# Rosa Salazar

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 starred 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. 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.

## 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. 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.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Looper: Baldness Anxiety | | Short film |
| 2012 | Fortunate Son | Elisa | Short film |
| 2013 | Plan B | Steph | Short film |
| 2013 | Epic | Roller Derby Girl | Voice |
| 2014 | Jamesy Boy | Crystal | |
| 2014 | Search Party | Pocahontas | |
| 2015 | The Divergent Series: Insurgent | Lynn | |
| 2015 | Night Owls | Madeline | Nominated – Hill Country Film Festival Award for Best Actress Won – Twin Cities Film Fest Breakthrough Achievement Award for Performance |
| 2015 | 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 |
| 2016 | Submerged | Amanda | |
| 2017 | CHiPs | Ava Perez | |
| 2018 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Brenda | |
| 2018 | The Kindergarten Teacher | Becca | |
| 2018 | Bird Box | Lucy | |
| 2019 | Alita: Battle Angel | Alita | Nominated – Imagen Award for Best Actress - Feature Film |
| 2020 | Pink Skies Ahead | Addie | |
| 2021 | No Future | Becca | |
| 2021 | 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 | Deleted scenes |

### 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" |
| 2011 | American Horror Story: Murder House | Nurse Maria | 4 episodes |
| 2011 | Little Brother | Odetta | Television film |
| 2011–2012 | Parenthood | Zoe DeHaven | 13 episodes |
| 2012 | Stevie TV | Various characters | Unknown episodes |
| 2012 | Car-Jumper | Agent Mindy | Web series short Episode #1.1 |
| 2012 | Ben and Kate | Molly | Episode: "21st Birthday" |
| 2013 | Sketchy | | Web series Episode: "Birth Control on the Bottom" |
| 2013 | Hello Ladies | Heaven | Episode: "Pool Party" |
| 2013 | Boomerang | Olive Chatsworth | Television film |
| 2013 | Body of Proof | Ramona Delgado | Episode: "Eye for an Eye" |
| 2013 | Nuclear Family | Rebecca | Web series short |
| 2014 | The Pro | Jamie Schoonmaker | Unaired pilot |
| 2015 | Wrestling Isn't Wrestling | Girl watching GoT | Video documentary short |
| 2015 | China, IL | Barb | Voice, episode: "Magical Pet" |
| 2015 | Hunt the Truth | Bostwick | Podcast series 6 episodes |
| 2015 | Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories | Lucy | Episode: "Tornado" |
| 2016 | Man Seeking Woman | Rosa/Bosa | 6 episodes |
| 2016 | 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 |
| 2021 | Brand New Cherry Flavor | Lisa Nova | Main role; limited series; 8 episodes |
| 2022 | Wedding Season | Katie | Main Role |
| 2025 | Win or Lose | Vanessa | Voice |

### Video games

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