Meet Ana de Armas, starring as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde: from an orphan in Cuba to lead actress Netflix’s latest biopic – and even dating Ben Affleck before he married Jennifer Lopez

Aug 7 , 2022

Ana de Armas is the bombshell lead of the Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde, but what else do you need to know about Hollywood’s hottest name of the year? Photos: EPA-EFE, @ana_d_armas/Instagram

Ana de Armas starred opposite Ryan Gosling in Netflix No 1 smash The Gray Man and Daniel Craig in No Time to Die – but this career-defining role promises all eyes will be only on her

Like Marilyn Monroe herself, the Cuban-Spanish actress has enjoyed some high-profile romances – including Ben Affleck, who rebounded back to old flame Jennifer Lopez

Earlier this week, spy thriller The Gray Man leapt to the top of Netflix’s top 10 within hours of release – and starring opposite Ryan Gosling’s elusive agent Six is a face we’re going to be seeing a lot more of soon: Ana de Armas.

We’re still reeling from the smash box office success of Elvis, which catapulted leading man Austin Butler into a new stratosphere of worldwide fame. So now it’s safe to assume the Cuban-Spanish actress will be the next beloved biopic doppelgänger – thanks to the small matter of her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming biopic Blonde.

Mistake it with the real thing? Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde. Photo: @ana_d_armas/Instagram

Of course, you probably know de Armas well already after a string of blockbuster roles, with Daniel Craig in Knives Out and as Bond girl Paloma in No Time to Die, and again with Gosling in Blade Runner 2049. However, being hand-picked to play the ultimate Hollywood icon is a role that could be career-defining.

Described as an “emotional nightmare fairy-tale type movie”, the Netflix adaptation, set for release on September 23, is based on a biographical fiction novel of the same name by author Joyce Carol Oates. It stars A-list actors as the famous men in Monroe’s life, including Adrian Brody as playwright Arthur Miller; Bobby Cannavale as baseball player Joe DiMaggio; and Caspar Phillipson as President John F. Kennedy.

So who is Ana de Armas? Here’s what we know about how she landed the role of a lifetime, and some surprising similarities she shares with Ms Monroe.

She beat out Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts for the role

No ordinary blonde, Ana de Armas was picked as Marilyn Monroe. Photo: @ana_d_armas/Instagram

It took almost a decade to get Blonde made, according to director Andrew Dominik. That’s in large part because of the challenge of casting the lead role perfectly.