Ana de Armas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ana de Armas
De Armas in 2024
Born	Ana Celia de Armas Caso (1988-04-30) 30 April 1988 (age 37) Havana, Cuba
Citizenship	Cuba Spain
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2006–present
Spouse(s)	Marc Clotet ​ ​ (m. 2011; div. 2013)​

Ana Celia de Armas Caso (born on April 30, 1988) is a talented actress from Cuba and Spain. She started her acting journey in Cuba with a main role in the movie Una rosa de Francia (2006). When she was 18, she moved to Madrid, Spain. There, she became famous for starring in the popular TV show El Internado (2007–2010).

Later, Ana de Armas moved to Los Angeles to act in English-speaking films. She appeared in the thriller Knock Knock (2015) and the comedy-crime film War Dogs (2016). She became very well-known for playing a computer-generated friend in the science fiction movie Blade Runner 2049 (2017). She also played a nurse in the mystery film Knives Out (2019), which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award.

Her career continued to grow with roles like Paloma, a Bond girl, in the James Bond film No Time to Die (2021). She also played the famous actress Marilyn Monroe in the movie Blonde (2022). For her role as Marilyn Monroe, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. This made her the first Cuban actress to receive such an honor.

Early Life and Acting Dreams

Ana de Armas was born in Havana, Cuba. She grew up in a smaller city called Santa Cruz del Norte. Her grandparents on her mother's side came to Cuba from northern Spain. Her father, Ramón, had many different jobs, including a bank manager and a teacher. Her mother, Ana, worked in human resources for the Ministry of Education.

Ana de Armas grew up during a time in Cuba called the "Special Period." This meant there were often shortages of food, fuel, and electricity. However, she remembers her childhood as a happy one. During her younger years, she did not have internet access. She knew little about popular culture from outside Cuba. She was allowed to watch "20 minutes of cartoons on Saturday and the Sunday movie matinee." Her family did not own a video or DVD player. She watched Hollywood movies at her neighbor's house.

She loved to practice acting in front of a mirror. She decided she wanted to be an actress when she was 12 years old. In 2002, at age 14, she got into Havana's National Theatre of Cuba drama school. The course was very strict. She sometimes had to hitchhike to get to classes. While studying, she acted in three movies. She left the four-year program before finishing her final project. This was because Cuban graduates could not leave the country without working for the community for three years. When she was 18, she used her Spanish citizenship, which she got through her grandparents. She then moved to Madrid to start her acting career.

Ana's Acting Journey

Starting Out in Spanish Films (2006–2013)

De Armas (number 4 in the photo) with the cast of El Internado in 2008

In Cuba, Ana de Armas got a main role in the romantic movie Una rosa de Francia (2006). The director chose her after meeting her at a birthday party. She was only sixteen at the time. She traveled to Spain to promote the film. There, she met Juan Lanja, who later became her agent in Spain. She also acted in El edén perdido (2007) and Madrigal (2007).

At 18, de Armas moved to Madrid. Just two weeks after arriving, she met a casting director who had seen her in Una rosa de Francia. Two months later, she was cast as Carolina in the TV show El Internado. She starred in this drama for six seasons, from 2007 to 2010. The show was set in a boarding school and became very popular. It made Ana de Armas a celebrity in Spain. Even though El Internado was popular, she felt she was always offered similar young roles. She asked to leave the show before its final season.

After spending a few months in New York City to learn English, de Armas went back to Spain. She starred in 17 episodes of the historical drama Hispania (2010–2011). She also appeared in horror films like El callejón (2011) and Anabel (2015). During a time when she didn't have much acting work, she felt worried about her career.

Moving to Hollywood and Becoming Famous (2014–2020)

With encouragement from her new Hollywood agent, Ana de Armas decided to move to Los Angeles. When she arrived in 2014, she had to start her career all over again. She spoke very little English. During her first auditions, she often didn't understand what she was saying. She spent four months studying English full-time. She wanted to be able to play many different types of characters, not just those written for Latina actresses.

De Armas had a supporting role in War Dogs (2016). She played the wife of an arms dealer. She learned her lines by listening and repeating them. She also starred in Hands of Stone (2016) as the wife of boxer Roberto Durán. This was the first Hollywood film she made.

In Denis Villeneuve's science fiction thriller Blade Runner 2049 (2017), de Armas played Joi. Joi was a computer-generated friend to Ryan Gosling's character. Critics praised her performance, saying she brought warmth to the character. Even though the film did not earn as much money as expected, her role was seen as a big step in her career. For this role, she was nominated for a Saturn Award. In 2017, she also had a role in the action thriller Overdrive.

De Armas in 2018

In 2018, de Armas starred in the medical drama Corazón. She played a woman with heart failure in this short film. Her scenes in the 2019 romantic comedy Yesterday were cut from the final movie. The director explained that adding a love story with her character didn't work well with audiences.

Ana de Armas's role as an immigrant nurse in the mystery film Knives Out (2019) was highly praised. This film was a major breakthrough for her. When she first heard about the role, she was not excited. She thought it might be a typical "Latina caretaker" role. But she soon realized her character was much more complex. Critics said her performance was outstanding. The movie was a big success at the box office. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her role. She also won a Saturn Award and an award for Best Cast with her co-stars.

In 2020, de Armas appeared in four films. She had a supporting role in the crime thriller The Informer. She also played a mysterious woman in the crime drama The Night Clerk. She starred in the Netflix movie Sergio (2020) as Carolina Larriera, a U.N. official. De Armas also reunited with a co-star from Sergio in the Netflix spy thriller Wasp Network. This film was shot in Cuba, which was her first time working in her home country since she was a teenager.

Main Roles and More Recognition (2021–Present)

In 2021, Ana de Armas worked again with Daniel Craig in the James Bond film No Time to Die. The director wrote the character of Paloma, a Cuban CIA agent, with de Armas in mind. She described Paloma as lively and "very irresponsible." Even though Paloma says she has little training, she proves to be very skilled in fights. No Time to Die was a big success worldwide and received good reviews. Critics praised de Armas's performance.

De Armas also starred with Ben Affleck in the thriller Deep Water. In 2022, she appeared in the Netflix action thriller The Gray Man.

De Armas at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2022

Ana de Armas played Marilyn Monroe in the Netflix movie Blonde (2022). The movie was based on a book about Marilyn Monroe. The director saw de Armas in Knock Knock and chose her for the role after her first audition. To prepare, de Armas worked with a special coach for a year to learn Marilyn Monroe's voice. She also studied many photos, videos, and films of Monroe. Despite some people being unsure about her casting because of her Spanish accent, de Armas's performance was highly praised. Critics called her acting "powerful" and "fiercely committed." She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was the first Cuban actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

De Armas then starred with Chris Evans in the Apple TV+ action comedy film Ghosted (2023). She also appeared in Ron Howard's survival thriller Eden (2024). Her next role will be as an assassin in From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, which is a spin-off from the John Wick movies.

Personal Life

Ana de Armas was married to Spanish actor Marc Clotet from 2011 to 2013. She later dated American actor Ben Affleck from March 2020 to January 2021. They met while filming Deep Water in late 2019.

Ana de Armas has citizenship in both Cuba and Spain. She moved to Los Angeles when she was 26. As of 2023, she lives in Vermont. She announced in April 2023 that she would soon become a U.S. citizen.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Una rosa de Francia	Marie
2007	Madrigal	Stella Maris
2009	Y de postre, qué	Girl	Short film
	Ánima	Julieta
2011	Blind Alley	Rosa / Laura	Original Spanish title El callejón
2012	Perrito chino	Sabina	Short film
2013	Faraday	Inma Murga
2014	For a Handful of Kisses	Sol	Original Spanish title Por un puñado de besos
2015	Knock Knock	Bel
	Anabel	Cris
2016	Exposed	Isabel de la Cruz
	Hands of Stone	Felicidad Iglesias
	War Dogs	Iz
2017	Overdrive	Stephanie
	Blade Runner 2049	Joi
2019	Yesterday	Roxanne	Deleted scenes
	The Informer	Sofia Koslow
	Wasp Network	Ana Margarita Martinez
	Knives Out	Marta Cabrera
2020	Sergio	Carolina Larriera
	The Night Clerk	Andrea Rivera
2021	No Time to Die	Paloma
2022	Deep Water	Melinda Van Allen
	The Gray Man	Dani Miranda
	Blonde	Norma Jeane
2023	Ghosted	Sadie Rhodes	Also producer
2024	Eden	The Baroness
2025	From the World of John Wick: Ballerina	Eve Macarro	Post-production

Television

Music videos

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ana de Armas para niños