From Bond to Blonde...It's the sensational rise of Ana de Armas

Being raised in communist Cuba didn’t stop Ana de Armas from pursuing her dreams. After moving to LA speaking very little English, she had to work hard to get herself noticed. From small acting roles to whirlwind romances with Ben Affleck, the star has since been working her way up in Hollywood. Following her big break in the murder mystery ‘Knives Out’, she’s played Bond girl Paloma in 'No Time To Die' and will portray Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe in 'Blonde'. It's the rise of Ana de Armas!

The Cuban-Spanish actress was born on 30 April 1988 in Havana where she was raised in the small city of Santa Cruz del Norte. Ana's older brother Javier is a New York based photographer and the pair grew up during Cuba’s Special Period – a time of economic crisis brought on by the fall of the Soviet Union. Despite food rationings, fuel shortages and electricity blackouts, Ana described her childhood as happy.

Growing up in a communist country meant Ana had no internet access and very little knowledge of the world outside Cuba. She was only allowed to watch 20 minutes of cartoons at the weekend. As her family didn’t own a video or DVD player, Ana would sneak into her neighbours apartment where she would watch Hollywood films.

Ana decided that she wanted to become an actress at 12-years-old and would memorise and practice monologues in front of the mirror. In 2002, when Ana was just 14 she successfully auditioned for a place in Havana’s National Theatre of Cuba. As a student Ana starred in three films during her time on the course. However she left the course months before she was due to graduate because of restrictions on graduates imposed on the Cuban government.

Thanks to Ana’s maternal grandparents being Spanish immigrants, she was able to migrate to Spain through her Spanish citizenship where she left to pursue acting in Madrid. Two weeks after her arrival, Ana was spotted by casting director Luis San Narciso, who recognised the star from her role in Cuban film Una Rosa de Francia (2006). Her breakout role came when she was cast in teen drama ‘El Internado’ for six seasons from 2007 to 2010. The role cemented her as a celebrity figure in Spain.

Anxious about the lack of momentum in her career, Ana moved to Los Angeles after encouragement from her new Hollywood agent. When Ana first arrived in LA, she knew no English whatsoever. After spending four months learning the language, Ana landed her first Hollywood role starring opposite Keanu Reeves in the 2015 erotic thriller ‘Knock Knock’.

Ana was on the road to success after landing a supporting role in 2016’s ‘War Dogs’. The following years she starred alongside Ryan Gosling in futuristic thriller ‘Blade Runner 2049’ as his AI girlfriend. Her performance was well received by critics. The Guardian wrote: " (She) Brings three-dimensional warmth to a character who is essentially a digital projection."

Though she was a celebrity in Spain, she had not cracked Hollywood yet. It wasn't until Ana was cast as an immigrant nurse in murder mystery film ‘Knives Out’ (2019) alongside Daniel Craig, that cemented her a big movie star. Ana almost turned down the role as she didn’t warm to the idea of playing a stereotypical Latina nurse, but then realised her character had a lot of depth. The film became a major box office success with Ana winning the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress whilst also being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance.

It was a whirlwind romance for both Ana and Ben Affleck who began dating in 2020 after they met whilst filming ‘Deep Water’ together. The couple first sparked dating rumours when they were spotted on holiday together in Cuba in March 2020 but ended the romance after just 10 months together.

Ana’s biggest achievement in her acting career so far has been landing the prestigious role of a Bond girl in 2021’s ‘No Time To Die’ where she reunited with 'Knives Out' co-star Daniel Craig. Ana received rave reviews for her portrayal as Paloma in the 007 movie. Her performance was regarded as one of the film's highlights and led to calls for Paloma to have her own spin-off.

60 years on from Marilyn Monroe’s death, Netflix will be releasing a biopic titled ‘Blonde’ with playing the tragic Hollywood icon. The star spent several months preparing to capture Marilyn’s distinctive voice. She said: "It took me nine months of dialect coaching, and practicing and some ADR sessions. It was a big torture, so exhausting. My brain was fried."