The hottest Hispanic stars taking over Hollywood

Melissa Barrera grew up in northern Mexico and frequently travelled to the United States for holidays and trips. Attending an American school from the ages of four to 18 helped her become fluent in English, leading her to study musical theatre at New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts.

Over the years, she has earned acclaim across both Mexico and the US, starring in numerous Mexican telenovelas before her move to Los Angeles in 2017 launched her into Hollywood. Her most defining roles to date include playing Sam Carpenter in Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). She also secured award nominations for her work in the television series Vida and Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2021 musical film adaptation of In the Heights.

Thanks to her bicultural background, Melissa gravitates towards roles that straddle both worlds, like her breakthrough part in Vida.

"Booking this specific show as my first job when everyone – the cast and the crew – is of a Latinx descent, speaking Spanglish on set, and playing a Mexican-American that shares so many of the traditions and rituals I grew up with... it felt like home, it really did," she told Flaunt.

Few actors have brought Spanish charisma to Hollywood quite like Antonio Banderas. Born in Málaga, Andalusia, to a schoolteacher mother and an officer father, he rose to fame in the 1990s, starring alongside Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons in The House of the Spirits before cementing his status as a leading man in The Mask of Zorro, where he famously wielded a sword alongside Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Determined to break into Hollywood, Antonio learned English for his roles but has always kept his distinctive Spanish accent – a signature trait that has only added to his on-screen allure.

Despite his long-standing success, he found himself at the centre of an Oscars controversy in 2020 when, amid widespread criticism of the awards' lack of racial diversity, several media outlets described him as a person of colour. The classification sparked debate, with many pointing out that as a European Spaniard, he is not considered a person of colour in most contexts.

"I don't know what I am. When I've gone to the U.S., I've considered myself Latino, because those are the people I've connected with the most," he revealed to Univision when reacting to the controversy.

He explained how, when filling out a form in the US, he was told to tick the box for Hispanic, rather than white.

"I said, 'Hispanic isn't actually a race.' Great, I'm happy to be Hispanic, Spanish, Latino, and if I'm a person of colour, well then I'm a person of colour."

Cuban-Puerto Rican actor Adam Rodriguez was born and raised in New York, but his heritage has always been a guiding force in both his life and career.

"I feel like just by carrying my name and looking the way that I do, that in itself represents," he told Latin Times.

Adam is best-known for his roles in CSI and Magic Mike, the latter role he worked out for for around five hours a day in order to achieve the desired physique.

He executive produced and starred in the holiday film A Christmas Proposal, emphasising the importance of more Latinx stories and characters in films.

"It was my goal from the beginning [that we're represented in a non-stereotypical way]. The script was never written for a Latino family, to begin with. It was written, I'm sure, with a white family in mind. And CBS had the foresight to jump aboard and get a Latin cast in there," he told Deadline.

"I was really happy to get to participate in that and help give it shape because we wanted this to be authentic. We wanted this to be about the people in it and not having to make those people characters that we've seen so many times before. It's really time to see something fresh and I think we accomplished that."

Mexican-born actress Salma Hayek, the daughter of Lebanese-Spanish parents, first made her name in her homeland starring in the award-winning telenovela Teresa. Her Hollywood breakthrough came opposite Antonio Banderas in Desperado, and she has continued to blaze a trail ever since.

"Given the range of how exquisite the Latin talent is today, I am confident that we will stay and continue to open more doors," she told TIME.

"I think that we’re already [creating change]. I think the quality of our work will continue to open doors. All I can say is that we may need to have more people behind the camera, writers especially, but it’s happening. You have to be patient."

Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria grew up in Texas as part of a Tejano family, descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in the region long before it became part of the United States. Although her parents chose not to teach her Spanish to protect her from discrimination, her dual identity remains deeply personal to her.

While she is best known for her Desperate Housewives fame, Eva has also starred in two shows Searching for Spain and Searching for Mexico, where she experiences food, culture and scenery in both countries.

Eva told the New Yorker how growing up between both cultures affected her. "Later in life – I didn’t grow up speaking Spanish – going to Mexico and all of them going, 'Oh, you're the American,' 'Mira la gringa,' 'Ahí está la gringa.' And I was, like, 'No, I'm Mexican.' And they're, like, 'No, you're not. You're American.' And I was, like, 'I mean, yes, but.' And, all of a sudden, I was, like, 'Wait, oh, so I'm both,' and it wasn't really until college that I navigated that identity, straddling the hyphen of being both."

Fantastic Four actress Jessica has a diverse heritage, with Danish, Welsh, German, English and French ancestry on her mother's side, while her paternal great-grandparents were Mexican immigrants.

She shot to fame in 2002 in Dark Angel, selected from 1,000 hopefuls by director James Cameron. Her celebrity was further solidified in 2003's Honey, where she played an aspiring dance teacher.

"I always took pride in being Latina, it's something I always embraced," Jessica told PEOPLE, explaining that she struggled to fit into Hollywood.

"I was always trying to figure out 'How the hell am I going to be mainstream? How are people going to accept me? When are they going to get a clue that I am American, that this is what America looks like – people like me who are mixed, have different blood, mixed with different ethnicities? When are the people who are hiring for these jobs and writing these screenplays going to realize that?'

A true trailblazer, Jennifer Lopez is one of the most influential and highest-paid Latinx stars in Hollywood. Born and raised in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, she made history in 2001 as the first woman to have a No. 1 film (The Wedding Planner) and album (J.Lo) simultaneously.

Jennifer continues to champion Latin causes and be proud of her heritage.

"It's just who I was. I think my mother and my family raised me to be proud of who I was and so, when I went into these worlds, like Hollywood, where we were not represented at all, I almost felt like a unicorn.

"And I was just like, 'You know what? I'm Latina. I'm Jennifer Lopez from the Bronx and my parents are Puerto Rican, I'm Puerto Rican," she said on the Today Show.

With an unparalleled track record in film, Zoe Saldaña has starred in four of the seven highest-grossing movies of all time, including Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Avengers: Endgame.

Born in New Jersey and raised in Queens, Zoe's heritage is Dominican and Puerto Rican. Growing up in a bilingual household, she has often spoken about the ways her identity shaped her journey in Hollywood.

Zoe has frequently been honest about the way her heritage has affected her career.

"There is no retirement, you know; Latinos are like that. You work until the day you die. It's part of life. It's part of your culture. When you start out and you are a person of colour and you are female, you feel like you work twice as hard and it takes twice as long. We are finally reaping the benefits of all the hard labour. I honestly feel like we're just getting started."

Michelle is one of several Latina stars who cross several cultures, as she is Dominican Puerto Rican. A DNA test on Finding Your Roots revealed that Michelle is 72.4 per cent European, 21.3 per cent African, and 6.3 per cent Native American. She shared that there has been tension in her family as a result of different coloured skin, where her Dominican mother had a darker complexion than her Puerto Rican father.

Her fame came about through roles in Avatar, Fast & Furious, and Girlfight, and she has spoken of her "responsibility" to give young Latina girls a role model, and turn down roles that stereotype Latin American women.

Director, producer and actor Gael was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was notably the first Mexican to be accepted at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

He has enjoyed a career in both Mexico and Hollywood, and advocates passionately for Mexican filmmaking.

Penélope was born in Spain to a hairdresser mother and car mechanic father. She first acted in Jamón, Jamón, opposite future husband and fellow Spanish actor Javier Bardem, going on to star in a variety of Spanish and Italian films, but her big break came in 2001 when she played Tom Cruise's love interest in Vanilla Sky.

In 2011, Penélope became the first Spanish actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Eva was born in Miami to Cuban parents, and grew up in Los Angeles, going on to enjoy an acting career, with a big break in Training Day in 2001.

After starring in her husband Ryan Gosling's directorial debut Lost River in 2014, Eva retired.

"I got tired fighting for the good roles. There just was a point where I thought, ‘I’m going to create my own opportunities and become a producer on things and create my own material,’ but it just didn’t feel worth it to me," she told Variety.

"There are more opportunities for Latina actresses now (in 2022), but when I bowed out 10 years ago I wasn’t being offered things that weren’t specifically Latina. It is exciting that things are different now, so who knows what I will do in the future. But right now, I’m keeping it in the home with my kids."

While Sofía's performance as Gloria Pritchett in Modern Family may have raised some eyebrows for its more stereotypical portrayal of a fiery, sexualised Latina woman, she argues that it was her own experience growing up.

"What's wrong with being a stereotype? Gloria's character is inspired by my mom and my aunt. They are both Latina women who grew up in Colombia, like me. They love colour, prints and shoes. I'm like that too: a voluptuous, intense, happy woman, who wants to get involved in everything with her partner to help," the actress told Vanity Fair.

Sofía grew up in Barranquilla, Columbia, and immigrated to America in 1998 where she began to work as an actress.

James Bond actress Ana is Cuban-American, as her maternal grandparents migrated to Cuba from Spain. Ana started her acting career in Spanish cinema before landing a role opposite Keanu Reeves in Knock Knock, but struggled with speaking English and had to learn her lines phonetically.

She became first Cuban actress to be nominated for a leading role at the Oscars for Blonde in 2023, and has spoken passionately about changing the way Latina actresses and characters are perceived.

Self-described as "a big mix of many things", Oscar Isaac (born Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada) was born in Guatemala City to a Guatemalan mother and Cuban father. The family immigrated to America when Oscar was young.

When Oscar turned to acting, he used the name Oscar Isaac to avoid becoming typecast in stereotypical Latino roles.

Barbie actress America is a passionate advocate for greater visibility and roles for Latinx people. Her parents immigrated to the States from Honduras, and she has Lenca ancestry, an indigenous tribe in Honduras.

"While I enjoy an incredible career full of opportunity that I have fought hard for and worked hard for, I know that the vast reality for Latinos in this industry is that it's as difficult today as it was 16 years ago, or even 22 years ago when I started out," she explained to BBC.

"It's complicated to reconcile the almost fairy tale story of my journey with what I know is the reality for the vast majority of people like me."

The Mandalorian actor Pedro was born in Santiago, Chile, but his parents were forced to flee the country after political unrest when Pedro was just nine months old. They stayed in Denmark before settling in the United States.

Pedro landed his breakthrough role as Dornish prince Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones and has continued to dominate Hollywood.

"I think that the change is really important and that the best way to continue representation is just casting a person into a role that isn't limiting a character to racial identity," he told Variety, describing being a role model to young Latinos as the "best part" of acting.

"Especially if it’s an IP we're familiar with or a book. People get so butthurt about this kind of stuff, but who cares? Because that's the coolest way of moving the needle is being open about the casting in every way."

Taylor is relatively new to the acting scene, landing a major role opposite Jacob Elordi and Joey King in The Kissing Booth 2, and again in Red, White and Royal Blue with Nicholas Galitzine.

His mother is Mexican, and he also has Middle Eastern and Mediterranean heritage.

"I just want to see less drug dealers, less gang members, less violence, [have] them less criminalized than a guy that plays guitar at school that has his Mexican swag on. Just like we normalize all different types of communities – LGBTQ, Black, Asian – we have to normalize Latinx characters as well. I’m looking forward to that," Taylor told ET.

He is a passionate advocate for not only increasing the Latin American presence in front of the camera but behind it too.