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Melissa Barrera

Melissa Barrera Martínez (born 4 July 1990) is a Mexican actress. She began her career in Mexico, playing roles in the telenovelas Siempre tuya Acapulco (2013) and Tanto amor (2015), and the Netflix series Club de Cuervos (2017).

Barrera began her transition to Hollywood in 2018, earning recognition with the Starz 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), she was established as a scream queen. She has since starred in the vampire comedy film Abigail (2024).

Early life

Barrera was born and raised in Monterrey, Nuevo León. She studied musical theater at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She attended the American School Foundation of Monterrey where she appeared in the school's musical productions including Grease, Aida and Footloose.

Career

Career beginnings 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. 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 Siempre tuya Acapulco. In 2015, she starred in the last telenovela produced by TV Azteca, Tanto amor.

Transition to Hollywood and breakthrough (2019–present)

Barrera was cast in the lead role of Lyn on the Starz drama series 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. The film was released on 14 January 2022.

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. 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, 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. 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.

Barrera was cast as Maya in the upcoming film The Collaboration. She stars alongside Jeremy Pope and Paul Bettany as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, reprising their roles from the 2023 Anthony McCarten Broadway production.

In November 2023, it was reported that Barrera had been fired from her lead role in the upcoming sequel Scream VII. She made social media posts in support of Palestine, in which she described Israel's actions in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, including "[c]ornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water", as "genocide and ethnic cleansing". Scream VII director and producer Christopher Landon wrote that the dropping of Barrera was "not my decision to make". A statement was subsequently issued by Spyglass that it has "zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing". Deadline Hollywood wrote that her posts "were interpreted as being anti-Semitic by those close to the film production". Barrera responded that she "will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom". Several people defended her after the dismissal, expressing indignation that her comments were labelled as antisemitic by Spyglass. Barrera also shared an open letter urging world leaders to call for a cease-fire in the Israel–Hamas war. The letter was signed by Barrera and 340 other celebrities, including Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Strong, and Cate Blanchett. On December 1, 2023, 1,300 actors and artists in the film and entertainment industry wrote and signed a letter condemning Barrera's dismissal, among other instances, as "systematically repressing, silencing and stigmatising Palestinian voices and perspectives. This includes targeting and threatening the livelihoods of artists and arts workers who express solidarity with Palestinians." Among the signees were Olivia Colman, Paapa Essiedu, Harriet Walter, and Aimee Lou Wood.

In 2024, Barrera starred in the vampire film Abigail.

Personal life

Barrera married longtime boyfriend and musical artist Francisco Xavier Zazueta, in February 2019. The pair first met 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.