Monica Barbaro

Born: 17 June 1990

Age:

Years Active: 2012-present

Monica Maria Barbaro (born June 17, 1990) is an American actress, known for her work in television series such as 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). Barbaro's breakthrough came with a supporting role in the action film Top Gun: Maverick (2022), which she followed with starring roles in the Netflix action comedy series FUBAR (2023–2025) and as Joan Baez in the biopic A Complete Unknown (2024). For the latter, she was nominated for the SAG Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2025, she was included in the Time 100 Next list.

Barbaro was born on June 17, 1990, to Heidi (née Wagner) and Nicholas Barbaro. She has a sister Eva and a brother, Michael. Barbaro's father is Italian American and her mother is of Mexican, German, and Nicaraguan descent. Her parents divorced when she was a child. Barbaro was born in San Francisco and grew up in Mill Valley, California, where she graduated from Tamalpais High School in 2007.

Barbaro started dancing at an early age and went on to study ballet. While taking electives in acting, she completed a degree in dance at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in New York City.

After graduating in 2010, she decided to pursue acting and returned to San Francisco. There, she booked a commercial and a short film, connected with an agent, and attended the Beverly Hills Playhouse acting school.