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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.[1][3][4]
Melissa Barrera | |
|---|---|
 Barrera in 2023 | |
| Born | Melissa Barrera Martínez[1] 4 July 1990 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Spouse |
Paco Zazueta (m. 2019) |
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Barrera was born and raised in Monterrey, Nuevo León. She studied musical theater at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.[4] She attended the American School Foundation of Monterrey where she appeared in the school's musical productions, including Grease, Aida, and Footloose.[citation needed]
Early career in Mexico (2011–2017)
Her television debut was on the Mexican reality show La Academia in 2011, where she showed off her talent for singing.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] In 2014, she obtained her first starring role in the telenovela Always yours Acapulco/A Love To Remember (Siempre tuya Acapulco).[8] In 2015, she starred in the last telenovela produced by TV Azteca, So Much Love (Tanto amor).[9]
Breakthrough (2018–present)
Barrera was cast in the lead role of Lyn on the Starz drama series Vida in 2018.[citation needed]
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.[10] 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."[11]
In 2022, Barrera starred as Sam Carpenter on the fifth Scream film, which was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.[12] The film was released on January 14, 2022.[13][14] It was a huge box office success that reinvigorated the franchise.[15] She then starred in Keep Breathing, a six episode survival drama released on Netflix on June 28, 2022 to negative reviews.[citation needed] 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.[16] She also starred in Bed Rest, quietly released with limited promotion on Tubi in December 2022.[17][18]
In early 2023, Barrera reprised her role as Sam Carpenter in Scream 6, which scored the highest opening weekend of the franchise.[19]
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.[20]
Barrera starred in the 2024 vampire film Abigail,[21] as well as the indie film Your Monster; the latter was hailed by some critics as the best performance of her career.[22]
Barrera will next co-star alongside Simu Liu in a Peacock original series produced by James Wan.[23]
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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.[24][25][26] They began dating in September of that year,[25] and announced their engagement via Instagram in June 2017.[27] Barrera and Zazueta married in February 2019.[28][29]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | In the Heights | Vanessa Morales | ||
| All the World Is Sleeping | Chama | |||
| 2022 | Scream | Sam Carpenter | [3] | |
| Carmen | Carmen | |||
| Bed Rest | Julie Rivers | Also producer | [30] | |
| 2023 | Scream VI | Sam Carpenter | ||
| 2024 | Abigail | Joey | ||
| Your Monster | Laura Franco | Also producer | [31] | |
| 2025 | The Collaboration | Maya | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | La Academia | Herself – Concursante | 18th place; 14 episodes | |
| 2012 | La mujer de Judas | Zulamita | Recurring role | |
| 2012–2013 | La otra cara del alma | Mariana Durán | ||
| 2014 | Siempre tuya Acapulco | Olvido Pérez | Main role; 124 episodes | |
| 2015 | Tanto amor | Mía González | Main role; 119 episodes | |
| 2016–2017 | Perseguidos | Liliana Rincón | Recurring role (season 1); 11 episodes | |
| 2017 | Club de Cuervos | Isabel Cantú | Recurring role (season 3); 8 episodes | |
| 2018–2020 | Vida | Lyn Hernandez | Main role; 22 episodes | |
| 2020 | Acting for a Cause | Elizabeth Bennet | Episode: "Pride and Prejudice" | |
| 2022 | Keep Breathing | Olivia "Liv" Rivera | Main role; 6 episodes | [32][33][34] |
| TBA | Copenhagen | Michelle | Main role; filming |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Say Less" | Anthony Ramos |
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| Award | Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imagen Awards | 2021 | Vida | Best Actress – Television (Comedy) | Nominated | [35] |
| Hollywood Critics Association | In the Heights | Best Actress | Nominated | [36] | |
| Satellite Awards | 2022 | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical | Nominated | [37] | |
| Imagen Awards | Keep Breathing | Best Actress – Television (Drama) | Nominated | [38] | |
| IMDb | 2023 | Scream VI | Fan Favorite Star Meter | Won | [39] |
| Sundance London | 2024 | Your Monster | Audience Award | Won | [40] |
| Sun Valley Film Festival | Best Actress in a Feature Film | Won | [41] |
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