Melissa Barrera Martinez was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, the first of four daughters to Rosana Maria Martinez García and Tomás Gerardo Barrera Tames.
She attended the American School Foundation of Monterrey from the age of 4 to 18, graduating high school and getting involved in theater during her middle school years.
She participated in school plays and musicals, including 'The Wizard of Oz,' 'Footloose,' 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,' and 'Aida.'
During her last year of high school, she led the Mexican production of 'Romeo y Julieta' as Julieta and also participated in a regional production of 'Footloose' as Ariel.
After high school, she auditioned and was accepted to the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York University (NYU) in 2009.
During her years at NYU, she participated in productions such as 'Sweet Charity' and Brecht's 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle' in the lead role of Grusche Vachnadze.
In 2011, she left NYU when she was selected to participate in the Mexican reality show 'La Academia' of TV Azteca, gaining critical acclaim for her singing and dancing abilities.
After 'La Academia,' she was chosen to participate in her first telenovela, 'La Mujer de Judas,' in the role of Zulamita, and then in 'La Otra Cara del Alma' alongside Gabriela Spanic.
In 'Siempre Tuya Acapulco,' she earned great reviews for her acting abilities and earned her first lead in a telenovela as Olvido, positioning herself as one of the fresh new faces of Mexican television.
The show became one of the most successful and beloved stories in over 20 countries, and she went on to earn critical acclaim for her acting in 'Tanto Amor.'
After working in television, she opted to try her luck in the film industry, doing four films in two years, including 'Sacúdete las Penas' and 'Prima,' set to premiere in the second half of 2017.
Melissa has always procured to alternate television and film with theatre, starring in three long-running productions in Mexico City: 'Despertando en Primavera' as Wendla, 'Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar (Hnmpl)' as Maria, and 'El Joven Frankenstein' as Inga alongside Adal Ramones and the Mascabrothers.
For her role as Maria in 'Hnmpl,' she won two awards: Revelation in Theatre from the Agrupación de Periodistas Teatrales (APT) and the Female Revelation in a Musical from the Agrupación de Críticos y Periodistas de Teatro (ACPT).
