Monica Barbaro

Monica Barbaro was born in San Francisco, California, on June 17, 1990, and raised in Mill Valley. She began her artistic journey with classical ballet training and further explored various dance forms, including modern dance, salsa, flamenco, and West African dance. She pursued her academic and artistic development at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance while also taking her first acting classes. After her university studies, Barbaro refined her acting skills at various institutions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, including the Beverly Hills Playhouse, setting the foundation for her career in entertainment.

Barbaro’s career began to gain momentum with television roles, appearing in series like “UnREAL” (2016), “Chicago P.D.” (2016–2017), “Chicago Justice” (2017), “The Good Cop” (2018), and “Splitting Up Together” (2018–2019). Her feature film debut was in the independent film “The Cathedral” (2021). A significant turning point in her career came with her role as Lieutenant Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace in the blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022), which garnered critical acclaim and commercial success. She further demonstrated her range in the romantic comedy “At Midnight” (2023) and starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Netflix action-comedy series “FUBAR” (2023–2025).

In 2024, Barbaro portrayed folk singer Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” a role for which she took extensive singing and guitar lessons and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her stage career began with a West End revival of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” (2026) at the Royal National Theatre. Upcoming projects include roles in “Crime 101” (2026), the romantic comedy “One Night Only” (2026), playing Mira Murati in the biographical drama “Artificial” (2026), and an untitled “Ocean’s Eleven” prequel (2027), showcasing her continued presence in major film productions.