Melissa Barrera Martínez (born 4 July 1990) is a Mexican actress and singer. In Mexico, she is known for roles in the telenovelas ''

Siempre tuya Acapulco ''Siempre Tuya Acapulco'' (literally ''Forever Yours Acapulco'') (English title ''A Love To Remember'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Azteca in 2014.'' Starring Melissa Barrera and Daniel Elbittar as the protagonists of the story, with C ...

'' (2013), ''

Tanto amor ''Tanto Amor'' is the third studio album by Shaila Dúrcal Shaila de los Ángeles Morales de las Heras (born August 28, 1979), better known as Shaila Dúrcal, is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Her parents are singers Rocío Dúrcal and A ...

'' (2015), and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Club de Cuervos ''Club de Cuervos'', also known as ''Club of Crows'', is a Mexican comedy-drama streaming television series produced by Gary Alazraki and Michael Lam. Premiering with its full first season on August 7, 2015, it is the first Spanish-language Netf ...

'' (2017). Outside of Mexico, she is known for her lead roles in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

drama series ''

Vida Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to: Geography * Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica * U.S. settled places: ** Vida, Montana ** Vida, Oregon ** Vida, Missour ...

'' (2018–2020), the musical film ''

In the Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical theatre, musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a Book (musical theatre), book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the larg ...

'' (2021), and the slasher films ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'' (2022) and ''

Scream VI ''Scream VI'' is an upcoming American slasher film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, with original franchise writer and creator Kevin Williamson returning as executive producer. I ...

'' (2023).

Early life

Barrera was born and raised in

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. She studied musical theater at

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the ar ...

Career

Music

She attended the

American School Foundation of Monterrey The American School Foundation of Monterrey is a private, nonprofit, international school located in Monterrey, Mexico, which provides a U.S.-type education to international and Mexican students. It is one of a few American-style educational cent ...

where she appeared in the school's musical productions including '' Grease'', ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'' and ''

Footloose Footloose may refer to: * ''Footloose'' (1984 film), a musical film ** ''Footloose'' (1984 soundtrack) ** "Footloose" (song), performed by Kenny Loggins * ''Footloose'' (2011 film), a remake of the 1984 film ** ''Footloose'' (2011 soundtrack) ...

''. Her television debut was on the Mexican reality show ''

La Academia ''La Academia'' (''The Academy'') is a Mexican reality musical talent television series shown on Azteca, that premiered in June 2002 and is currently in its thirteenth installment. Although the show itself is not affiliated with the Endemol f ...

'' 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 Ricchi e Poveri (; "The Rich and The Poor") is an Italian pop group formed in Genoa in 1967, originally consisting of Angela Brambati, Angelo Sotgiu, Franco Gatti and Marina Occhiena. Active since the late 1960s, they have sold over 20 million r ...

's song from the 1980s. In 2015, she recorded the theme song "Volver a caer" alongside the Mexican singer

Kalimba Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and pl ...

, for her

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

''.

Acting

In 2010, while still in college (

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

), 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 ''La otra cara del alma'' is a Mexican telenovela that premiered on Azteca Trece on 12 November 2012, and concluded on 10 May 2013. The telenovela is created by Laura Sosa, based on the 1985 Mexican telenovela written by Luis Reyes de la Maza, e ...

''. In 2014, she obtained her first starring role in the telenovela ''

''. In 2015, she starred in the last telenovela produced by

TV Azteca TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two national ...

, ''

''. Barrera was cast in the lead role of Lyn on the Starz drama series ''

'' in 2018. In August 2020, Barrera was cast as Sam Carpenter on the fifth ''Scream'' film, which was directed by

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (born February 19, 1978) is an American director, writer, actor, and musician. He is a founding member of the punk band Link 80 and co-creator of the filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt & Rob and Radio Silence. He is best know ...

and

Tyler Gillett Tyler Gillett is an American film director, cinematographer, writer, and producer. A co-creator of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, Gillett co-directed, with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, the horror films '' Devil's Due'' (2014), '' Ready or No ...

. 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 Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's ''Crazy Rich Asians'', the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asi ...

directed musical film ''

'', an adaptation of

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. The film earned widespread critical acclaim, with Monica Castillo of ''

The Wrap ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' 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."

Upcoming projects

In November 2019, Barrera was cast in a musical film adaptation of the Frank Wildhorn musical based on the novella ''Carmen''. Barrera was cast in the title role of Carmen. The film will be directed by French choreographer and dancer

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...

in his directorial film debut.

Personal life

Barrera married longtime boyfriend and musical artist Paco Zazueta, in February 2019. The pair first met on the set of ''La Academia'' in 2011, and performed a rendition of

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

' "

Cuando Me Enamoro "Cuando Me Enamoro" (English: "When I Fall in Love") is a Hispanic pop song written and performed by Spanish pop singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias and featuring Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra released on 26 April 2010, as the firs ...

" for its fourth episode. They shortly began dating in September of that year. The pair announced their engagement via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

in June 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrera, Melissa 1990 births Living people People from Monterrey Mexican telenovela actresses 21st-century Mexican actresses Actresses from Monterrey 21st-century Mexican singers 21st-century Mexican women singers Tisch School of the Arts alumni