roxana balzan (actress)
november 17, 1989 (27)
havana born and raised

filmography
(2018) red sparrow ... dominika egorova
(2018) under the silver lake ... sarah
(2017) baby driver ... monica castello/darling
(2016) girl on the train ... megan hipwell
(2016) 10 cloverfield lane ... michelle
(2015) joy ... joy mangano
(2015) knight of cups ... karen
(2014) faults ... claire
(2014) cut bank ... cassandra steeley
(2013) kill the messenger ... anna simmons
(2013) american hustle ... rosalyn rosenfeld
(2012) sleepwalking in the rift (short film) ... haley bennett's role
(2012) silver linings playbook ... tiffany maxwell
(2011) sucker punch ... blondie
(2011) the ides of march ... molly stearns
(2010) kaboom ... stella
(2009) passage (short film) ... abby

behind the scenes info
• roxana balzan was born in havana, cuba, the youngest of six children in all, most in her family would say that roxy was cursed with a restless soul and too much ambition. she was always looking towards the future; to find ways to elevate herself from the cramped two bedroom barrio house that she reluctantly called home. while the balzan family were by no means destitute and poor, roxy did what she could to connect with relatives in miami that were building something for themselves in america by investing in real estate. one by one, the children were sent over to aunts and uncles to be looked after. roxy and her brother iker would be the last ones to arrive in miami under the guardianship of their uncle ramos, a notorious slumlord with properties in miami-dade county.

• ramos balzan was not roxy's first choice when it came to finding a stateside guardian. he was the younger brother of her father, a natural hustler who lived his life spending more money than he was receiving. looking after his niece and nephew wasn't familial instinct, but a mere debt being paid, and that was never a secret amongst the new household. at fifteen years old, roxy was left to her own devices when it came to school and assimilating was not easy by any means. she put more effort waitressing tables than she did doing her homework, but a poster for auditions in her high school's rendition of west side story courted roxy into a world she had no idea existed. winning the role of graziella, roxy immersed herself in theater and clamored for more opportunities.

• the ample ambition that roxy is known for had helped her through miami and would help when it came to moving to los angeles, as well. the shuffling of jobs came almost immediately and while roxy did everything she could to attend casting calls, the money for the bills came from waitressing and babysitting. for as big of a city as los angeles was, it would be a neighbor referral for a babysitting job that would introduce her to a small-time agent, cara crewes, with decent connections. their business arrangement was casual at best with roxy babysitting cara's children in exchange for appointments with casting directors. for as small of a break it was, roxy landed supporting roles in a short film and an independent film that would later have a showing at cannes film festival. with kaboom circulating in film festivals, roxy finally had the platform to secure management and representation.

• propelling off of the attention she curated with kaboom, roxy secured another supporting role in the clooney directed ides of march. the film received overall praised and with its success meant roxy was added onto caa's roster of talent. 2011 would be her year of breakthrough success, but it was the following year that roxy cemented herself as a household name and new leading lady with her role as tiffany maxwell in silver linings playbook. since her unexpected academy award win, roxy has continued to churn out critically acclaimed performances with american hustle and joy, but the young actress hasn't gone without a few failures. she has managed to counter disasters like a girl on the train with her roles in 10 clover field lane and baby driver. in 2018, roxy shows no signs of slowing down and has two projects waiting in the wings.

• roxana balzan has a carefully curated media perception through the hard work of her management team. due to her lack of a social media presence (she has no twitter and her instagram account is private), most of what is known about roxy has been received from official channels and interviews and press junkets. most of her vulnerable moments were seen during her academy award speech after winning best actress in 2012; she began her speech in spanish and even thanked her family for making her tough and tenacious enough to make it in hollywood. the speech itself spurned interest in the actress' background, and after roxy felt secure in the industry, she began speaking out about racism and sexism in hollywood and her battles fighting typecasting for being of latin descent.