Alba Baptista: What Only True Fans Know About The Actor
If you aren't yet familiar with the name Alba Baptista, you're definitely going to be, considering that the Lisbon, Portugal, native is quickly becoming one of Hollywood's hottest rising stars. Baptista has been steadily acting since 2012, but made a splash with her English-speaking debut in 2020 in the Netflix action series "Warrior Nun." When it came to her breakthrough role as Ava Silva, Baptista told Fade To Her, "What mostly drew me to Ava was her ever so present and outer inner child... This was so fun to connect to during the shoot."
From there, Baptista made her entrance into American film with the 2022 comedy-drama "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris," where she acted alongside film veteran Leslie Manville and played a Dior model named Natasha. Although the movie was much different than "Warrior Nun," Baptista was just as drawn to the part. She dished to Glamour, "I remember getting the script and absolutely falling in love with it. I actually didn't even have an audition — I just had a Zoom meeting with the director." She continued, "I think he saw some character traits that connected with Natasha."
These days Baptista isn't just getting attention for her acting. She's also been romantically linked to People's 2022 "Sexiest Man Alive," Chris Evans. Between Baptista's hot career and personal life, it's safe to say more people want to know more about the "Nothing Ever Happened" star. So let's break down some interesting details that only true fans know about the actor.
Alba Baptista was discovered at age 15
American fans may be just getting to know Alba Baptista but the "Field of Blood" star has actually been acting since she was discovered as a young teen. She recalled to Fade To Her, "It happened by chance when I was fifteen. I was invited to an audition for a leading role in a film where the director simply asked me existentialist questions. ... This approach made me fall in love with the idea of acting."
Baptista went on to do her first film in 2012, which per her IMDb, was the short "Amanhã é um Novo Dia." Yet it was her next short, "Miami, ” for which she won the Best Actress Award at the Festival Ibérico de Ciné. When it came to her start, Baptista dished to Glamour, "The discovery of connecting yourself with unknown emotions was such a big revelation for me at the time, so I kept with it." And kept with it she did, landing multiple roles in her native Portugal in TV series like "Filha da Lei" and telenovelas like "Jogo Duplo."
That, however, seemingly didn't make transitioning to Hollywood any easier. Baptista explained to W magazine, "It can be very isolating to try to make it outside of your own country." She of course did make it though, landing "Warrior Nun" when she was just 22. Showrunner Simon Barry even told Decider, "I immediately knew — I think in the first 25 seconds — that we had... a young Natalie Portman or Alicia Vikander." Not bad company to be in, to say the least.
Alba Baptista is newly into fashion
Alba Baptista now posts about designers like Dior and Chanel on Instagram, but she actually wasn't always into fashion. As she told Glamour, "When I was growing up, it wasn't really something that I focused on." That changed after she gained a new understanding. She explained, "You can create your own identity and connection to the world and yourself through fashion... I think it's such a cool concept."
Playing a Dior model in the Netflix original film "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" sure played a major part in that. "'Mrs. Harris' triggered this curiosity and love that I didn't know that I had for clothing, designers, and all of the care that goes into it," she said. It also did not hurt that the movie was set in the 1950s, with Baptista telling Beautiful Ballad, "I resonated very much with the whole process of learning about the fashion trends at the time."
The high-end fashions in the film did make Baptista a bit nervous though. She told W magazine that she feared that she would not be able to pull off the glam looks. "I was so insecure about doing the dresses justice—for me to be wearing them rather than them wearing me," she said. Needless to say, she had nothing to worry about. Baptista not only crushed it when it came time to wear the couture gowns, but she's now more inclined to take bigger fashion swings in her own life.
She's close with her Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris co-stars
Alba Baptista has formed some pretty close relationships with her co-stars, especially Lesley Manville. When it came to working with the veteran British actor on "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris," Baptista gushed to Glamour, "Lesley was my biggest confidant in the movie." She elaborated, "I had a lot of insecurities in this film, and she was so fantastic to me. Just the cliché of reminding me to believe in myself more." When Manville wasn't inspiring Baptista, she apparently was inviting her and their co-star Lucas Bravo over for dinner. Baptista recalled to Beautiful Ballad, "We loved to cook all together and just enjoy a good night."
Baptista went on to reveal that like their characters in the movie, she, Manville, and Bravo naturally formed a genuine friendship off-screen; that chemistry isn't just for the cameras. She explained, "We just hung out a lot. ... We just got along very well." Outside of Manville, Baptista said she learned a lot from experienced actor Isabelle Huppert on set too. "Observing her taught me how to be confident in my choices and instincts," Baptista told W magazine.
Baptista wasn't just close with her "Mrs Harris" co-stars either, since she also created meaningful connections with her "Warrior Nun" cast-mates. She even dished to SyFy, "Everyone really wanted to get along and wanted to create bonds... just to become friends and become real-life sisters, which was something that happened throughout the shoot."
Alba Baptista is believed to be dating Chris Evans
While nothing's been confirmed, Alba Baptista has been linked to "Captain America" star Chris Evans since 2021. Fans sure did a lot of digging to figure that out too, since the rumors started after Baptista followed Evans and members of his family on Instagram, per Just Jared. Baptista was later believed to have posted New Year's Eve photos from what looked like Evans' backyard. Fans then speculated that Evans visited her in Portugal after he recorded a video inside of a hotel room that resembled the Four Seasons in Lisbon.
Perhaps the biggest indication that Baptista and Evans are an item though was in October 2022, when Evans posted the same jack-o'-lanterns on his Instagram that Baptista's mother used as her profile photo. Neither have confirmed a romance but it wouldn't be the first time that Baptista's been rumored to have dated another actor. She was once linked to her "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" co-star, Lucas Bravo, too after they reportedly went on vacation together. Yet it appears they were just friends, with Baptista telling Beautiful Ballad, "We were the youngsters of the cast, so naturally we bonded through that."
Baptista was also rumored to have dated director Justin Amorim after the two met on the Portuguese film "Leviano." While Baptista has several photos with Amorim on her Instagram, it's unclear if they were ever more than friends, considering she's referred to him as "bestie" and "amigo" in captions.
Alba Baptista struggles with fame
Alba Baptista clearly loves what she does for a living. She once gushed to Fade To Her, "It still mesmerizes me to this day. Probably will my entire life." When it comes to fame, however, the "Patrick" actor apparently feels much differently. She revealed to Glamour, "If you're an introvert, it can be harder to move through this industry." Yet Baptista channeled those feelings when playing her "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" character, as Natasha is not totally comfortable with being in the limelight either. "It was such an easy thing to connect with," she said.
For Baptista, being a successful actor doesn't mean just being a household name or having a steady career. It's also important to be thoughtful and discerning when it comes to projects. "Recognizing the credibility of an actor and the diversity in how they choose their roles, films, and the directors they work with," she said.
Despite Baptista's acting career in Portugal, it appears she was also overwhelmed by just how intense publicity in the U.S. could be. "I thought I knew what press was, especially from looking at interviews with these big stars online. But once you're in it, it's a completely different experience," she told W magazine. But Baptista apparently feels it's all worth it, telling Focus Features, "There's... the duality of loving the creative process but struggling with the exposition of it all...But so far, the creative process wins every time."
The Warrior Nun has hobbies outside of acting
Alba Baptista may be dedicated to her craft but that doesn't mean she doesn't have other hobbies. In fact, when asked by Glamour what she likes to do when she's not on set, the "Warrior Nun" star revealed, "Any sort of outdoor activity like hiking, bike riding, or rollerblading, and going to the beach with someone I love." From the looks of Baptista's Instagram that appears to be true since she often posts photos of herself enjoying nature whether she's at the beach, running through a field, or laying in a tree.
Of course, being a Hollywood star on the rise must keep Baptista busy, which is probably why she told W magazine that she wants to make more time for the things she enjoys. She admitted, "I need to recenter and reprioritize my passions outside of acting—hiking, doing yoga, going to the beach." She went on to explain how that would in turn help with her work, adding, "It's a necessity to practice presence and be able to take on another role."
Baptista enjoys reading and brushing up on philosophy as well. She not only told Parade that she finished reading "The Antichrist" by Nietzsche and was reading "Tao Te Ching" by Lao-Tzu, but also told Focus Features that she's studied French philosophy like Sartre. It was an interest she had in common with her "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" character, saying, "I certainly related to her love for literature, philosophy, and all of those existential thoughts."
Alba Baptista speaks five languages
Ready to be impressed? Alba Baptista is fluent in a whopping five different languages. In addition to English and her native Portuguese, she also speaks French, German, and Spanish. When asked by Beautiful Ballad what comes most naturally to her after her mother tongue, Baptista dished, "I suppose English comes next. It's the most used after Portuguese, but I grew up in a German school, so German is also very familiar to me, and French and Spanish are not too far away from Portuguese."
Baptista attending a German school is also apparently a big reason why she knows so many languages. She explained to W magazine, "It was a really strict school that gave us a lot of discipline. And consequently, you had to be spotless with your languages—very, very on point."
You could say that being multilingual has helped Baptista's career since she spoke some French in her film, "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris," which she said was a good opportunity for her to brush up on the language. "I think French is the language that I'm perhaps least comfortable with, but I speak it, so it was lovely to have a French role to practice that," she said. Baptista also may have used some Spanish when filming "Warrior Nun," considering that the series was shot in Spain. She said to SyFy, "The sensations of the Spanish culture are very present in the show, I think."
Alba Baptista trained as a Warrior Nun
Alba Baptista may have killed it as Ava Silva in the Netflix series "Warrior Nun," but her transition to bada** superhero didn't happen overnight. She recalled to Parade, "I arrived a couple weeks early ... primarily to start stunt training." She continued, "We rehearsed overall combat training, but my physical training was more focused on Wire work." Suffice it to say, she put in serious hours to become Ava Silva.
While that sounds intense, Baptista maintained that her preparation was nowhere near as hard as her co-stars, since her character had started as a quadriplegic and does not have as much combat experience. She explained to Hollywood Life, "But the other characters ... they had to do serious training. They were amazing. They were some real-life ninjas." She reiterated how impressed she was with them to SyFy, gushing, "I was fangirling them from day one."
Playing Silva required more than just physical training though. "Apart from the physical preparation with the stunt department, I did a lot of research on the quadriplegic condition and on the original manga, 'Areala,'" Baptista revealed to Fade To Her. For Baptista, all the hard work was apparently worth it since the show was special to her. She dished, "It's a plot about female empowerment. How girls, women, are stronger together." It's safe to say that Baptista is just as amazing herself in real life, making it clear she's much more than just Chris Evan's rumored girlfriend or even the "Warrior Nun."