--- description: Find out how Ana de Armas is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2021 TIME100 Next: Ana de Armas image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41fea2d989e197f2/698a1745011682cf5898057e/time100-next-ana-de-armas-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 16, 2021 # Ana de Armas by Jamie Lee Curtis  Christopher Polk—NBC/Getty Images I met Ana de Armas on the first day of filming _Knives Out._ During that first scene, I looked into her beautiful green eyes, which were brimming with tears of grief as her character mourned her friend and employer. At that moment, I remember thinking, _Who is this?_ Her talent was unmistakable. I immediately wanted to try to do anything I could to help this young actor from Cuba on her journey, though I quickly realized she didn’t need it. Her gifts were evident. During production, she showed me a photo of her screen test as Marilyn Monroe for _Blonde,_ and I couldn’t see Ana anywhere. Just Marilyn in all her fragile glory. Her performance in _Knives Out_ grounds the movie, giving it a beating heart. We will all get to remember the moment we first set eyes on her, and watch in wonder and delight as she ascends to the greatest heights our industry offers, buoyed by the depth of her soul and talent. A _megaestrella_ has arrived: _Que seas tú la estrella que brilla alto y fuerte,_ Ana de Armas. _Curtis is an actor and author_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937666/ana-de-armas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937666/ana-de-armas/"},"headline":"Ana de Armas","datePublished":"2021-02-16T22:46:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:47:33.270Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937666/ana-de-armas/","keywords":["list","franchise","TIME 100 Next"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41fea2d989e197f2/698a1745011682cf5898057e/time100-next-ana-de-armas-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt41fea2d989e197f2/698a1745011682cf5898057e/time100-next-ana-de-armas-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937666/ana-de-armas/","name":"Ana de Armas"}}]}] ```