Alexa Demie

Alexa Demie is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Madeleine "Maddy" Perez on the HBO teen drama television series Euphoria. Demie made her feature film debut with a minor role in the comedy-drama Brigsby Bear (2017) before starring in the coming-of-age film Mid90s (2018) and the drama film Waves (2019). She has also appeared in numerous music videos.

Alexa Demie
Demie in 2019
Born
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2012–present

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California, Demie grew up in the neighborhood of Atwater Village. She was raised by her mother, Rose Mendez, a make-up artist whose family immigrated to Los Angeles from Mexico when she was an infant and who got pregnant with Demie at an "extremely young" age.[1][2][3][4] Demie has said that she "didn't grow up with the best male figures in [her] life" or "much respect for men".[5] She lived in an apartment across the street from a meth lab and next door to several meth addicts, with the Black Eyed Peas recording studio being around the corner from her.[6] According to her, there was frequent fighting and yelling in her home growing up, and she ran away from home as a teenager in order to escape her toxic family environment.[7] However, she has described her family as "very supportive" and "there for each other".[1][8] From elementary to high school, Demie was bullied by her classmates, describing herself during that time as "quite a loner". She got involved with performing arts in high school during her senior year.[5]

While in high school, she spent her spare time bedazzling sunglasses that she purchased from Downtown Los Angeles, which led to her creating Mainframe, a line of sunglasses that she began selling at a store on Melrose Avenue where her friend worked.[5] The brand eventually became popular overseas, with Mainframe glasses being worn by G-Dragon, Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, and Amber Rose and appearing in Vogue Korea, though she soon stopped making them due to not being paid for her designs.[9] Also in high school, she started writing songs and designed a costume for one of Minaj's first music videos.[1][10] Demie had plans to become a fashion designer but after attending orientation for an art school in New York, she decided against it.[11][12]

Career

Demie made her first onscreen appearance as a video vixen in Azealia Banks' 2013 music video for the song "ATM Jam".[13] After appearing in a short film for a friend, she got the lead role in The Godmother, a scrapped biopic about Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco, in 2015.[10][14] Her professional acting career began with a role in the 2015 short film Miles, through which she found an agency to represent her.[6] She went on to guest star on the television series Ray Donovan and Love, also guest starring on the second season of the drama television series The OA as Ingrid, a bilingual gamer.[15] In 2016, she released her debut single, "Girl Like Me", and was featured on Pearl's single "Turnin' Tricks".[1][16] She appeared in the music video for JMSN's 2017 song "Slide" and made her debut feature film appearance in the 2017 comedy-drama film Brigsby Bear, in which she played Merideth.[17] In July 2018, she directed the music video for JMSN's song "Talk is Cheap" with Natalie Falt.[18]

Demie gained attention with her supporting role in the 2018 film Mid90s, written and directed by Jonah Hill, as Esmee, the protagonist's love interest.[1] A year after Demie unsuccessfully auditioned for Augustine Frizzell's 2018 film Never Goin' Back, Frizzell emailed her about an audition for the HBO drama series Euphoria, the pilot episode of which she was directing.[5] Although Demie had planned to take a break from acting to pursue her music career, she was impressed by the script for the series and decided to audition for it.[10] In 2019, she began starring on Euphoria as Maddy Perez, a popular teenage girl in an abusive, on-again, off-again relationship with football quarterback Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi).[19][20] Demie was called the breakout star of Euphoria by critics.[1][21]

Demie went on to star in the 2019 film Waves as Alexis, a party girl who is impregnated by her boyfriend, a popular but troubled high school wrestler played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.[8][22][23] She watched videos about codependency and drew on her own experience with an emotionally abusive relationship between her and a high school boyfriend, which she described as "very codependent", as the basis for the film's relationship.[24][3] She also appeared in the comedy-drama film Mainstream in 2020 as a game show audience member named Isabelle Roberts, and made a cameo in The Neighbourhood's video for their 2020 song "Stargazing".[25][26][27] In Nineteen on Fire, a 2021 short film written and directed by Ryan Simpkins, Demie played a drug dealer.[28] In September 2021, she released the single "Leopard Limo (Archive LL11)".[16]

After messaging with photographer Petra Collins in the summer of 2020, Demie and Collins created Fairy Tales, a collection of erotic short stories written with Collins and containing photos of Demie dressed as various mythical creatures taken by Collins, which was published by Rizzoli in November 2021.[2][29] She is set to be a voice actor in the upcoming animated series Fables.[30]

Filmography
Key
† Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2015 Miles Sara Short film
2017 Brigsby Bear Merideth
To the Moon Virginia Dawson Short film
2018 Mid90s Estee
2019 Waves Alexis Lopez
2020 Mainstream Isabelle Roberts
2021 Nineteen on Fire Paisley Short film

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Ray Donovan Shairee 3 episodes
2018 Love Marina 2 episodes
2019 The OA Ingrid Episode: "Treasure Island"
2019–present Euphoria Maddy Perez Main role; 16 episodes
2023 The Idol — Uncredited cameo, episode: "Pop Tarts & Rat Tales"
TBA Fables † TBA Voice role

Awards and nominations
Award Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
Imagen Awards 2022 Euphoria Best Supporting Actress – Drama (Television) Nominated [31]
MTV Movie & TV Awards 2022 Best Fight (shared with Sydney Sweeney) Won [32]

References
  1. Oswaks, Molly (September 8, 2019). "Alexa Demie, a Breakout Star of 'Euphoria,' Has Hidden Talents". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  2. Hess, Liam (November 24, 2021). "Enter the World of Petra Collins and Alexa Demie's Eerie, Erotic 'Fairy Tales'". Vogue. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. Gooding, Sarah (November 15, 2019). "Alexa Demie and Taylor Russell on 'Waves' and the power of empathy". i-D. Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  4. Eden, Nellie (October 31, 2019). "Under the spell of Euphoria's Alexa Demie". Dazed. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  5. Byers, Rosie (October 9, 2019). "Euphoria's Alexa Demie Talks Her Role As Maddy In The Autumn 19 Issue". Wonderland. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  6. Hundley, Jessica (December 12, 2019). "Alexa Demie: This is the Girl". The Face. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  7. Cafolla, Anna (December 4, 2020). "Alexa Demie Manifests Her 2021 Destiny". Cultured. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  8. Conde, Arturo (November 22, 2019). "In 'Waves,' Mexican American actress Alexa Demie underscores the price of defiance". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  9. Dawson, Brit (October 29, 2020). "Alexa Demie reveals Nicki Minaj used to wear her ill-fated fashion line". Dazed. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  10. McCarthy, Lauren (June 14, 2019). "Meet Alexa Demie, Euphoria's Fearless Breakout Star". W. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  11. Macias, Ernesto (October 9, 2019). "All About Alexa Demie". Interview. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  12. Hobbs, Julia (July 11, 2019). "Vogue meets Euphoria actress Alexa Demie". Vogue France (in French). Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  13. Stubblebine, Allison (January 22, 2020). "Azealia Banks Auditioned For 'Euphoria' And So Can You". Nylon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  14. Lincoln, Ross A. (August 13, 2015). "'The Godmother' Changes Directors, Adds Alexa Demie; J.K. Simmons And Terry Bradshaw Are 'Bastards'; Dave Franco Back For 'Neighbors 2'". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  15. Thomas, Leah Marilla (June 23, 2019). "Who Plays Maddy On 'Euphoria'? Alexa Demie Says Her Character Is A "Female Patrick Bateman"". Bustle. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  16. Campano, Leah (February 18, 2022). "All the Facts About Alexa Demie". Seventeen. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  17. Robinson, Tasha (January 27, 2017). "Brigsby Bear is the warmest, sweetest movie about creativity since Be Kind Rewind". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. Post, Chantilly (July 25, 2018). "JMSN Proves That "Talk Is Cheap" In New Video". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  19. Thompson, Stephen; Harris, LaTesha; Cills, Hazel (February 23, 2022). "Unlocking the sensory overload of 'Euphoria': Pop Culture Happy Hour". NPR. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  20. Williams, Maxwell (November 19, 2018). "V Girls: Alexa Demie is The Industy [sic] Block's Freshest Cool Girl". V. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  21. Katz, Evan Ross (February 14, 2022). "The Women Make Euphoria". The Cut. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  22. Specter, Emma (November 15, 2019). "Talking Spice Girls, Herbs, and Potions With 'Waves' Stars Alexa Demie and Taylor Russell". Vogue. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  23. White, Adam (January 16, 2020). "Waves is a family drama that is all dazzle and no thought – review". The Independent. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  24. Jiménez, Ashley (November 21, 2019). "Actress Alexa Demie on her first love, trauma and gaining back her spirituality". Hola!. Archived from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  25. Young, Deborah (September 5, 2020). "'Mainstream': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  26. Feldberg, Isaac (May 7, 2021). "Mainstream movie review & film summary (2021)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  27. DIY Staff (December 14, 2020). "The Neighbourhood share star-studded 'Stargazing' video". DIY. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  28. "Alexa Demie es una drug dealer en el corto de comedia "Nineteen on Fire"". Mor.bo (in Spanish). June 7, 2021. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  29. Wally, Maxine (November 30, 2021). "Petra Collins & Alexa Demie Conjure an Erotic Fantasy in 'Fairy Tales'". W. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  30. Roxborough, Scott (November 17, 2021). "Ricky Gervais, Natasha Lyonne, JB Smoove Join 'Fables' Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  31. Tinoco, Armando (August 15, 2022). "Imagen Awards Nominations: 'Encanto', Eugenio Derbez & 'West Side Story' Among Top Contenders". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  32. France, Lisa Respers (June 6, 2022). "MTV Movie & TV Awards: See the full list of winners". CNN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
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