Maria Cruickshank's Real Name: Maria Cruickshank Moreno

Quick answer: Maria Cruickshank's full name is Maria Cruickshank Moreno. Following Spanish naming custom, Cruickshank is her father's surname and Moreno is her mother's. She was born on November 12, 1989, in Oñati, Gipuzkoa, in Spain's Basque Country (Basque Actors Union (EAB); Wikipedia).

How Spanish naming works here

In Spain, people usually carry two surnames: first the father's, then the mother's. Cruickshank's father, Girald Cruickshank, is from Grenada in the Caribbean, and her mother is Basque, which is how a Scottish-origin surname ended up on a Basque TV star (Cineclub FAS). She works professionally as Maria Cruickshank.

Early life and training

As a child she competed on Basque public broadcaster EITB's children's singing contest Betimu and appeared on Betizu. She completed an arts baccalaureate in Arrasate-Mondragón. She trained in theater at Artebi in Bilbao and at the TAE performing arts workshops in Donostia/San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz, studied fine arts, and took further acting training in London and Los Angeles (Cineclub FAS).

Goenkale

Her breakout came in 2008 on Goenkale, the long-running Basque-language soap opera on ETB1. She played Itxaso for about seven years, until 2015, and starred in a Goenkale TV movie in 2013. She also co-hosted Goenkalez blai on ETB2 (EAB).

Film and television

• Negociador (Negotiator, 2014): her film debut, directed by Borja Cobeaga.
• Vis a vis (Locked Up, 2015): as Lis.
• Igelak (2016) and Villaviciosa de al lado (2016).
• Black Is Beltza (2018) and Black Is Beltza II: Ainhoa (2022): voice roles in Fermin Muguruza's animated films, including the lead, Ainhoa, in the sequel.
• Go!azen (2020–21), Detective Touré (2024) and Mari sorgin ehiztari (2025) (Afrikaldia; IMDb).

She also hosts events and is involved in gender-equality initiatives. She is a mother of three and works as a doula.