Daniela Melchior

Daniela Melchior dos Reis Lopes Pereira was born on 1 November 1996 in Almada, Portugal.^[1] From a young age, she showed a strong interest in acting, aspiring to become a film star.^[2] She attended a convent school and later did a vocational course in performing arts in high school.^[3][4] During her school years, she participated in local and school theatre productions.^[1][4] At 16, she joined a modelling agency as a way to gain access to the acting industry, appearing in small commercials before eventually landing her first television role.^[4]

Melchior started her career in 2014 with the role in telenovela Mulheres [pt], where she starred for 316 episodes and, subsequently, in 68 episodes of teen drama Massa Fresca (2016). Her breakthrough came with her first leading role as Cláudia Andrade for 221 episodes of the award-winning^{[note 1]} Portuguese telenovela Ouro Verde (2017), establishing her as one of Portugal's most promising young actresses.^[6] She also participated in other Portuguese film and television productions, such as telenovelas A Herdeira (2018), Valor da Vida (2018) and Pecado [pt] (2021) and feature-length films The Black Book (2018) and comedy drama Parque Mayer (2018).^[7][8][9] Her performance in Mayer earned her a Sophia Awards nomination for Best Actress. After a representative from the United States saw the trailer for Mayer, they offered to represent her, prompting her eventual move to pursue roles abroad.^[2][10] She also provided the Portuguese voice for Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, earning recognition among the comic book fan community in Brazil.^[7][8][9]

In 2019, James Gunn cast Daniela Melchior as Cleo Cazo, also known as Ratcatcher 2, for his film The Suicide Squad (2021). Melchior was encouraged to present herself in a traditionally glamorous manner for her initial pre-audition meeting, but this approach reportedly did not align with the vision of the film's producers. For her subsequent audition, Melchior adopted a darker, more eccentric portrayal of the character, which resonated with Gunn and ultimately led to her casting.^[9] She also had a further audition with rats.^[11][12] Melchior as Cleo Cazo marked the first portrayal by a Portuguese actress in a DC Extended Universe film.^[13] Gunn described Melchior as "the heart of the film."^[12][14] Critics identified Melchior as the film's standout,^[15] describing her as "luminous", "wonderfully guileless", and "the film's secret weapon."^[14]

In 2021, Melchior was cast in the crime thriller Marlowe and action thriller Assassin Club.^[16][17] In March 2022, she joined the cast of the tenth Fast & Furious film titled, Fast X, with Vin Diesel offering her the role after seeing her performance in The Suicide Squad.^[18][19] In June 2022, it was announced that she would collaborate for the second time with James Gunn in his MCU film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, making her the first Portuguese actress to appear in an MCU film.^[20] Gunn is reported to have written the character, Ura, specifically for Melchior.^[21] In August 2022, she joined the action film Road House, a remake of the 1989 film.^[22] In 2024, she joined the cast of action comedy Balls Up, directed by Peter Farrelly.^[23] In August 2025, she starred in the mystery thriller American Sweatshop; with critics saying that Melchior was underused in the movie.^[24][25][26] In October 2025, it was announced that Melchior would star in the comedy horror Anaconda, a remake of the 1997 film, and in the action comedy Violent Night 2.^[27][28]

In 2023, Melchior went to Paris Fashion Week as a Balmain's muse.^[4][29] On International Women's Day, French fashion company ba&sh invited Melchior for their new campaign.^[30]

Melchior has been involved in various activist movements, particularly those focused on anti-racism. In 2020, she participated in Blackout Tuesday, a global wave of protests after the murder of George Floyd, and took part in an anti-racism protest in Lisbon.^[2] In April 2025, Melchior was one of the public figures who criticized the launch of the all-female space crew Blue Origin's New Shepard, calling it "the opposite of women's empowerment" and a "waste of money, resources and pollution just to put a group of women in space and sell it as women's power."^[31]

Before the filming of The Suicide Squad, Melchior suffered from irritable bowel syndrome due to the anxiety she felt working with high-profile actors on the shoot such as Margot Robbie and Idris Elba.^[32][33] Melchior has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety.^[34][35]