When Ana de Armas landed in Los Angeles a decade ago, she spoke little English, could barely communicate with her co-stars, and had to recite her lines by rote. Today, she’s the talk of the town and the first Cuban to earn an Academy Award for Best Actress nod. It has been an instinctive rise, and the avenging assassin of Ballerina has the world at her feet.

Ana Celia de Armas Caso was born on 30 April 1988, in Havana, Cuba, and raised in the small coastal town of Santa Cruz del Norte. Her early years were shaped by the economic hardships of Cuba’s Special Period, yet her imagination flourished. She watched Hollywood films at a neighbour’s house and memorised monologues in front of a mirror, dreaming of a life far beyond the island.

By age 14, she had successfully auditioned to train at the National Theatre of Havana. Her determination was fierce – she sometimes hitchhiked to classes and filmed three movies while still a student. However, she left the programme early, knowing that Cuban graduates were required to complete three years of community service before being allowed to leave the country. At 18, she made a move to Madrid to chase her dream.

“I was fortunate to also have Spanish nationality [through her maternal grandparents], and with that freedom, I could come to Spain. I don’t know what I’d have done if I hadn’t had this advantage,” she acknowledges.

Her luck continued – within weeks of arriving, she met casting director Luis San Narciso and scored a place in hit boarding-school drama series El Internado (2007–2010). Though the show brought her fame in Spain, she felt creatively boxed in and left before its final season, seeking more diverse roles.

De Armas had appeared in several Spanish films, but by 2014 was ready for a bigger leap. She moved to LA and began intensive English-language lessons. Her first English-speaking role came in Knock Knock (2015), a psychological thriller opposite Keanu Reeves.

Despite the language barrier, she and Reeves shared a connection. She recalls: “I still managed to … bond with him and show him who I am to him and the kind of artist that I am. And that’s how we created that friendship and how all the other jobs came after.

“I just learned so much from [Keanu] just by watching him. He’s just nonstop. He’s like me: we are perfectionists. We want to do it again and again and again, and it’s never enough. So it is tough to say ‘cut’ when we’re filming.”

The parts that followed were in War Dogs (2016), Hands of Stone (2016), and Overdrive (2017). But her breakout role was Joi, a holographic AI companion in Blade Runner 2049 (2017), which showcased her emotional depth and screen presence, even in a futuristic, digitally enhanced form.

Then came Knives Out (2019), Rian Johnson’s modern whodunit. Her performance as a kind-hearted nurse entangled in a wealthy family’s murder mystery was widely praised, earning her a Golden Globe nomination and catapulting her into the A-list. She held her own alongside acting heavyweights like Daniel Craig and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Her career continued to soar in the early 2020s. She reunited with Craig in No Time to Die (2021), playing a charismatic CIA agent and stealing the scene with her blend of elegance, humour and lethal skill. In Deep Water (2022), she starred opposite Ben Affleck in a tense erotic thriller that blurred the lines between fiction and real life, as the two actors were romantically linked off-screen.

But it was her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Blonde (2022), Andrew Dominik’s adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ fictionalised novel, that became her most daring and controversial role. “[My] job wasn’t to imitate [Monroe],” she notes. “I was interested in her feelings, her journey, her insecurities, and her voice, in the sense that she didn’t really have one.” The film polarised critics, but her Oscar-nominated performance was acknowledged as fearless and transformative.

Commenting at the time, she says: “[The nomination] was a reminder of ‘look at the career I’m having, look at all the things I can do. This is exactly what I wanted.’ It’s usually that you are either only an action star … or you are doing indie low-budget films that not many people get to see. … So to be able to manage both sides of it and have it all in my own way, it’s amazing.”

Her personal life has often drawn media attention. She was married to Spanish actor Marc Clotet from 2011 to 2013. Following her highly publicised relationship with Affleck, she dated Tinder executive Paul Boukadakis. Rumours swirled this summer about a budding romance with Tom Cruise. Despite the speculation, she remains fiercely private, preferring to let her work speak louder than her personal life.

De Armas has spoken candidly about the challenges of being a Latina in Hollywood. She’s turned down roles that felt stereotypical and has advocated for more nuanced, authentic representation. Her fluency in both Spanish and English, combined with her global appeal, has made her a bridge between cultures and industries.

In 2023, she starred in Ghosted, an action-romantic comedy with Chris Evans, and in 2024, appeared in Eden, directed by Ron Howard. This year, she took centre stage in Ballerina, a spin-off from the John Wick universe. As a ballerina-turned-assassin, she brought grace and grit to a role that demanded both physical intensity and emotional complexity.

Beyond the screen, de Armas has become a fashion icon, gracing the covers of Vogue, Elle and Vanity Fair. She’s been the face of luxury brands like Estée Lauder and Louis Vuitton, embodying a blend of classic glamour and modern edge.

Despite her meteoric rise, she remains grounded. Having bought a home near Woodstock, Vermont, in 2022, she finds tranquillity away from the limelight. “It became a little bit too much,” she says of life in LA. “There’s no escape. There’s no way out. … It’s always the feeling of something that you don’t have, something missing. It’s a city that keeps you anxious.”

She frequently visits her family in Cuba and has spoken about the importance of staying connected to her roots. Her brother, Javier Caso, is a photographer and activist based in New York, and the two share a close bond.

De Armas’s journey is one of resilience, reinvention and relentless ambition. From a small town in Cuba to the heights of Hollywood, she has defied expectations and carved a path uniquely her own. With each role, she continues to surprise audiences, bringing a rare authenticity to every frame. Not just a pretty face or a rising star, she’s a symbol of what’s possible when talent meets tenacity. In a world that often demands conformity, Ana de Armas dares to be unforgettable.