When we are first introduced to Felicia Montealegre in "Maestro," it is quickly explained that she has arrived in the United States from Chile to become a successful actress. Many would be quick to assume that, because she came from Chile, Montealegre is Chilean. However, she was actually born in Costa Rica to a native mother, Clemencia Montealegre Carazo, and an American father, Roy Elwood Cohn.
Born Felicia María Josefa de Jesús Cohn Montealegre, she remained in Costa Rica until her father relocated their family to Santiago, Chile, so he could take a leadership position at an American mining company. Along with her two sisters, Nancy and Madeleine, Felicia was raised in a bilingual household, speaking both English and Spanish.
"Maestro" also glances over Montealegre's journey to the United States. She knew from a young age that she would immigrate to North America, hoping to become an actress. However, her parents disapproved and instead had her study under family friend and accomplished pianist Claudio Arrau (he would go on to introduce her and Leonard Bernstein, which the film instead portrays as having been done by Leonard's sister, Shirley, portrayed by Sarah Silverman). Montealegre complied to appease her parents, but she had no intentions of becoming a pianist. She would enroll in drama school shortly after arriving in the United States, and make her Broadway debut just two years afterward.
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