Elsa Pataky was born Elsa Lafuente Medianu in Madrid, Spain. Her mother, Cristina Pataky Medianu, is a publicist of Romanian and Hungarian ancestry, and her father, José Francisco Lafuente, is a Spanish biochemist. She attended the Universidad de San Pablo CEU where she studied journalism and began to take an interest in acting. She joined Teatro Cámara de Ángel Gutiérrez, a theater company in Madrid, and left college when she was offered a role in the long-running Spanish TV series Al salir de clase (1997).

More Spanish TV roles followed, alongside a growing career in movies, first in Spain but increasingly internationally.

She met her husband, Chris Hemsworth, through the management company that represents them both, ROAR.

Chris Hemsworth (26 December 2010 - present) (3 children)

Trivia

Her mother is of Hungarian and Romanian descent and her father is Spanish.
Her mother's surname Pataky is Hungarian and means "someone('s family) from a town called Patak (which means creek)". The 'y' at the end indicates a noble family.
She enjoys roller blading, snowboarding, and riding horses.
Can speak Spanish, French, English, Romanian and Italian.
Is one of the young Spanish actors that became popular for her role in Al salir de clase (1997).

[on starting a family with husband Chris Hemsworth]: Having the person that you love by your side and starting a family with them is the best thing that can happen to you in this life. You can't ask for more.
I've always thought it's really important to know several languages and how much it can open doors to discover new cultures, experiences and communication with other countries. I'm lucky because my mum is from another country, so I heard two languages while I was growing up, but I was also obsessed with traveling all over the world to learn other languages, work in other places and speak with people from other countries.
Funnily enough, I'm actually a very disorganized person! However, this changed completely when I had children. Although I'm quite absent-minded, I run everything like clockwork when it comes to the children, with no mistakes. I think about everything and I'm super organized. Having children really changes your life!