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 horror/comedy film Abigail (2024).[1][3][4]
Her television debut was on the Mexican reality show La Academia in 2011, where she showed off her talent for singing.[5] 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 telenovelaTanto amor.[6]
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.[10] The film was released on 14 January 2022.[11][12]
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.[13] 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."[14]
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".[19][20][21] She was further criticized for promoting an antisemitic trope that Jews control the media, writing, "Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself."[22] Several people defended her after the dismissal, expressing indignation that her comments were labelled as antisemitic by Spyglass.[23][24][25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28]
In 2024, Barrera starred in the vampire film Abigail.[29]
Barrera married longtime boyfriend and musical artist Francisco Xavier Zazueta, in February 2019.[30][31] 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.[32][33][34] They began dating in September of that year,[33] and announced their engagement via Instagram in June 2017.[35]
^Sisavat, Monica (6 March 2023). "Just an Appreciation Post of Melissa Barrera and Paco Zazueta's Swoon-Worthy Romance". PopSugar. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Off screen, though, Barrera is happily married to musician Paco Xavier Zazueta. According to Variety, the couple first met while they were contestants on a Mexican reality musical talent show called "La Academia" in 2011 ... Eight years later, Barrera and Zazueta tied the knot, and they've been going strong ever since.
^González, Sara (22 April 2022). "Todo sobre Bed Rest, la nueva película de terror de Melissa Barrera" [All about Bed Rest, the new horror movie by Melissa Barrera]. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023. Nos emociona mucho ver a Melissa Barrera como la "scream queen" mexicana, ya que su papel en Scream (2022) nos mostró todo su potencial para destacar en el género. [We are very excited to see Melissa Barrera as the Mexican "scream queen", since her role in Scream (2022) showed us her full potential to stand out in the genre.]