Rosa Salazar

Rosa Salazar
Salazar at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1985-07-16) July 16, 1985 (age 39)
Washington, D.C., U.S.[1]
EducationPrince George's Community College
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present

Rosa Salazar (/ˈsæləzɑːr/; born July 16, 1985) is an American actress. She had roles in the NBC series Parenthood (2011–2012) and the FX anthology series American Horror Story: Murder House (2011). She made her breakthrough as the title character of the film Alita: Battle Angel (2019) and is known for starring in the series Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021), which she also co-produced.

Salazar appeared in The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) and also appeared in the Netflix films The Kindergarten Teacher (2018) and Bird Box (2018). She stars in the Amazon series Undone (2019–2022).

Early life

Salazar was born on July 16, 1985 in Washington, D.C.[1] to Luis and Marilynne Salazar.[2][3] Her father is Peruvian and her mother is French-Canadian.[4] She grew up in Washington, D.C. and nearby Greenbelt, Maryland.[5] She attended Greenbelt Middle School and Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt,[6] where she was active in the theatre program.[7] She attended Prince George's Community College, where she studied drama, then continued drama studies at Upright Citizens Brigade, where she practiced method acting, improvisation and performance.

Career

Salazar enjoyed entertaining others from the age of fifteen and became serious about becoming an actress after moving to New York City as a young adult. There she appeared in several CollegeHumor sketches. Shortly after relocating to Los Angeles in 2009, she made her film debut playing the character Crystal in Jamesy Boy, written and directed by Trevor White. She then landed recurring roles on two hit TV series: American Horror Story: Murder House and Parenthood.[8] In 2015, she co-starred in various sequels: The Divergent Series: Insurgent as Lynn,[9] and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials as Brenda.[10]

In 2016, Salazar directed and starred in the short film Good Crazy,[11] a story of a social crusader. It was nominated for a Short Film Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2018, she reprised her role as Brenda in Maze Runner: The Death Cure.

In 2019, she made her major studio lead debut with the film Alita: Battle Angel, an adaptation of the manga Gunnm directed by Robert Rodriguez.[5] It brought Salazar numerous awards, including "Best Visual Effects or Animated Performance" from the Hollywood Critics Association and "Best Voice or Motion Capture Performance" from the Association of Latin Entertainment Critics.[12] That year, it was announced that Salazar would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.[13] It was released on August 13, 2021.[14]

In 2023, Salazar was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref
2012 Looper: Baldness Anxiety Short film
Fortunate Son Elisa
2013 Plan B Steph
Epic Roller Derby Girl Voice
2014 Jamesy Boy Crystal
Search Party Pocahontas
2015 The Divergent Series: Insurgent Lynn
Night Owls Madeline Nominated – Hill Country Film Festival Award for Best Actress
Won – Twin Cities Film Fest Breakthrough Achievement Award for Performance
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Brenda
2016 Good Crazy Rosa Short film; also director and writer
Nominated – Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize
Submerged Amanda
2017 CHiPs Ava Perez
2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Brenda
The Kindergarten Teacher Becca
Bird Box Lucy
2019 Alita: Battle Angel Alita Nominated – Imagen Award for Best Actress - Feature Film[16]
2020 Pink Skies Ahead Addie
2021 No Future Becca
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On Larissa
2022 Chariot Maria Deschaines
2023 A Million Miles Away Adela Hernandez
2025 Captain America: Brave New World Rachel Leighton / Diamondback Post-production
TBA Play Dirty TBA Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Old Friends Dog walker Web series
Episode: "Cleaning Up"
2010–2012 CollegeHumor Various characters Web series
13 episodes
2011 Law & Order: LA Yolanda Episode: "Zuma Canyon"
American Horror Story: Murder House Nurse Maria 4 episodes
Little Brother Odetta Television film
2011–2012 Parenthood Zoe DeHaven 13 episodes
2012 Stevie TV Various characters Unknown episodes
Car-Jumper Agent Mindy Web series short
Episode #1.1
Ben and Kate Molly Episode: "21st Birthday"
2013 Sketchy Web series
Episode: "Birth Control on the Bottom"
Hello Ladies Heaven Episode: "Pool Party"
Boomerang Olive Chatsworth Television film
Body of Proof Ramona Delgado Episode: "Eye for an Eye"
Nuclear Family Rebecca Web series short
2014 The Pro Jamie Schoonmaker Unaired pilot
2015 Wrestling Isn't Wrestling Girl watching GoT Video documentary short
China, IL Barb Voice, episode: "Magical Pet"[17]
Hunt the Truth[broken anchor] Bostwick Podcast series
6 episodes
Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories Lucy Episode: "Tornado"
2016 Man Seeking Woman Rosa/Bosa 6 episodes
Comedy Bang! Bang! Camper Episode: "Gillian Jacobs Wears a Gray Checkered Suit and a Red Bow Tie"
2017–2019 Big Mouth Ms. Benitez Voice, 4 episodes
2019–2022 Undone Alma Winograd-Diaz Main role
2019 Star Trek: Short Treks Captain Lynne Lucero Episode: "The Trouble with Edward"
2021 B Positive Adriana 2 episodes
Brand New Cherry Flavor Lisa Nova Main role; limited series; 8 episodes
2022 Wedding Season Katie Main Role
2025 Win or Lose Vanessa Voice; Upcoming series[18]

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2013 Batman: Arkham Origins Copperhead,
Train Hostage

References

  1. ^ a b "Interview Rosa Salazar Latina Magazine". latinamagazine.com. 2015.
  2. ^ Wickman, Kase. "13 Things You Didn't Know About The Breakout Awesomeness That Is Rosa Salazar". MTV News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Rosa Salazar: Movies, Photos, Videos, News, Biography & Birthday | eTimes". The Times of India. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  4. ^ "Rosa Salazar: From "Abbreviated" 'Bird Box' Role to James Cameron's 'Alita'". The Hollywood Reporter. January 11, 2019. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Yamato, Jen (January 10, 2019). "Meet Rosa Salazar, the 'Bird Box' star who lends heart and soul to 'Alita: Battle Angel'". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Rosa Salazar Age, Height, Ethnicity, Bio, Parents & Family". Celebrity XYZ. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  7. ^ "Yes, That Was Rosa!" (PDF). Greenbelt News Review. October 6, 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Ross Carey (November 30, 2011). "Episode 53: Featuring Rosa Salazar". Conversations with Ross (Podcast). Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  9. ^ "Rosa Salazar Joins 'Insurgent' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  10. ^ "Rosa Salazar Nabs Key Female Role in 'Maze Runner' Sequel (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. September 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  11. ^ Phillips, Patrick (May 15, 2017). "Vimeo Short Film Of The Week: 'Good Crazy'". CutPrintFilm. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "Rosa Salazar". IMDb. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 15, 2019). "N'Brand New Cherry Flavor' Series Headlined By Rosa Salazar A Go At Netflix; Catherine Keener, Eric Lange, Jeff Ward & Manny Jacinto Co-Star In Horror Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  14. ^ Cordero, Rosy (July 19, 2021). "Rosa Salazar Goes Dark In Netflix's 'Brand New Cherry Flavor' Teaser Trailer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  15. ^ Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "The Academy Invites 398 New Members for 2023: See the Full List". A.frame. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Sheridan, Wade (July 3, 2019). "Imagen Awards: Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez among nominees". United Press International. Archived from the original on July 4, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "China, IL's Musical Season Finale: We Talk to Brad Neely and Daniel Weidenfeld". June 11, 2015. Archived from the original on June 17, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  18. ^ Betti, Tony (June 16, 2023). "Annecy 2023 Recap: Pixar Presents Full Episode of Original Series Win or Lose Before Elemental Premiere". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.