Ana De Armas' arresting eyes and captivating beauty in ten photos

Ana de Armas (born April 30, 1988) is an actress from Cuba and Spain. She began acting in Cuba with the film Una rosa de Francia (2006) and became well-known in Spain for her role in the TV show El Internado, where she acted for six seasons from 2007 to 2010.

After moving to Los Angeles, Ana de Armas took on English-speaking roles in Knock Knock (2015) and War Dogs (2016). She gained widespread recognition for her role as Joi in Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Her performance as Marta Cabrera in Knives Out (2019) earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.

She also played the Bond girl Paloma in No Time to Die (2021) and Norma Jeane in Blonde (2022). For Blonde, de Armas became the first Cuban nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Ana de Armas was born in Havana, Cuba, and grew up in Santa Cruz del Norte. Her maternal grandparents were Spanish immigrants from Leon and Palencia in northern Spain. Her father, Ramón, worked in various roles, including as a bank manager, teacher, school principal, and deputy mayor. He also studied philosophy at a Soviet university. Her mother, Ana, worked in human resources at the Ministry of Education. 

Ana has an older brother, Javier, a photographer in New York City, who faced scrutiny from Cuban police in 2020 due to his criticism of Decree 349 and connections with artists under government surveillance. Despite experiencing food rationing, fuel shortages, and power outages during Cuba's Special Period, Ana de Armas describes her childhood as happy.

During her childhood and adolescence, Ana de Armas had no Internet access and limited exposure to global popular culture.

She was allowed just "20 minutes of cartoons on Saturday and the Sunday movie matinee." Without a video or DVD player, she watched Hollywood movies at a neighbour's apartment. 

Ana practiced monologues in front of a mirror and decided to become an actress at age 12. 

In 2002, at 14, she joined Havana's National Theatre of Cuba and sometimes hitchhiked to attend classes.  At 18, using her Spanish citizenship from her maternal grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue her acting career.

In Cuba, Ana de Armas starred opposite Álex González in the romantic drama Una rosa de Francia (2006). Cuban actor Jorge Perugorría recommended her to the director after meeting her at a party.

The director visited her drama school and told the sixteen-year-old that she had the role on the spot. During a promotional tour for the film in Spain, she met Juan Lanja, who would later become her Spanish agent. She also appeared in El edén perdido (2007) and had a supporting role in Fernando Pérez's Madrigal (2007), which she filmed at night without her drama school tutors' permission.

At 18, Ana de Armas moved to Madrid. Within two weeks, she met casting director Luis San Narciso, who had seen her in Una rosa de Francia. Two months later, he cast her as Carolina in the drama El Internado, where she starred for six seasons from 2007 to 2010. The show, set in a boarding school, gained popularity and made her a well-known figure in Spain.

During a break from filming, she starred in the successful coming-of-age comedy Mentiras y Gordas (2009). Despite El Internado's success, de Armas felt typecast and primarily offered roles for younger characters, leading her to request being written out of the show in its second-to-last season.

After spending a few months in New York City to learn English, Ana de Armas was convinced to return to Spain to star in seventeen episodes of the historical drama Hispania (2010–2011). She then appeared in Antonio Trashorras's horror films El callejón (2011) and Anabel (2015), as well as the drama Por un puñado de besos (2014). During a period of limited acting opportunities, de Armas participated in workshops at Tomaz Pandur's theatre company in Madrid and felt anxious about the stagnation in her career.