Emma Vilarasau Tomás studied acting at Barcelona Provincial Council’s Institut del Teatre from 1977 to 1980, and later completed her training through workshops with John Strasberg and Carlos Gandolfo, as well as studies at Philippe Gaulier’s school in Paris in 1985.

Her stage career spans more than fifty performances since 1982, including productions such as The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, The Infanticide, A Streetcar Named Desire, Boston Marriage, August: Osage County, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Barcelona, Happy Days, The Mother, Medea, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, The Swallow, All My Sons, and Lali Symon, among others.

She became a household name on television thanks to major series such as Secrets de família, Nissaga de poder, Majoria absoluta and Ventdelplà, and more recently the series Ser o no ser, produced by Playz for RTVE.

On the big screen, she has appeared in films including Els sense nom, Para que no me olvides, La fossa and Casa en flames.

Among the awards she has received are three Barcelona Theatre Critics’ Awards in 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1998–99; five Butaca Awards in 1998, 2000, 2013, 2022 and 2023; the Sant Jordi Cinema Award in 2005; the Ciutat de Sant Cugat Extraordinary Award in 2008; the Best Actress Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2013; the Max Award for Best Theatre Actress in 2014; the Creu de Sant Jordi from the Government of Catalonia in 2015; the National Culture Award in 2017; and the Días de Cine, Gaudí and Feroz awards in 2025 for Best Leading Actress for Casa en flames.