Maia Emilia Ninel Morgenstern (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmaja ˈmorɡənʃtern] ; born 1 May 1962) is a Romanian film and stage actress. Internationally, she is best known for portraying the Blessed Virgin Mary in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. In Romania, she has been nationally known since her role as Nela in the 1992 film Balanța, known in the United States as The Oak, set during the waning days of Communist Romania. She received a star on the Romanian Walk of Fame in Bucharest on 1 May 2011. In 2007, she was described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film".