Learn Spanish (Spain): Ella es la mujer.

In most of Spain, the double 'll' in ella is pronounced like the English 'y' in 'yes' (so it sounds like 'EY-yah'). In some regions, you might hear it pronounced a bit stronger, almost like an English 'j', but the 'y' sound is standard and perfectly understood everywhere.

Why do we use la before mujer?

La means 'the' for feminine singular words. Even though mujer doesn't end in the typical feminine letter 'a', it means 'woman', so its grammatical gender is naturally feminine. Because of this, it must use the feminine article la instead of the masculine article el.

Could I just say es la mujer without the word ella?

Yes! In Spanish, the verb es already tells us we are talking about a third person. If it is already clear from the context that you are talking about a specific woman, you can drop ella and simply say es la mujer. You include ella if you need to be clear about who you mean, or if you want to add emphasis.

Why use es here instead of another form of the verb?

Es is the specific form of the verb ser (to be) that pairs with ella (she), él (he), and usted (formal you). If you were talking about yourself instead, you would have to change the verb to match the subject: yo soy la mujer (I am the woman).