Wikipedia

Melissa Barrera

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Barrera and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Melissa Barrera Martínez (born 4 July 1990) is a Mexican actress. She began her career playing roles in the Mexican telenovelas Always yours Acapulco/A Love To Remember (2013) and So Much Love (2015), and then the series Ravens Club (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]

(1990-07-04) 4 July 1990 (age 34)
Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
OccupationActress
Years active2011–present
Spouse
Paco Zazueta
​
(m. 2019)​
[2]

Early life

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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]

Career

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Early career in Mexico (2011–2017)

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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.[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]

Hollywood career

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Barrera was cast in the lead role of Lyn on the Starz drama series Life (Vida) in 2018. In August 2020, Barrera was cast as Sam Carpenter on the fifth Scream film, which was directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.[10] The film was released on 14 January 2022.[11][12]

In 2021, Barrera starred as Vanessa, an aspiring fashion designer and love interest of the narrator, Usnavi, in the Jon M. Chu directed musical film In the Heights, an adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's stage musical.[13] 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."[14]

In 2022, she starred in Keep Breathing, a six episode survival drama released on Netflix on 28 June 2022. Following her roles in horror media in 2022, Barrera was crowned a scream queen.[15][16] That same year she starred in the title role in the film musical Carmen alongside Paul Mescal. The film directed by Benjamin Millepied and had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.[17]

Barrera reprised her role as Sam Carpenter in Scream 6, which scored the highest opening weekend of the franchise.[18]

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". Barrera's firing was condemned as censorship by a petition organized by the group Actors For Palestine UK. The petition was signed by over 1,300 actors and artists, including Olivia Colman, Harriet Walter, Nicola Coughlan, Emma Seligman, and Aimee Lou Wood.[19] 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] In 2024, Barrera was cast alongside Simu Liu to lead a Peacock original series produced by James Wan.[23]

Personal life

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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]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2014 L for Leisure Kennedy
2016 Beginner's Manual To Be President (Manual de principiantes para ser presidente) Brisa Carreiro
The Hotel (El Hotel) Karina
2018 Shake Off Your Sorrows (Sacúdete las penas) Luisa Martin Del Campo
Twice You (Dos Veces Tú) Daniela Cohen
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]
The Collaboration Maya Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2011 The Academy (La Academia) Herself – Concursante 18th place; 14 episodes
2012 Judas' wife (La mujer de Judas) Zulamita Recurring role
2012–2013 The Other Side Of The Soul (La otra cara del alma) Mariana Durán Recurring role
2014 Always yours Acapulco/Always Yours Acapulco (Siempre tuya Acapulco) Olvido Pérez Main role; 124 episodes
2015 So Much Love (Tanto amor) Mía González Main role; 119 episodes
2016–2017 Persecuted (Perseguidos) Liliana Rincón Recurring role (season 1); 11 episodes
2017 Ravens Club (Club de Cuervos) Isabel Cantú Recurring role (season 3); 8 episodes
2018–2020 Life (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

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Year Title Artist
2021 "Say Less" Anthony Ramos

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations received by Kevin Feige
Award Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
Imagen Awards 2021 Vida Best Actress – Television (Comedy) Nominated [35]
Hollywood Critics Association 2021 In the Heights Best Actress Nominated [36]
Satellite Awards 2022 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Nominated [37]
Imagen Awards 2022 Keep Breathing Best Actress in a Drama Nominated [38]
IMDb 2023 Scream 6 Fan Favorite Star Meter Win [39]
Sundance London 2024 Your Monster Audience Award Win [40]
Sun Valley Film Festival 2024 Your Monster Best Actress in a Feature Film Win [41]

References

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  1. ^ a b Mariana Rosas (18 July 2014). "Melissa Barrera, le sonríe el éxito". Estilo DF (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  2. ^ Sisavat, Monica (6 March 2023). "Just an Appreciation Post of Melissa Barrera and Paco Zazueta's Swoon-Worthy Romance". PopSugar. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Off screen, though, Barrera is happily married to musician Paco Xavier Zazueta. According to Variety, the couple first met while they were contestants on a Mexican reality musical talent show called "La Academia" in 2011 ... Eight years later, Barrera and Zazueta tied the knot, and they've been going strong ever since.
  3. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (10 May 2022). "Scream Sequel Seeing Return of Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding & Jenna Ortega". Deadline. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b Shapiro, Bee (4 October 2019). "Melissa Barrera Goes from Mexican Telenovelas to 'Vida' Star". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. ^ "¡Está insoportable! Aseguran que a Melissa Barrera ya se le subió la fama". TVNotas (in Spanish). 20 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  6. ^ Rangel, Alma (30 July 2015). "Kalimba cantará con Melissa Barrera el tema de la telenovela Tanto Amor". TVyEspectáculos (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  7. ^ Gómez Poncet, Elena (26 February 2012). "Melissa Barrera asegura que no es una improvisada". TVNotas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Melissa Barrera protagonizaría telenovela con Daniel Elbittar". TVNotas (in Spanish). 16 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Melissa Barrera y Leonardo García protagonizarán "Tanto amor"". Informador México (in Spanish). 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  10. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (17 August 2020). "'Scream': 'Vida' & 'In The Heights' Star Melissa Barrera Set For Key Role In Spyglass & Paramount Slasher Movie Relaunch". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  11. ^ Miska, Brad (28 August 2020). "Relaunch of 'Scream' Slashing Into Theaters on January 14, 2022!". BloodyDisgusting. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (24 June 2020). "New Scream Movie From Spyglass Media Will Be Released by Paramount (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (11 April 2019). "Lin-Manuel Miranda & Jon M. Chu Find Their Nina & Vanessa For 'In The Heights' Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  14. ^ Castillo, Monica (10 June 2021). "'In the Heights' Film Review: Lin-Manuel Miranda's Stage Hit Becomes a Screen Celebration". The Wrap. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  15. ^ González, Sara (22 April 2022). "Todo sobre Bed Rest, la nueva película de terror de Melissa Barrera" [All about Bed Rest, the new horror movie by Melissa Barrera]. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023. Nos emociona mucho ver a Melissa Barrera como la "scream queen" mexicana, ya que su papel en Scream (2022) nos mostró todo su potencial para destacar en el género. [We are very excited to see Melissa Barrera as the Mexican "scream queen", since her role in Scream (2022) showed us her full potential to stand out in the genre.]
  16. ^ Sandoval, Shireen (6 December 2022). "Horror and "Scream" queen Melissa Barrera talks about new chilling movie on Tubi "Bed Rest"". Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  17. ^ Remley, Hilary (22 February 2023). "Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera Are Drawn Together in First 'Carmen' Trailer". Collider. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  18. ^ Brendan Morrow (12 March 2023). "Scream VI scores the biggest opening weekend of the franchise". theweek. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Olivia Colman among 1000+ artists accusing art institutions of censorship on Palestine". Artists for Palestine UK. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  20. ^ "'Silence is not an option': Melissa Barrera responds to being fired from Scream VII over Israel-Hamas posts". The Guardian. 23 November 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  21. ^ Kroll, Justin (13 April 2023). "'Scream' Star Melissa Barrera Reunites With Radio Silence On Secret Monster Movie For Universal". Deadline. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  22. ^ Mazz, Daniel (30 October 2024). "Melissa Barrera's Fantastic Performance in 'Your Monster' (Review)". Chatter Box Film. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  23. ^ Cordero, Rosy (2 October 2024). "Melissa Barrera & Sinclair Daniel Among Five Joining Peacock's James Wan-Simu Liu Series". Deadline. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  24. ^ Melissa Barrera y Paco Zazueta – Cuando Me Enamoro, archived from the original on 19 July 2022, retrieved 15 April 2021
  25. ^ a b "Melissa Barrera Bio: Married Or Still Dating? Husband, Boyfriend To Family Details". LIVERAMPUP. 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  26. ^ "La academia" 4° Concierto (TV Episode 2011) – IMDb, archived from the original on 19 July 2022, retrieved 15 April 2021
  27. ^ "XavierZazuetaOfficial • Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  28. ^ "XavierZazuetaOfficial • Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Paco Zazueta". Spotify. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  30. ^ Miska, Brad (26 October 2021). "'Scream' Star Melissa Barrera Haunted After Being Ordered to 'Bed Rest'". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  31. ^ Galuppo, Mia (6 March 2023). "Melissa Barrera Headlining Horror Romance 'Your Monster'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  32. ^ Melanson, Angel (21 June 2022). "First Look: Melissa Barrera In Keep Breathing". Fangoria. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  33. ^ Oddo, Marco Vito (21 June 2022). "'Keep Breathing': Melissa Barrera Fights to Survive in First Images from Netflix Series". Collider. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  34. ^ Gearan, Hannah (21 June 2022). "Keep Breathing Images: First Look At Scream Star's New Survival Thriller". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  35. ^ "36th Annual Imagen Awards Nominations Announced". Imagen Foundation. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  36. ^ Menzel, Scott (1 July 2021). ""In The Heights" wins Best Picture at the HCA Midseason Awards". Hollywood Critics Association. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  37. ^ Van Blaricom, Mirjana (30 November 2021). "'Belfast', 'The Power of the Dog' Among Nominees for Top Honors at 26th Annual Satellite™ Awards". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  38. ^ "Imagen Foundation Awards (2023)". IMDb. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  39. ^ "IMDb STARmeter Awards (2022)". IMDb. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  40. ^ ""YOUR MONSTER" WINS AUDIENCE FAVOURITE AWARD AT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: LONDON 2024 - sundance.org". 10 June 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  41. ^ "The 13th-annual Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF) announced this year's juried film award winners". www.filmfestivals.com. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
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