Melissa Barrera is a Mexican actress best known for her role of Sam Carpenter in the “Scream” franchise.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the actress.
- Her full name is Melissa Barrera Martínez
- She was born 4 July 1990
- She is a Mexican actress
- In Mexico, she is known for roles in the telenovelas Siempre tuya Acapulco (2013), Tanto amor (2015), and the Netflix series Club de Cuervos (2017)
- Outside of Mexico, she is best known for her role as Sam Carpenter in the slasher films Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023)
- She also starred in the Starz show Vida (2018–2020)
- And the musical film In the Heights (2021)
- 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
- Her television debut was on the Mexican reality show La Academia in 2011
- There 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
- She had her first top ten radio hit with their debut single “Mamma Maria”
- It was 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
- 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
- The film was 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
- 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
- This happened due to social media posts regarding the 2023 Israel–Hamas war that were labeled as antisemitic and hate speech
- 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 shortly began dating in September of that year
- The pair announced their engagement via Instagram in June 2017
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