Monica Barbaro (born June 18, 1990) is an American actress. Her major roles include season 2 of UnREAL, The Good Cop, and Top Gun: Maverick.
Monica Barbaro | |
---|---|
Born | (1990-06-18) June 18, 1990 (age 32) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2013–present |
Barbaro was born on June 18, 1990,[1][2] in San Francisco. She grew up in Mill Valley, California, where she graduated from Tamalpais High School in 2007.[2][3] Her parents divorced when she was a child.[3] Barbaro started dancing at an early age and would go on to study ballet. While taking electives in acting, she completed a degree in dance at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York City.[4] After graduating in 2010, she decided to pursue acting and returned to San Francisco.[5] There, she attended the Beverly Hills Playhouse acting school.[3]
Barbaro gained attention in 2013 for her lead role in It's Not About the Nail, a viral comedy short about communication in a marriage.[6][7] Her first major television role was portraying the character of Yael on the second season of the Lifetime television series UnREAL.[8] Following UnREAL, Barbaro joined the cast of NBC legal drama Chicago Justice, an entry in Dick Wolf's Chicago franchise,[9] in which she portrayed Anna Valdez.[10] In 2018, Barbaro also played Cora Vasquez on Netflix's The Good Cop, alongside Josh Groban and Tony Danza. Between 2018 and 2019, Barbaro had a recurring part in the ABC sitcom Splitting Up Together.[11] In the 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, Barbaro portrayed Lieutenant Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, a naval aviator.[12] Though it may have taken a back seat to her acting career, Barbaro shared that dancing is finding its way back into her life. "I'm bringing it all back because I realized I'm not getting any younger, so if there's a time to break out my dancing, it should be before it's too late."[13] In addition to a dance scene in At Midnight, scheduled for release in late 2022, she also claimed to be currently working on a movie heavily featuring dancing as a core plot point.[14]
![]() |
Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Bullish | Eva | |
2021 | The Cathedral | Lydia Damrosch | |
2022 | Top Gun: Maverick | Natasha "Phoenix" Trace | |
I'm Charlie Walker | Peggy | ||
At Midnight ![]() |
Sophie Wilder | Post-production | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Stitchers | Brenda 'Bentley' Miller | Episode: "The Root of All Evil" |
2016 | Hawaii Five-0 | Ella Koha | Episode: "Ke Koa Lokomaika'i" |
2016 | Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life | Attractive Girl | Episode "How to Survive Working with Friends" |
2016 | Unreal | Yael | Main role (season 2), 10 episodes |
2016 | Notorious | Chloe Edwards | Episode: "Tell Me a Secret" |
2016–2017 | Chicago P.D. | Assistant State's Attorney Anna Valdez | 4 episodes |
2017 | Chicago Justice | Assistant State's Attorney Anna Valdez | Main role |
2017 | Lethal Weapon | Nora Cooper | Episode: "Flight Risk" |
2018 | The Good Cop | Cora Vasquez | Main role |
2018–2019 | Splitting Up Together | Lisa Apple | Recurring role |
2019 | Stumptown | Liz Melero | 4 episodes |
TBA | Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas ![]() |
Meagan (voice) | Upcoming |
TBA | Utap ![]() |
Emma Brunner | Main role |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Forspoken ![]() |
Auden (voice) | [15] |