Melissa Barrera is a Mexican actress and singer who first rose to fame for playing an outstanding role in the 2013 Mexican telenovela “Siempre Tuya Acapulco.”

Melissa became popular once again for her role as the main character, Sam Carpenter, in the installments of the “Scream” movies. These films were released in 2022 and 2023. But her acting career spanned much longer than that.

The Mexican actress is well-known in her home country for starring in several telenovelas. After establishing herself there, Melissa decided to attempt a cross-over. While the stacked cast in the Scream film is turning heads, Melissa is still considered a fresh face in Hollywood.

Melissa Barrera Biography

Early Life

Melissa Barrera Martínez was (born on July 4, 1990), in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. Her father, Tomás Gerardo Barrera Tames, is a film producer, and her mother, Rosana Maria, is a homemaker. Melissa is also the first of four daughters.

She attended the American School Foundation of Monterrey from 4 to 18 when she graduated high school. During her time in school, she got a chance to appear in their musical productions, including Grease, Footloose, and Aida.

Her appearance in musical productions led her to fall in love with acting. Some other plays she would star in included “The Wizard of Oz” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Melissa auditioned and was accepted to “CAP21,” the musical theater school of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. So, she began attending in 2009.

Career

Melissa began her professional acting career during her last year of high school when she led the Mexican production of “Romeo and Juliet.” After that, she also acted in the production of “Footloose” in the lead role of Ariel before leaving for college in New York.

During her years at NYU, Melissa was in productions such as “Sweet Charity” and “Breakfast The Caucasian Chalk Circle” in the lead role. In 2010, while still in college, she participated in the film “L For Leisure.”

Next year, Melissa moved back to Mexico City, leaving NYU for her TV debut when she was selected to appear in the Mexican reality show “La Academia.” For this appearance, she gained plenty of critical acclaim for her singing and dancing abilities.

At the end of 2011, Melissa was chosen to participate in her first telenovela titled “La mujer de Judas” in the role of Zulamita. During her four-year work in Mexico, the actress did a couple of telenovelas. Also she continued her career on stage in Mexico.

Melissa had some lead roles in musicals, including the hit Spanish jukebox “Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar,” for which she won many accolades. In 2012, she starred in “La otra cara del Alma” alongside the Latin star Gabriela Spanic. For this, Melissa earned great reviews for her acting abilities.

She scored her first lead role in a telenovela “Siempre tuya Acapulco”. This became her big break as she positioned herself as one of the fresh new faces of Mexican TV. The show became among the most popular love stories in over 20 countries.

Following the success of “Siempre tuya Acapulco,” she was offered her second lead role in a telenovela, “Tanto Amor,” in 2015. Barrera worked on movies then and did four in two years, including the 1950s “Sacúdete las Penas.”

In 2018, Melissa was cast in the lead role of Lyn Hernandez on the drama series “Vida,” which tells the story of two Mexican-American sisters. Her role in Vida brought Melissa to a more widespread audience.

In 2020, she was cast as the lead role of Sam Carpenter in the 5th “Scream” film. Her audition for the role reportedly impressed the filmmakers for her previous work in “Vida,” which certainly didn’t hurt her chances of getting the role.

That installment of the “Scream” franchise premiered in January 2022. Melissa also starred in the 2021 musical film “In The Heights” as Vanessa. In the following year, she had a starring role in the 6th episode of the Netflix survival drama series titled “Keep Breathing.”

Later, Barrera was in the title role in the film musical “Carmen” which premiered at the “2022 Toronto International Film Festival”. Melissa Barrera accumulated a net worth of $5 million through her acting and singing careers.

In terms of singing, Melissa worked on that part of her career. In 2013, she was a member of the duet “Melissa y Sebastian”. She also recorded her debut album and top 10 radio hit with their first song, “Mamma Maria.”

Later, in 2015, she teamed up with singer Kalimba to record the theme song “Volver a caer” for her telenovela “Tanto Amor.” Apart from that, Melissa received a lot of buzz for reprising her role of Sam in the “Scream 6” film released in March 2023.

Her performance in “Scream 6,” along with her castmates, has been well received. It broke the box office records this time with an opening weekend alone; the film raked in about $44.5 million domestically.

Personal Life

Melissa Barrera has married her longtime boyfriend, Paco Zazueta, since 2019. The couple began dating in 2011 after they first met on the set of “La Academia.” After dating for many years, the two engaged in 2017 and married in February 2019.

Melissa Barrera Net Worth

Melissa Barrera, a prominent Mexican actress and singer, boasts a net worth of $5 million. She garnered critical acclaim for her impressive performance in the “Scream Franchise,” leading her to receive numerous accolades. Barrera earns a significant amount of money from her acting credits in films and television series. She first became famous for her outstanding role in the 2013 Mexican telenovela “Siempre Tuya Acapulco.”

FAQs