Monica Barbaro (born June 18, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for her film roles in '' The Cathedral'' (2021), '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (2022), and ''

At Midnight ''At Midnight'' is a 1913 American silent short film written by Gordon V. May starring Harry Van Meter, Violet Neitz, Louise Lester, Jack Richardson and Vivian Rich Vivian Rich (May 26, 1893 – November 17, 1957) was an American silen ...

'' (2023). She has also appeared in leading roles in the television series ''

UnREAL Unreal may refer to: Books and TV * ''Unreal'' (short story collection), a 1985 book of short stories by Paul Jennings * ''Unreal'' (TV series), a 2015 television drama series on Lifetime Computing and games * ''Unreal'' (video game series), ...

'' (2016), ''

Chicago Justice ''Chicago Justice'' is an American legal drama television series that aired on NBC from March 1 to May 14, 2017. The series was created by Dick Wolf and is the fourth installment of Wolf's ''Chicago'' franchise. A backdoor pilot aired on May 11, ...

'' (2017), '' The Good Cop'' (2018), and ''

FUBAR Military slang is a colloquial language used by and associated with members of various military forces. This page lists slang words or phrases that originate with military forces, are used exclusively by military personnel or are strongly associat ...

'' (2023).

Early life

Barbaro was born on June 18, 1990, in San Francisco. She grew up in

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, where she graduated from

Tamalpais High School Tamalpais High School (often abbreviated as Tam) is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises almost above Mill Valley. Tamalpais High Scho ...

in 2007. Her parents divorced when she was a child. Barbaro started dancing at an early age and went on to study ballet. While taking electives in acting, she completed a degree in dance 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 a ...

in New York City. After graduating in 2010, she decided to pursue acting and returned to San Francisco. There, she booked a commercial, a short film, connected with an agent, and attended the

Beverly Hills Playhouse The Beverly Hills Playhouse is an acting school with theaters and training facilities in Beverly Hills, California, and also in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. It is one of the oldest acting schools and theatres in Los Angeles Cou ...

acting school.

Career

Barbaro gained attention in 2013 for her lead role in ''It's Not About the Nail'', a viral comedy short about communication in a marriage. Her first major television role was portraying the character of Yael on the second season of the

Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...

television series ''

''. Following ''UnREAL'', Barbaro joined the cast of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

legal drama ''

'', an entry in

Dick Wolf Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his Law & Order (franchise), ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four internat ...

's ''Chicago'' franchise, in which she portrayed Anna Valdez. In 2018, Barbaro also played Cora Vasquez on Netflix's ''The Good Cop'', alongside

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

and

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

. Between 2018 and 2019, Barbaro had a recurring part in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

sitcom ''

Splitting Up Together ''Splitting Up Together'' is an American sitcom developed by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from March 27, 2018, to April 9, 2019. The series stars Jenna Fischer, Oliver Hudson, Bobby Lee, Diane Farr, Lindsay Price, Olivia Keville, Van Crosby, a ...

''. In the 2022

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

'' Top Gun: Maverick'', Barbaro portrayed Lieutenant Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

. The following year Barbaro starred in the romantic comedy ''

'' (2023). The film received mixed reviews for its story but Barbaro earned acclaim for her performance. ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' declared "Barbaro...proves with seemingly effortless charm that she can carry a rom-com". Barbaro, a professional dancer, was able to lend her talents in a scene that involved the two leads dancing a combination of

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

and the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. In 2023 it was announced that she would play activist and folk singer

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

in the

James Mangold James Allen Mangold (born December 16, 1963) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the films ''Cop Land'' (1997), '' Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), ''Walk the Line'' (2005), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' The Wolverine'' (2013) and '' Logan'' ...

directed

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

biopic ''A Complete Unknown'', starring Timothee Chalamet.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbaro, Monica Living people American television actresses 1990 births 21st-century American women Tamalpais High School alumni Actresses from San Francisco People from Mill Valley, California Tisch School of the Arts alumni American film actresses