Melissa Navia is an American Actress and comedian who has appeared in several movies and TV shows. She is best known for her role as Carmen in the AMC series Dietland and for her recurring role as Amara in the Netflix series Bonding. She is also a co-founder of the sketch comedy group Cake or Death.
Biography, Birthday & Education
Melissa Navia was born on August 24, 1984, in New York. She is of Colombian descent and grew up in a bilingual household. She has a sister named Soraya Navia who is also an actor. As of 2022, she is 38 years old.

Melissa Navia attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan, where she studied drama. She later graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism and mass communication.
Family: Parents | Siblings
Melissa Navia has a sister named Soraya Navia. As for her parents, her father is known as Mr. Navia, and her mother is known as Mrs. Navia. Unfortunately, no additional information is available about Melissa Navia’s parents or their occupations.

Melissa Navia BIO/WIKI
Real Name | Melissa Navia |
Profession | Actor, Comedian |
Age | 38 years old |
Birth Date | August 24, 1984 |
Birth Place | New York City, United States |
Nationality | American |
Gender | Female |
Zodiac | Virgo |
Siblings | Sister: Soraya Navia |
Parents | Father: Mr. Navia Mother: Mrs. Navia |
Boyfriend | Brian Bannon (died) |
@mcnavia | |
@melissaCnavia | |
IMDb | @nm4291609 |
Height | In feet: 5′ 3″ In centimeters: 160 cm In meters: 1.6 m |
Weight | Pounds: 110 lbs Kg:50 kilograms |
Eyes | Brown |
Hair | Brown |
Net Worth | $500 Thousand |
Homepage | Dreshare.com |
Acting Career
Melissa Navia started her acting career in 2006 with a short film called The Last Supper. Since then, she has appeared in several films and TV shows, such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Orange Is the New Black, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Billions, and more.

She gained recognition for her role as Carmen in the AMC series Dietland, which aired in 2018. The show was based on a novel by Sarai Walker and followed the lives of women who struggle with body image issues and patriarchy. Melissa Navia played the role of a confident and outspoken activist who befriends the protagonist, Plum Kettle.
In 2019, she joined the cast of the Netflix series Bonding, which revolves around two friends who work as dominatrixes in New York. Melissa Navia played the role of Amara, a fellow dominatrix who mentors the main character Tiff.

Melissa Navia is also a co-founder of the sketch comedy group Cake or Death, which performs regularly at various venues in New York. She is also a writer and producer of some of their sketches.
Melissa Navia in Star Trek
Melissa Navia is an actress who plays Lieutenant Erica Ortegas, the helmsman of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The show is a spin-off of Star Trek: Discovery that follows the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike and his crew before the arrival of James T. Kirk. Navia joined the cast in 2023 for the second season of the show, which premiered on Paramount Plus and Crave.

Navia’s character is a skilled pilot who can handle any situation, from navigating asteroid fields to evading enemy ships. She is also a loyal and courageous officer who has a strong bond with her fellow bridge crew members. Navia has said that she feels honored to play a Latina character who is part of the legacy of Star Trek and that she hopes to inspire young girls and women of color to pursue their dreams.
In Season 2, Navia’s character gets more development and backstory, as well as some challenges and surprises along the way. Navia has teased that Ortegas will have some interactions with Carol Kane, a new recruit who joins the Enterprise as a science officer. She has also hinted that Ortegas will have some fun moments with Spock, played by Ethan Peck and that she will get to explore some strange new worlds with the rest of the crew.

Navia is no stranger to sci-fi and fantasy genres, as she has appeared in shows like Dietland, The Tick, Billions, and Homeland. She is also an award-winning playwright and producer who has written and performed several plays in New York City. She is a proud Colombian-American who was born and raised in New Jersey. She is married to actor and writer David Greenspan, and they have two cats named Luna and Sol.
Movies & TV Shows
Film/TV Show | Role |
---|---|
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Lt. Erica Ortegas |
Bull | Tidal |
New Amsterdam | Co-Pilot Eva Schafer |
Room 220 | Officer Lex Diaz |
Tower of Silence | Lior |
Bel Canto | Esmeralda (as Melissa C. Navia) |
Dietland | Moana |
Love Me Anyway | Jack/Esme’s lover |
Homeland | EMT Julie |
Billions | Elena Gabriel |
New York Normal | Melanie |
Hymns | Irene |
Working Poor | Melissa |
Interwoven | Voicemail Message #26 (voice) |
The Affair | Waitress |
Boyfriend and Relationships
Melissa Navia was in a relationship with Brian Bannon, who was a musician and composer. They met in 2010 and got engaged in 2017. However, Brian Bannon passed away in 2021 due to complications from COVID-19. Melissa Navia shared the news of his death on her Instagram account and paid tribute to him.

Melissa Navia is active on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. She has over 10k followers on Instagram and over 2k followers on Twitter. She often posts pictures and videos of her work, family, friends, and hobbies.
Body Measurements
Melissa Navia has a height of 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm) and a weight of around lbs ( kg). She has brown eyes and brown hair. She has a tattoo of a cake on her left wrist.

Net Worth and Income
Melissa Navia has an estimated net worth of $500 thousand as of 2023. She earns most of her income from her acting career and her comedy group. She also does voice-over work for commercials and video games.

Awards and Nominations
Melissa Navia won the award for best actress at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival in 2013 for her role as Dawn in the sci-fi movie The Paragon Cortex. She was also nominated for the same award at the Long Island International Film Expo in 2014.

Some Facts About Melissa Navia
- Navia is a Colombian-American actress and writer.
- She was born on August 24, 1984, in Los Angeles, United States.
- Navia is known for her role as Erica Ortegas in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a spin-off series of Star Trek: Discovery that will premiere in 2022.
- She won the award for best actress at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival in 2013 for her role as Dawn in the sci-fi movie The Paragon Cortex.
- Melissa had a recurring role as Wendy in the TV series Common Charges in 2015.
- Melissa had a guest role as Elena Gabriel, an astronaut bound for life on Mars, in Showtime’s series Billions in 2017.
- Melissa had a recurring role as Moana in AMC’s series Dietland in 2018.
- She played Esmeralda in the movie Bel Canto, based on the novel by Ann Patchett, in 2018.

- Navia played Lior in the movie Tower of Silence, a fantasy adventure film, in 2019.
- Melissa played Officer Lex Diaz in the short film Room 220, a thriller about a mysterious hotel room, in 2019.
- She had a guest role as Co-Pilot Eva Schafer in NBC’s series New Amsterdam in 2021.
- She had a recurring role as Tidal in CBS’s series Bull in 2022.
- Her partner, Brian Bannon, died in 2021, three days after being diagnosed with leukemia.
- She has also worked as a script supervisor and a stunt performer for some of her projects.
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