# Daniela Melchior

Daniela Melchior (European Portuguese:; born 1 November 1996) is a Portuguese actress. Born in Almada, Setúbal, she launched her career in 2014 with a role in telenovela Mulheres [pt]. She went on to appear in the teen drama Massa Fresca [pt] (2016) and telenovelas Ouro Verde (2017) and A Herdeira (2018). Melchior made her film debut in 2018 with The Black Book. She provided the Portuguese dubbing for Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and was cast in the comedy drama Parque Mayer in the same year. Her performance in the latter earned her a nomination for the Sophia Award Best Actress.
She had her international breakthrough as Cleo Cazo in the DCEU film The Suicide Squad (2021), which earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Portuguese Golden Globes. Subsequently, she took on minor roles in English-language films, including Marlowe (2022), Assassin Club (2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) and Fast X (2023).

## Early life

Daniela Melchior dos Reis Lopes Pereira was born on November 1, 1996 in Almada, Setúbal, Portugal. She studied theater in her adolescence.

## Career
### 2014–2020: Portuguese film and television

Melchior started her career in 2014 with several Portuguese film and television productions, including Ouro Verde, A Herdeira, The Black Book, and Parque Mayer. She also provided the Portuguese voice for Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman in Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, who is voiced by Hailee Steinfeld in the original English version.

### 2021–present: Hollywood work

In 2019, James Gunn cast Daniela Melchior as Cleo Cazo, also known as Ratcatcher 2, for his film The Suicide Squad (2021). Melchior was encouraged to present herself in a traditionally glamorous manner for her initial pre-audition meeting, but this approach reportedly did not align with the vision of the film’s producers. For her subsequent audition, Melchior adopted a darker, more eccentric portrayal of the character, which resonated with Gunn and ultimately led to her casting. Her role as Cleo Cazo marked the first portrayal of a DC Comics character by a Portuguese actress in a DC Extended Universe film. Gunn described Melchior as "the heart of the film," and her character holds the second-longest screen time in the ensemble cast.
In 2022, she appeared in Marlowe directed by Neil Jordan. By March 2022, she joined the cast of the tenth Fast & Furious film titled Fast X, Vin Diesel, and The Suicide Squad co-stars John Cena and Michael Rooker, as well as Scott Eastwood, who appeared in Suicide Squad, the predecessor to her DC comics film. In June 2022, she announced that she would collaborate for the second time with James Gunn in his MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. She was the first Portuguese actress to appear in an MCU film. In August 2022, she was cast in Road House, a remake of the 1989 film starring Patrick Swayze. In 2023, Melchior went to Paris Fashion Week as a Balmain's muse. In 2024, she joined the cast of Balls Up, directed by Peter Farrelly.

## Filmography
### Film

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | The Black Book | La Fille | |
| 2018 | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman | Portuguese dub |
| 2018 | Parque Mayer | Deolinda | |
| 2021 | The Suicide Squad | Cleo Cazo / Ratcatcher 2 | |
| 2022 | Marlowe | Lynn Peterson | |
| 2023 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Ura | |
| 2023 | Assassin Club | Sophie | |
| 2023 | Fast X | Isabel Neves | |
| 2024 | Road House | Ellie | |
| 2025 | American Sweatshop | TBA | |
| 2025 | Anaconda † | Ana Almeida | Filming |
| TBA | Balls Up † | TBA | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014–15 | Mulheres | Viviana Gomes | 316 episodes |
| 2016 | Massa Fresca | Carminho Santiago | 68 episodes |
| 2017 | Ouro Verde | Cláudia Andrade | 221 episodes |
| 2018 | A Herdeira | Ariana Franco | 190 episodes |
| 2018–19 | Valor da Vida | Isabel Vasconcellos | 203 episodes |
| 2019 | O Livro Negro do Padre Dinis | La Fille | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | Pecado | Maria Manuel | 6 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2019 | Sophia Awards | Best Actress | Parque Mayer | Nominated |
| 2019 | CinEuphoria Awards | Best Actress - National Competition | Parque Mayer | Nominated |
| 2019 | CinEuphoria Awards | Best Ensemble - National Competition | Parque Mayer | Nominated |
| 2019 | Prémios Fantastic | Best Leading Actress (Melhor Actriz Protagonista) | Parque Mayer | Won |
| 2021 | Golden Globes (Portugal) | Best Newcomer | The Suicide Squad | Nominated |