Netflix's latest film, "Keep Breathing," is a must-see for fans of wilderness survival thrillers (but skip it if you're flying) Netflix's limited series "Keep Breathing" is about a private plane that crash-lands in a remote Canadian The film portrays a New York lawyer. Liv, played by Melissa Barrera, must battle both her harsh environment and the demons of her past in order to survive, while no one knows where she is.

The six-episode series is driven by Barrera's performance and is the latest in a long line of multi-hyphenate star power. Here's everything we know about the actress, whose resume ranges from legendary horror franchises to hit musical films.

The 32-year-old actress and singer grew up in the traditionally conservative city of Monterrey, Nueva León, Mexico. She fell in love with theater at an early age when she played an ensemble role in a school production of "The Wizard of Oz," and moved to the U.S. at age 18 to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

After graduation, Barrera returned to Mexico, where he appeared in telenovelas such as "Siempre Tuya Acapulco," "Tanto Amor," and "Club de Cuervos" (opens in new tab) and rose to fame. In an interview with Last Magazine, she said that the U.S. visa process influenced her decision, as it was difficult to stay in the U.S. after graduation. She said, "Because I had seen some of my older friends struggle after graduation. Basically, I had to go back or figure out a way to go back to school to avoid being deported," she said.

Eventually, Barrera moved to Los Angeles and a month later landed the lead role in Vida. In this drama about Mexican-American siblings reunited after the death of their mother, Barrera played Lynn, the free-spirited and outwardly confident younger sister, who actually felt lost in life.

In a 2020 interview with Marie Claire (opens in new tab), Barrera reflected on the series a few months before it ended. She said, "It started a movement in brown and Latino content, in queer representation, in the representation of women of color. It was groundbreaking and still is."

Barrera made her American film debut playing Vanessa, an aspiring fashion designer in the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In the Heights In an interview with Harper's BAZAAR (open in new tab), she said the stage musical inspired her to move to New York City to study musical theater. She also auditioned for several stage musicals while in school.

"When I went to New York on a school trip, a few of us snuck out of the hotel to go see a play," she said. She said. 'It was tears of hope and pride to see the Mexican flag on a Broadway stage, to see people who looked like me and the roles I could play, and to feel like I was on the right path.'

After In the Heights, Barrera filmed several projects, including the indie film All the World is Sleeping and the musical Carmen with Paul Mescall of Normal People. He also participated in the reboot of the "Scream" series, appearing as Sam Carpenter in 2022's "Scream" and the upcoming "Scream 6".

Barrera told Women's Health (opens in new tab) about her training for the survival thriller, which includes scuba, breath holding, and cold water training. 'I have great respect for people who scuba dive,' she said. The deep sea is terrifying to me, so I was happy to conquer that fear in this show."

She also said she prefers to do her own stunts whenever possible and has experience doing them in Mexico. She said, "I always like to do as much as I can without putting the production or myself at risk. It is always better for me if the camera is free to see my face. The stunt people always have to hide it, because then you somehow know that it's not an actor," she said.

Barrera married singer Xavier (Paco) Zazueta in 2019 after they met on the Mexican music reality show La Academia in 2011. She told Variety (open in new tab) that singer Xavier Zazueta supported her throughout the duration of the show, even though they were ostensibly competing against each other. He even wrote a song for her called "Melissa" (opens in new tab), which she performed on her wedding day.

The actor is also the mother of two adorable puppies named Rambo and Zeus.

Barrera has been outspoken about representation in Hollywood. In several interviews, she has said that she pursues different roles in order to "break out of the box."

"It's not often that flawed women are portrayed on screen, especially Latinas, and it was important to me to defy categorization, so I'm grateful to play such a rich and complex woman," she told NBC News (opens in new tab) ). 'So I missed out on a lot of opportunities and it delayed my career a little bit. Because I've turned down a lot of things because I don't want to be actively in the frame.

She also told PopSugar (opens in new tab), "I remember when I was doing 'Vida,' I started getting a lot of offers and scripts for movies where I was playing the exact same character as Lynn. I don't want to be. I don't want to be. That's something I still try to do. Every time I finish a project, I want to make something that feels completely different from what I just did, if not the opposite. I want to capture people's attention, and I want to capture the imagination of the people who follow me."