Melissa Navia is an American actress born on August 24, 1984, in New York City, where she would later attend the Professional Performing Arts School to study acting, singing, and dancing. After graduating from high school, Navia continued her education at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama.
Navia began her acting career on stage, appearing in productions of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her early work also included short films and television commercials.
In 2013, Navia landed her breakthrough role as Dawn in the science fiction movie The Paragon Cortex, which went on to win several awards at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival, including Best Actress for Navia.
Fast forward to 2022, Navia was cast as helmsman Erica Ortegas in the television series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a prequel to the original Star Trek series, which follows the adventures of the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike. Navia's performance as Ortegas has been widely praised by critics and fans alike.
In addition to her work on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Navia has also appeared in several other television series, including Bull, New Amsterdam, Billions, and Dietland, as well as films such as The Perfect Match and The Girl Who Invented Kissing.
When not acting, Navia is a writer and stand-up comedian, and she is also a trained martial artist and sword fighter.
