Yalitza Aparicio Never Saw Herself in Film Growing Up — Now She’s Embodying That Represe

Yalitza Aparicio Never Saw Herself in Film Growing Up — Now She’s Embodying That Representation

Yalitza Aparicio never saw herself in film while growing up. In fact, the absence of anyone on film that the Roma star could identify with pushed her to stop really appreciating cinema altogether. But while she was on track to becoming a teacher, everything changed. Yalitza accompanied her sister, Edith, to a casting call for Alfonso Cuarón’s film. When it came time to audition, Edith felt unwell and hesitated, so she persuaded Yalitza to try out instead. The director had already looked at tapes of more than 3,000 women in search of the right actor to play the role of Cleo, a domestic worker for a middle-class family living in Mexico City during the 1970s, a family based on his own.

Yalitza won the role.

Roma now has 10 Oscar nominations, including Yalitza’s best actress nomination. It’s a groundbreaking achievement for both the performer and Hollywood — she’s one of the very few indigenous people ever to have received a nod from the Academy. Over the past couple of months, Yalitza has gone from her quiet life in Mexico to jetting all over the world for screenings, photo shoots, red-carpet events, and more.

It’s still a bit much for the young woman coming off her first acting gig. Yalitza is taking it all in stride while being mindful of all the discussion heralding her performance and nomination as major moments for representation. Because while she may not have had someone to look up to on the screen when she was younger, now she’s setting the example. As part of Teen Vogue’s Young Hollywood Class of 2019, Yalitza opened up about the responsibility on her shoulders, what she has splurged on, and more.

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: Nacho Alegre