WOMEN WE LOVE: Ana de Armas

Watch out for the golden girl! Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas's light is one of a kind, and we cannot stop ourselves from asking, "Is Ana de Armas the new Hollywood It Girl?" All of her action films and TV shows have had great success and have made her one of the most sought-after actresses in the biz. Ana de Armas's life and her powerful charisma has turned her into an ideal actress for action cinema and one of Hollywood's most prominent stars.

Ana de Armas has lived in many countries, including Cuba, Madrid, and Los Angeles. At 14 years old, Ana auditioned to join the prestigious art school La Escuela Nacional de Arte de Cuba, and at 16 years old, she performed the lead in her first film, Una Rosa de Francia (2006), directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. Ana de Armas's successful story is about determination, tenacity, and talent, which she would need upon her move to Los Angeles in 2014.

At 18, Ana de Armas starred alongside a long list of Spanish actors in the 7 seasons of "El Internado" (2007 - 2010), a Spanish teen drama thriller series. What happens in the boarding school Laguna Negra stays hidden until our protagonists reveal the truth. De Armas was one of the main protagonists in the show, and it was the start of an influential career.

Like other international celebrities, language is a common problem to tackle. De Armas learned English for 4 months, 7 hours daily. Her first real success came with Knock Knock in 2015, directed by Eli Roth, where she worked for the first time with Keanu Reeves. She showed her strong personality and acting ability in action movies with this film.

Afterward, she performed the role of the holographic A.I. girlfriend Joi in Denis Villeneuve's action-packed film Blade Runner 2049 (2017) by — the sequel of the classic 1982 film.

Knives Out (2019), the murder mystery film directed by Rian Johnson, came out a few years later and put Ana on the map, earning her her first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. 

With No Time to Die (2021), Ana teamed up once more with her Knives Out co-star Daniel Craig and continued to demonstrate her prowess as an action actress. However, it is her role in the controversial Blonde (2022) where she showed great versatility, taking on the role of the iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe. The risk paid off, as Ana went on to earn a ton of accoldades, including another Golden Globe nomination and her first Oscar nomination (the first Cuban actress to achieve this).

Next up for Ana is Ballerina, a spinoff of the incredibly popular John Wick franchise, where Keanu Reeves reprises his role. The trailer has had a solid impact and generated great expectations for the film. Ana de Armas’s role is impressive, as the ballerina assassin Eva Macarro. The film is due out in June of next year.

Ana de Armas's journey to success hasn't been easy; it has taken a lot of hard work and tackling challenges one step after the next. Every project she works on leaves a lasting impression. Her success in enviable and noteworthy, not only because she is a talented Cuban actress but also because she hasn't made many career-breaking mistakes (so far). Ana de Armas's powerful charisma also helped her success, making her the ideal actress for directors seeking a generally well-rounded actress. No one can stop her.

Now, aged 36, she has become a massive star. Despite her relatively short career, she has positioned herself as a potential Latin icon for the years to come. We need to lift successful women's voices. Ana de Armas might be moving away from the city of lights and dreams, but her career shows a hard-working and powerful woman writing her own story!