Marianela Núñez (born 23 March 1982) is an Argentine-British ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, London. Early life Marianela Núñez was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has three brothers, all older than she is. Her mother sent her to ballet classes when she was three. At first, she took dance classes at her teacher's garage. At age five, Núñez decided to focus on ballet. She entered Teatro Colón Ballet School at age six. Career At age 14, halfway through her training, Colon Theater Ballet's lead Maximiliano Guerra chose Núñez to dance with him, and the company selected Núñez to join the company. She danced with the company in both Buenos Aires and on tour, and danced with the company's lead in various roles. In 1997, at age 15, she auditioned for The Royal Ballet when the company was on tour in Los Angeles, even though she didn't speak English. She was offered a contract, but UK employment law prevented her from working in the UK until age 16. She attended The Royal Ballet School instead, and was guaranteed she would be offered a contract the following year. She was promoted to First Soloist, the second highest rank of the company, in 2000. In 2001, Núñez replaced the injured Leanne Benjamin as Kitri in Don Quixote, with Carlos Acosta as Basilio. She was promoted to principal dancer the following year. She has danced leading roles in both classical and contemporary works by choreographers including Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, Kenneth MacMillan, Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon. In 2013, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for Viscera, Aeternum and 'Diana and Actaeon' from Metamorphosis: Titian 2012. In 2018, following a performance of Giselle, Núñez celebrated her 20th anniversary at The Royal Ballet. Artistic director Kevin O'Hare declared her "one of the greats of her generation". Present were Lady Sarah Chatto, Peter Wright, Monica Mason, and The Argentine ambassador to the UK Renato Carlos Sersale di Cerisano. Outside the Royal Ballet, Núñez has made many guest appearances worldwide, including in Austria, U.S., Italy, Argentina and Australia. She has performed in La Scala Theatre Ballet many times, and is a frequent collaborator of Roberto Bolle. She has also returned to Colon Theater Ballet, where her career started. Reviews On Don Quixote, The Guardian wrote she is "a brilliant exponent of rubato dancing, stretching chosen