Bakalova is nowhere near a novice when it comes to the art of fashion, according to Vogue. “I’ve always loved fashion and clothes—before this, I was very into vintage shopping,” Bakalova said in an interview with the outlet. The actress used to have a very punk-inspired fashion style, but with time, she became more attracted to classic pieces that had an edge.

The French fashion label, Dior was a natural fit: when she was invited to sit in the front row of the brand’s virtual spring/summer 2021 couture fashion show, Bakalova didn’t have to think twice about it. “The house of Dior has always been iconic and beautiful,” she said. Since doing the press tour for the film, she says she has been learning about the power of power-dressing. “I’m learning more about myself through it and how it can speak with me,” she said. 

She's used her platform to shed light on the protests in Bulgaria

In July 2020, thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets of Sofia (the country’s capital) to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his government amid accusations of corruption. Bakalova made sure to make her solidarity with her native country’s protesters known: “[I’m] not even in Bulgaria, [but] I’m with you, BULGARIANS!” she declared in a post on Instagram last summer.

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