<Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> Tudor Aaron (b . 1984) Eva Leea Cabiria (b . 1999) Ana Isadora (b . 2003) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Parent (s) </Th> <Td> Usher Morgenstern (father) Sara Rapaport (mother) </Td> </Tr> <P> Maia Emilia Ninel Morgenstern (Romanian pronunciation: (ˈmaja ˈmorɡənʃtern) (listen); born 1 May 1962) is a Romanian film and stage actress, described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film". In the English - speaking world, she is probably best known for the role of Mary, mother of Jesus, in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ . In Romania, she has been nationally known since her 1992 role as Nela in Balanța, a film known in the United States as The Oak, set during the waning days of Communist Romania . </P> <P> Born in Bucharest, in a Jewish family, she graduated from the Film and Theatre Academy of Bucharest in 1985 . She then played at Teatrul Tineretului (Youth Theater) in Piatra Neamț until 1988, and at the Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat (State Jewish Theatre) in Bucharest 1988 - 1990 . From 1990--1998 she was a member of the company of the National Theatre in Bucharest, and since 1998 of Teatrul Bulandra, also in Bucharest; in addition, she continues to act at the Jewish State Theatre and other Bucharest theaters and elsewhere in Romania . Among her notable stage roles in recent years, in a Romanian - language production of The Blue Angel (Îngerul Albastru in Romanian) at Bucharest's Odeon Theater, in 2001 - 2 she played (to great critical acclaim) Lola Lola, the character made famous by Marlene Dietrich . At the same time, she was also playing the role of Kathleen Hogan in a Romanian - language production of Israel Horovitz's Park Your Car in Harvard Yard at the State Jewish Theater . </P>

Who played mary in the passion of christ