Melissa Barrera facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa Barrera
Barrera in 2023
Born	Melissa Barrera Martínez (1990-07-04) 4 July 1990 (age 34) Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Occupation	Actress activist
Years active	2011–present
Spouse(s)	Paco Zazueta ​ (m. 2019)​

Melissa Barrera Martínez (born 4 July 1990) is a Mexican actress. She began her career playing roles in the Mexican telenovelas Siempre tuya Acapulco (2013) and Tanto amor (2015), and then the series Club de Cuervos (2017). Barrera transitioned to Hollywood in 2018, earning recognition with the series Vida (2018–2020) and the musical film In the Heights (2021). For playing Sam Carpenter in the slasher films Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023), as well as leading the horror-comedies Abigail and Your Monster (both 2024), she established herself as a scream queen.

Early life

Barrera was born and raised in Monterrey, Nuevo León. She studied musical theater at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Career

Early career in Mexico (2011–2017)

Barrera performing in 2013

Her television debut was on the Mexican reality show La Academia in 2011, where she showed off her talent for singing. In 2013, she was part of the duet Melissa y Sebastian, with whom she recorded her first album and had her first top ten radio hit with their debut single "Mamma Maria", a cover of Ricchi e Poveri's song from the 1980s. In 2015, she recorded the theme song "Volver a caer" alongside the Mexican singer Kalimba, for her telenovela Tanto amor.

In 2010, while still in college (New York University), she participated in the film L for Leisure. In 2012, she participated in two telenovelas, La mujer de Judas and La otra cara del alma. In 2014, she obtained her first starring role in the telenovela Always yours Acapulco/A Love To Remember (Siempre tuya Acapulco). In 2015, she starred in the last telenovela produced by TV Azteca, So Much Love (Tanto amor).

Breakthrough in the USA (2018–2023)

In 2018, Melissa made the move from Mexico to Los Angeles, to try her luck at the American acting world, Barrera had a savings from the work she did in Mexico and seek representation and roles in LA and in just three months, Barrera was cast in the lead role of Lyn on the Starz drama series Vida in 2018. The show went on for three season and has a 100% rating on rotten tomatoes., Barrera was nominated for a Imagen Award for best actress for her role of Lynn in the show in 2021.

In 2021, In the Heights was released with Barrera co-starring in the Jon M. Chu directed musical film, an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's stage musical. The film earned widespread critical acclaim, with Monica Castillo of The Wrap praising Barrera's performance: "Vanessa's upbeat salsa anthem, 'It Won't Be Long Now', is perhaps one of the more underrated sequences: It's an impressive showcase for Barrera's talents, giving her a wide range of emotions to move through in one number and one of the few moments in the musical to belt out."

In 2022, Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter, the new protagonist of the Scream Franchise for the fifth Scream film, which was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The film was released on January 14, 2022. It was a huge box office success that reinvigorated the franchise. She then starred in Keep Breathing, a six episode survival drama released on Netflix on July 28, 2022 which became the number one popular show on the platform in August 2022. That same year, the film musical Carmen, co-starring Paul Mescal, was released. The film directed by Benjamin Millepied and had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. She also starred in Bed Rest, quietly released with limited promotion on Tubi in December 2022.

In early 2023, Barrera reprised her role as Sam Carpenter in Scream VI, which scored the highest opening weekend of the franchise. Barrera was deemed a modern day scream queen after this and became one of the most notable actress in the horror genre for the 2020 era.

In November 2023, it was reported that Barrera had been dropped from her lead role in the upcoming sequel Scream 7. The firing was a result of social media posts she had made which described Israel's actions in the Israel–Hamas war as "genocide and ethnic cleansing". Following her firing Barrera released a statement which denounced antisemitism and Islamophobia and said criticism of a government should not be conflated with attacks on the people of a country. Barrera dismissal led to wide support from fans and several actor and actress. Actors such as Rowan Blanchard, and Barrera's Scream VI co-star Hayden Panetterie spoke out in her favor and stated how unfair her dismissal was. Barrera removal from the franchise also sparked over 1,300 artists to sign a bill to denounce censorship of actors and protect their rights to speak freely. This letter was signed by Oliva Coleman, Aimee Lou Wood, and Emma Seligman. Melissa told The Independent, while promoting her film Your Monster, that the months after her firing were the "darkest times of my life." Barrera stated acting offers dried up for about ten months post-firing and she felt "invisible" to the industry during that timeframe. Barrera says a " switch turn on" after the ten months and suddenly she was booked again and she was working with people that she respected and respected her.

Your Monster and Continued Success (2024- )

Melissa continued her work in the horror genre by starring in Vampire Comedy film Abigail. The film premiered April 19, 2024 in theaters and went to have modest box office success but pick up tremendously on streaming services such as Peacock where it was labeled a "hidden gem" and a streaming success. The film also scored Barrera her first number 1 film slot on Amazon Prime when it was released in November 2024. Melissa next film to be released in 2024, was the Horror Romantic Comedy, Your Monster, where Barrera plays a soft-spoken actress name Laura Franco who falls in love with the Monster in her closet. The film originally released in January 18, 2024 for the Sundance Film Festival midnight section and due to positive reviews from film-goers and critics, the film was picked up by Vertical Entertainment for a limited film release on October 25, 2024.The film was met with good reviews and major praise for Barrera's performance, some saying Barrera gave a "Oscar level" performance in the film and her true breakout performance as a actress. Barrera performance in the film got her multiple awards wins, with the film scoring two audience awards at Sundance Film Festival in London and Barrera scoring a special mention for "Best Actress Award" at the Sunset Valley Film Festival. Melissa also won the "Sin Fronteras" award in November 2024 for her performances in acting and also her expansion from Mexico TV to big Hollywood films. Melissa was also cast in James Wan and Simu Liu untitled espionage techno-thriller series, where she is set to play a "deceptive character" name Michelle. Melissa was cast in book to movie adaption of In the Cradle of Granite by Jay Holmes. The film is going to be directed by Cannes Film Festival nominee Ariel Escalante in his US film debut and will be a western thriller.

Activism and Humanitarian work

Melissa is a proud activist for many causes. Notably she has been very vocal about her support of Palestine and wanting the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to end. Barrera joined a march at her Sundance Film Festival screening to celebrate Palestine lives. Barrera has also joined "Artist For Ceasefire" which feature many actors and actress advocating for ceasefire in Gaza. Melissa has also express wanting freedom for Congo, Advocated for Black Lives Matter. Barrera is a proud LGBT ally, and has consistently spoken out for issues happening in her homeland of Mexico. Melissa also partnered with Feeding Americans in Texas to give back to countless homeless and participated in an annual food drive. Barrera activism goes to the world of Hollywood as well. As she alongside Ramy Yousef, Mark Ruffalo, and Susan Sarandon signed a letter advocating for SAG-AFTA to protect its actors, writers, and directors from potential blacklisting for advocating for human right issues.

Personal life

Barrera met musical artist Francisco Xavier Zazueta on the set of La Academia in 2011, and performed a rendition of Enrique Iglesias' "Cuando Me Enamoro" for its fourth episode. They began dating in September of that year, and announced their engagement via Instagram in June 2017. Barrera and Zazueta married in February 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations