Success may have taken its time, but Monica Barbaro has firmly established herself as one of Hollywood’s most promising talents. After years of searching for her breakthrough, the 36-year-old Californian first drew widespread attention as a fighter pilot in 'Top Gun: Maverick' before winning over the industry with her portrayal of Joan Baez in 'A Complete Unknown,' a performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination. Now, with high-profile projects on the horizon such as the much-anticipated 'Artificial,' a romance with fellow actor Andrew Garfield, and a personal style that balances sophistication with effortless ease, Barbaro has become one of the names worth watching, both on and off the screen.
Acting was not part of Monica Barbaro’s earliest ambitions. Her mother, a professional dancer, enrolled all three of her children in ballet classes. Although she discovered through small school theater productions that acting was her true passion, her family’s encouragement led her to focus exclusively on ballet. She enrolled in the dance program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the United States, and initially approached acting only through elective courses.
Today, with the dream she first nurtured as a teenager finally fulfilled, Monica Barbaro is grateful for what dance brought to her craft as an actress. “Dance gave me a completely different way into character. People reveal themselves through their body language,” she said. In the photograph, taken in 2018, the actress wears a floral dress by Brock Collection.
Monica Barbaro logged more than 40 hours of flight time to portray a military pilot in 'Top Gun: Maverick,' her first major role in a big-budget Hollywood production. During filming, she even shot some scenes aboard a two-seat F/A-18, enduring forces of up to eight Gs, and went so far as to earn her pilot’s license. All in pursuit of meeting the exacting standards set by Tom Cruise, who, she says, has become one of her most important mentors in Hollywood. "He'll see a person, see their potential and just bring out the best in them," she said of Cruise.
The role that definitively established Monica Barbaro as one of Hollywood’s most exciting breakthrough talents was her portrayal of Joan Baez in 'A Complete Unknown,' the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. Barbaro sings and plays guitar herself in the film, despite not knowing a single chord when she landed the part. After months of intensive preparation, her portrayal of Baez emerged as one of the film’s standout performances, earning her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Chalamet later explained that the filmmakers were looking for an actress with gravity and quiet power, someone capable of holding her own opposite his Dylan and even intimidating him slightly. Although the Oscar ultimately went to Zoe Saldaña for 'Emilia Pérez,' the nomination confirmed that Barbaro had moved beyond the status of rising star to become one of the defining talents of a new generation of actors.
Parallel to her professional breakthrough, which unfolded amid the awards ceremonies and industry parties surrounding the Oscars, the California-born actress embarked on her first high-profile public relationship. In January 2025, entertainment media began reporting rumors of a romance with actor Andrew Garfield, best known for films such as 'The Social Network.' Those rumors have gradually been borne out by the couple’s repeated public appearances together. Although both have been notably protective of their privacy, Garfield has spoken warmly about Barbaro, calling her a “supremely talented” actress. “I think she is truly incredible,” he said. “I could wax lyrical more, but I'll leave it there.”
In July 2025, the couple made their first official public appearance together at the Wimbledon Championships in London. They embraced the tournament’s traditional aesthetic with coordinated all-white looks, and Barbaro opted for an outfit by Ralph Lauren.
Fate would have it that their romance also blossomed on a film set, as both are part of the cast of 'Artificial,' the highly anticipated new film from Luca Guadagnino, the director of 'Call Me by Your Name.' Widely seen as a potential awards-season contender, the film is based on the story of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and the turbulent days surrounding the brief dismissal and subsequent reinstatement of its controversial chief executive, Sam Altman, who is played by Andrew Garfield. Monica Barbaro, meanwhile, portrays Mira Murati, the company’s former chief technology officer and one of the most influential figures in the artificial intelligence industry, widely regarded as a pioneering leader in the field.
“[Andrew Garfield] is one of the best actors of his generation, our generation,” the actress has said of her co-star. “I just learned a lot from his approach to the material and to developing character, and I felt very fortunate to get to witness that in real time.” Barbaro has also said that working alongside him pushed her to raise her own game. She said she thought: “Oh shit, I really have to step up my game and make sure I'm a proper, legitimate scene partner.”
For years, Monica Barbaro struggled to find her place in an industry that seemed unsure how to categorize her. The daughter of an Italian American father and a mother of Mexican, English and German descent, she has spoken about being repeatedly encouraged to lean into her Latina heritage in ways that felt inauthentic to her. At the same time, she feared the opposite risk: “neutralizing of myself to not offend anybody.” As a child, she endured racist taunts; as an actress, she sometimes lost out on roles because she was deemed not “ethnic enough.” Rather than choosing between labels, Barbaro has embraced the space in between. "I don't belong in either" — as in either side of her parentage — "but I do belong in this mixed territory."
The actress describes herself as “a romantic and a workaholic.” “I’ve never given my life over to it, which, as a woman, I’m quite proud of. But there’s also the other side of that coin, which is: You can get to a point in your life where you wake up and you look around and you’re sort of like, Oh, have I been self-protecting by [adopting] so much autonomy and independence? I’m definitely shifting some of that perspective now,” she told 'InStyle.'
After graduating from university, with neither steady work nor savings to fall back on, Monica Barbaro moved back across the country to her hometown of San Francisco. There, she spent nearly a decade juggling minor television roles and commercial work, far from the sudden, youthful breakthroughs enjoyed by some rising stars. She had to wait until 2022, when Tom Cruise came calling and changed the course of her career. That same year, her rising profile earned her an invitation to Vanity Fair’s Oscars after-party, where she attended wearing a design by Elie Saab.
Monica Barbaro has spoken openly about why she is uncomfortable using her appearance as a selling point on screen or showing more skin than a story genuinely requires. “One of the very first things I did was a project that I lost the job because I wouldn’t be topless in it,” she told the U.S. edition of InStyle. At the time, she was a background performer with a small, non-speaking role and could not see any narrative reason for the nudity. In the end, she was rehired on her own terms, with her shirt buttoned up. “I’ve not gotten naked in anything I’ve done because I haven’t worked on something where that would be a necessity to the story,” she added.
Her style evolution over the past few years has been striking. Her fashion résumé now includes a series of looks that feel both contemporary and effortless, among them the oversized white suit she paired with a Jacquemus handbag when she was photographed strolling through New York last winter.
Last year, Monica Barbaro attended the Met Gala for the first time, further cementing her rising status within the industry. For the occasion, the actress once again turned to Dior, embracing the glamour of the 1950s and the New Look silhouette with the maison’s iconic Bar jacket, leather gloves and a boater hat. She seemed to belong to another era, while proving herself perfectly in tune with the event’s dress code.
Although she says her everyday uniform tends to be simple and classic, built around Levi’s jeans, loafers and T-shirts, Monica Barbaro knows how to command the attention of the fashion press when promotional duties call. One of her most recent and most daring looks was this ensemble by designer Sandy Liang, which she wore in New York while promoting 'One Night Only.'
“I love to play dress up. I take red carpets as an opportunity to play, in whatever way feels fitting for the project I'm promoting,” she told the U.S. edition of 'Vogue.' In the image, Monica Barbaro wears a striking white gown from Jonathan Anderson’s new era at Dior.
Precisamente en el rodaje de la cinta fue fotografiada luciendo un atrevido minivestido de lentejuelas color esmeralda de Alex Perry con muchas papeletas para convertirse en uno de los más icónicos de su trabajo en pantalla.
The actress has developed a close relationship with Dior, one of her preferred labels for red carpets and high-profile events. Naturally, she is also a regular guest at the fashion house’s runway shows. For the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2024-25 presentation, she chose this striking white dress, a look that neatly encapsulates her style duality: sensual and romantic in equal measure.
Fifty years later, Carrie White is returning to American high schools. Prime Video’s new series revisits the bullied teenager who became one of horror’s defining figures, first in Stephen King’s novel and later in Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation. But there is one image that remains impossible to escape: Sissy Spacek, drenched in blood, staring directly into the camera after unleashing her telekinetic powers. For several generations, the role has been synonymous with Spacek. Now, as a new actress takes on Carrie, we look back at what became of the 76-year-old performer who brought to life some of the most memorable characters of 1970s and 1980s cinema.
Spacek was 26 when Brian De Palma cast her as a high school student in 'Carrie.' The film changed her career forever, earned her first Oscar nomination and secured her a place in the cultural imagination that remains remarkably intact 50 years after its release. The actress says that teenagers still approach her today to show off tattoos of the outcast heroine. Incidentally, unlike Carrie, Spacek was her high school’s prom queen.
Born Mary Elizabeth in a small rural town in Texas, Spacek acquired the nickname “Sissy” from her two older brothers, a name by which she would eventually become known around the world. Following the death of one of them, she left home one summer for New York with an actor cousin in an attempt to escape the family tragedy. She abandoned plans to attend college and, under the stage name Rainbo, tried to make it as a folk singer in late-1960s Manhattan. It didn’t work out. Her record label dropped her, and Spacek decided to enroll in acting school instead.
Terrence Malick’s cult classic 'Badlands' marked Spacek’s first leading role in a feature film and became her breakthrough. She played a teenage girl who runs away with a rebellious young man she has just met, played by Martin Sheen, and becomes a fugitive after her father rejects the relationship. The film won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and Spacek, who had been studying acting for only a matter of months, emerged as an unlikely Hollywood star: an anti-diva whose red hair, freckles, diminutive stature and youthful appearance set her apart from the era’s conventional screen icons.
The film also changed her life in another way: it was on the set that she met the love of her life, production designer Jack Fisk. After first crossing paths in 1972, the two married a couple of years later and have now been together for half a century, making them one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples. They have two daughters, Schuyler and Madison, and both remain active in the industry. Fisk's recent production design credits include 'Marty Supreme,' 'The Revenant' and 'Killers of the Flower Moon.'
Spacek became one of the defining stars of the New Hollywood era, a movement heavily influenced by the French New Wave and Italian neorealism. Beginning in 1977, the Texas-born actress received five Oscar nominations in less than a decade. Among her most memorable performances from that era are 'Missing,' directed by Costa-Gavras; 'The River,' opposite Mel Gibson; and 'Crimes of the Heart,' alongside Jessica Lange and Diane Keaton.
Spacek won her first and only Oscar in 1981 for 'Coal Miner’s Daughter,' the biopic of country singer Loretta Lynn. Lynn had risen from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky, marrying at 13 and becoming a mother of four before the age of 20. In a twist of fate, when Spacek was trying to launch a music career years earlier, a record label turned her down because her voice sounded too much like that of another artist on its roster: Loretta Lynn. That very similarity would later help earn her an Academy Award. Spacek performed all of the songs in the film herself and even received a Grammy nomination for her work.
The greatest tragedy of Spacek’s life came when she was just 17. Her brother Robert, only a few months older than she was, died of leukemia. Spacek was just beginning to work at the time and, despite the devastation, managed to turn that trauma into a source of strength throughout her career.
Spacek and Fisk married in Santa Monica in a ceremony so private that their dog was their only witness, and so informal that both wore jeans. The actress credits the longevity of their relationship to the constant collaboration between them.
At the height of their fame, Spacek and Fisk left Hollywood behind and moved to a farm in rural Virginia, determined to raise their daughters away from red carpets and the glare of the spotlight. There, they raised horses and grew their own vegetables, while Spacek returned to acting only for roles that truly resonated with her. In 2001, she earned a sixth Oscar nomination for her performance in 'In the Bedroom.'
Their daughters have followed their parents into the film industry as well. Schuyler Fisk became an actress and, while she never came close to matching her mother’s level of fame, she has enjoyed a steady career in American television and film. Madison, meanwhile, learned the ropes from her father and has worked in the art department on a number of feature films, following in his footsteps as a production designer.
One of the best-known stories from 1970s Hollywood is how Spacek landed the role of Carrie. As close friends, George Lucas and Brian De Palma held joint auditions for their next projects, 'Star Wars' and 'Carrie,' respectively. Spacek auditioned for Lucas’s film, while Carrie Fisher also took part in casting sessions connected to the horror movie. In the end, the roles found their way to the actresses who would make them iconic: Fisher as Princess Leia and Spacek as Carrie White.
Spacek’s performance left such a deep mark on popular culture that screenwriter and producer Mike Flanagan, who is once again adapting 'Carrie' for Prime Video, has said it was the biggest hurdle in casting the role anew. According to Flanagan, most of the 1,400 actresses who auditioned for the series arrived trying to imitate Spacek’s iconic performance. The part ultimately went to Summer H. Howell, whose reinterpretation of Carrie has drawn widespread praise from critics.
Although she was never associated with method acting in the way her contemporary Robert De Niro was, Spacek’s approach to her craft also relied on total immersion in her characters. For '’night, Mother,' in which she played a daughter struggling with suicidal thoughts, she would spend weeks inhabiting a deeply depressed emotional state until filming wrapped. It was none other than Jack Lemmon who warned her that if she remained so committed to despair, she might end up being consumed by it herself.
Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain and Emma Stone — whom Spacek once advised never to hide her freckles on screen again — are among the younger generation of stars who have publicly expressed their admiration for the 76-year-old actress. Stone, who also worked with Spacek on 'The Help,' has reunited with the veteran actress for 'The Catch,' the new film directed by Stone’s husband, Dave McCary.
At 76, Spacek appears to have settled on a definition of happiness far less ambitious than the one Hollywood usually sells. In a 2022 interview with 'Esquire,' when asked how she managed to remain so upbeat, she said happiness is overrated and that we need to be content and simply be.
When motherhood came calling, Spacek had little doubt about what should take priority. She even turned down the role that would eventually go to Debra Winger in 'Terms of Endearment' because she did not want to be separated from her daughter Schuyler, who was only a few months old.
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