Maria Soccor

Last updated
Maria Soccor
Occupation(s)Actor, Director, Producer
Years active1988–present

Maria Soccor is an American actor, director, and producer. Her acting credits include Another World (1998), Pizza My Heart (2005), K-Ville (2007), and NCIS: New Orleans (2015) as well as a number of short films and television films.

Contents

Biography

Career beginnings

Soccor got her start at the age of 13 modeling in print ads for various beauty and Fortune 500 companies. In her senior year of high school, in 1992, she won first place in the annual national America's Junior Miss scholarship pageant as a representative from Essex County, New Jersey. [1]

Acting

She studied acting in Orange, New Jersey at The Children's Matinee Workshop under Gwen Guthrie. She continued her acting studies under the late three-time Tony Award winner Uta Hagen before appearing on Broadway and in several Off-Broadway productions. [2]

One of her first big roles was in Club XII, MC Lyte's Off-Broadway hip-hop rendering of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night . [3] She returned to the New York stage in February 2019 to star in The Sandstorm, presented during the New York Theater Festival Winterfest.

In 2021, she starred as Aurora in the New Jersey production of Mannequin Diaries written by Brian Wiggins and directed by Tony Award winner Trazana Beverley. [4] In 2024, Soccor returned to Mannequin Diaries in the role she originated as the show was adapted off-broadway and performed at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination at the University of the West Indies in Saint Michael, Barbados. [5]

Directing, producing, and more

In addition to acting, Soccor began directing and producing documentaries in 2009. In 2016, she directed Lords of BSV , which won 13 awards across the world, including Best Director of a Feature Documentary at the Madrid International Film Festival. [6] In 2018, she wrote, directed, and acted in Kicks, which was a Cannes Film Festival entry and won her Best Short Film Director at the Hell's Kitchen NYC Festival. [7]

She is currently in production on Tillie, [8] Freestyle Music: The Legacy, [9] [10] and Sybil in Her Own Words. [11]

In 2015, Soccor created a comic series called SPEAR, illustrated by artist Rolo Ledesma. It launched in October that year at New York Comic Con. [3] [12]

She is a member of the Film Fatales, Alliance of Women Directors, and New York Women in Film & Television organizations. [13]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998 Rounders Atlantic City Call Girl
1999Behind WallsJosieShort
2004 The Cookout Young Nettie
2004CoalitionAlex
2005The Signs of the CrossLourdes
2005 Shadowboxer Clayton's Girlfriend
2005Rose Woes and Joe'sEileen Kenna
2006 Last Request Fran
2007Mattie Fresno and the Holoflux UniverseGail
2008The Big Shot-CallerVeronica Colucci
2008Cash RulesAriaDirect-to-video
2009The JacketCarolinaShort
2009The Don of 42nd StreetAngie
2014The Zombie's DaughterMaraShort
2014Jersey JusticeFelix Romeo
2015The ExpressionlessDianaShort
2017Light WithheldMarieShort
2018KicksGiselaShort, also wrote and directed
2020Nick and NickyBrandy
2025Catch the WindMeganAlso executive producer

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998 Another World Caroline6 episodes
2001KitchenDamaTelevision film (PBS)
2003 Undefeated Tropicana HostessTelevision film (HBO)
2004 Miracle Run Amy / Medical StudentTelevision film (Lifetime Television)
2005 Pizza My Heart BarkerTelevision film (ABC Family)
2007 K-Ville Laurencia LeonEpisodes: "Cobb's Web", "Bedfellows"
2015 NCIS: New Orleans WifeEpisodes: "Touched by the Sun", "Hail to The Chief"
2019 Bronx SIU Mayor MolinaEpisodes: "We Are SIU", "I Do"
2021The Sync ReportHerselfVoice role
2022 Matt Rogers: Have You Heard of Christmas? MariahTV special

Music videos

YearTitleArtistRoleNotes
2009"Todo Eso E' Tuyo" Magic Juan (featuring Doug E. Fresh)

References

  1. "Award-Winning Producers and Directors You Should Know: Maria Soccor". Influential People Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  2. "The Professional and Personal life of Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  3. 1 2 "THROUGH THE LENS WITH MARIA SOCCOR". Soulciti. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. "Send in the Mannequins". TAPintoElizabeth. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  5. @mannequindiaries246; (30 August 2024). "Don't miss the captivating @iammariasoccor as she shares insights on the highly anticipated debut of 'Mannequin Diaries,' premiering tonight in Barbados" via Instagram.
  6. "Best Director of a Feature Documentary 2015". Madrid International Film Festival. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  7. "Cannes Short Film Corner 18 - Kicks". We Are Moving Stories. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  8. "Past Shows: Maria Soccor". 2 Sense Music. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  9. "Award-Winning Director Maria Soccor Begins Production on 'Freestyle Music: The Legacy' Documentary Featuring Latin Freestyle Stars". Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  10. "A documentary featuring Latin freestyle starts production". Euronews Week. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  11. "IMDb.com". IMDb. Retrieved 2022-09-25.
  12. "Watch: Maria Soccor's Multiple Award-Winning 'Lords of BSV' Debuts Online". Shadow and Act. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  13. "AWD: Maria Soccor". Alliance of Women Directors. Retrieved 2023-10-20.