Movies

Melissa Barrera Trivia | 40 facts about the actress

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