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Rosa Salazar

Acting

Born July 16, 1985 · Washington, D.C., USA

Also known as Rosa Bianca Salazar · Ρόζα Μπιάνκα Σάλαζαρ · Ροζα Μπιανκα Σαλαζαρ

Biography

Rosa Salazar (/ˈsæləzɑːr/; born July 16, 1985) is an American actress. She had roles in the NBC series Parenthood (2011–2012) and the FXanthology 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 Flavour (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). Salazar was born on July 16, 1985, in Washington, D.C., to Luis and Marilynne Salazar. Her father is Peruvian, and her mother is French-Canadian. She grew up in Washington, D.C., and nearby Greenbelt, Maryland. She attended Greenbelt Middle School and Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, where she was active in the theatre program. 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. 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. In 2015, she co-starred in various sequels: The Divergent Series: Insurgent as Lynn, and Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials as Brenda. In 2016, Salazar directed and starred in the short film Good Crazy, 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. 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. That year, it was announced that Salazar would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor. It was released on August 13, 2021. In 2023, Salazar was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rosa Salazar, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography34 titles

Pantheon

2022as Senator Elaine Rivera (voice)

American Horror Story

2011as María

Win or Lose

2025as Vanessa (voice)

A Million Miles Away

2023as Adela

Undone

2019as Alma Winograd-Diaz

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

2021as Larissa

Big Mouth

2017as Ms. Benitez (voice)

Parenthood

2010as Zoe DeHaven

Alita: Battle Angel

2019as Alita

Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories

2013as Lucy

Maze Runner: The Death Cure

2018as Brenda

Brand New Cherry Flavor

2021as Lisa N. Nova

Man Seeking Woman

2015as Rosa

China, IL

2008as Barb (voice)

Vampires of the Velvet Lounge

2026as Alexis

Bird Box

2018as Lucy

Law & Order: LA

2010as Yolanda

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

2015as Brenda

Hello Ladies

2013as Heaven

Ben and Kate

2012as Molly

Play Dirty

2025as Zen

The Kindergarten Teacher

2018as Becca

Epic

2013as Roller Derby Girl (voice)

Wedding Season

2022as Katie

The Divergent Series: Insurgent

2015as Lynn

Jamesy Boy

2014as Crystal

B Positive

2020as Adriana

Night Owls

2015as Madeline

CHIPS

2017as Ava

No Future

2021as Becca

Pink Skies Ahead

2020as Addie

Search Party

2014as Pocahontas

Chariot

2022as Maria Deschaines

Submerged

2016as Amanda