Landman Star Paulina Chávez Has Totally Transformed

Paulina Chávez didn't think she was going to land a life-changing role on the Taylor Sheridan drama "Landman." For a while, Chávez wasn't sure if there would be any acting work in her future. The Texan actor clinched her breakout role as the lead of "Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love," but when the show ended, it wasn't exactly clear what was next. Reflecting on all the opportunities she missed after the sitcom wrapped up, Chávez told Backstage, "For me, auditions have always been so difficult ... I do my work, I submit it, and I let it go. I think that's the easiest way to cope with so much rejection."

Because of this habit, Chávez didn't linger too much on the possibility of playing Ariana on "Landman" after submitting her audition tape. Landing the role initially seemed unlikely, and Chávez was up against some pretty stiff competition for the part. But, then, the unexpected happened. "I got a call from Taylor: 'I'm gonna trust you with this role,'" Chávez told Backstage in the same interview. Since then, the actor has transformed into an integral part of a cast that includes big names like Demi Moore and Billy Bob Thornton. She has certainly come a long way from the early days of taking acting classes and searching for roles in her home state of Texas. 

Whereas many of Hollywood's biggest names are actually celebrity nepo babies, Paulina Chávez grew up far from the sparkling lights of La La Land. The "Landman" actor was raised in Texas by parents who had no connections in showbiz — despite their love for the creative arts. Her dad, Lorenzo, loved singing with his family. And, although her mom, Patricia, describes herself as an educator on Instagram, she also used to dream of a career in the fashion industry. Because of this, some of Chávez's most impactful early childhood experiences centered on culture and the arts. As the actor revealed on Real 92.3 LA's "The Cruz Show," "My first memory was at a Juanes concert. I was in a carrier. That's what I remember. I just remember it being really loud!"

Although Chávez grew up surrounded by music, her first true passion was for the theater. Sometimes, while her mom was wrapping up her work day at the local elementary school, the young Chávez would watch the older children rehearsing the school play. "They were just practicing and rehearsing and I would just sit there and watch them ... I was mesmerized," the actor would later tell the University of Washington school paper, The Daily. Chávez's instant love of acting was not lost on her mother. Before the future actor knew it, Patricia was searching for the opportunities that would one day change her daughter's life.

Part of the secret to Paulina Chávez's success is that her mother, Patricia, believed in her acting career from the very beginning. When Chávez was still just a kid, Patricia enrolled her in serious acting courses. The only issue? The classes were held in Dallas, and the Chávez family lived in San Antonio. Reflecting on this time in an interview with Hola!, Chávez remembered, "My mom would take me to acting classes, which was like five hours away from San Antonio to Dallas, and so everything was a road trip." When it came time for Chávez to start auditioning, her mom would drive her even further. "My mom and I would drive to L.A. all the time from San Antonio, so we were really... It's such a long trip," the actor added.

All this traveling became very expensive. However, Patricia was not willing to give up on her daughter's dream. After all, during her own childhood, Patricia had felt that her own ideal career was out of reach. "I think it was something that was not accessible to her, and she wanted to be a fashion designer, and she never thought that to be possible ... She wanted me to live my dream," Chávez revealed in a conversation with the local San Antonio news station KENS 5. Although this dream came at a cost, it would eventually pay off.

Paulina Chávez's acting career was slow-going at first. She landed a few roles in short films, and even played a nameless party goer in "Colossal Youth." But, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Chávez got her big break. She was cast in the lead role of the Netflix television show, "Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love." At the time, just auditioning for the part in Los Angeles was a super big deal for Chávez — who was starstruck by the show creators. "It was surreal walking into a room full of executives and Mario Lopez in the room," she recalled in an interview with Young Entertainment.

Chávez remained calm, said her lines, and hoped for the best. She didn't have to wait long for an answer. "I found out I booked the role the day after as soon as I landed in San Antonio. My mom and I hung up the phone, then looked at each other and screamed of excitement," Chávez recalled in the same conversation. For the young actor, the role was everything that she'd been working toward and more. "I was immediately captivated by Ashley's intelligence and the fact that she focused on her education and her goal of working for NASA," she gushed. "I love that she is an independent Latina woman who is trying to figure out friendships, relationships, and typical teenage stuff."

It's no secret that major tragedies surround the "Landman" cast members, and Paulina Chávez is no exception. Just as the young actor was finally ready to take her acting career to the next level, she discovered that her grandmother died. For Chávez, the timing of this was devastating, as it meant that her beloved abuelita would not be able to watch her grace the silver screen. "I remember when I booked my first show for Netflix, and I was so excited about this opportunity. However, a week before I started working on this show, I had learned that my grandma had passed away," Chávez told Schön! Magazine.

The death of Chávez's grandmother prevented her from experiencing the thrill of starring in a major television show. Instead, the actor spent a lot of time mourning a person who had meant a great deal to her. "The happiness and joy are mixed with the feeling of being depressed – I realized that my grandma would never be able to watch the final product," Chávez revealed in the previously cited interview. Although she struggled considerably, Chávez was eventually able to accept that her feelings were normal. "I think we are all expected to get over our inner sadness. I suppose I was expected to let my grief go away after the death of my grandma," she admitted, before adding, "Though it always stays with us."

Paulina Chávez and her family have experienced many ups and downs over the years. Some of their happiest moments, though, involve welcoming new members. According to Chávez, her older sister gave birth to an adorable baby boy — causing so much excitement that both Chávez and her mother traveled to Colorado to lend a helping hand. Speaking with Schön! Magazine about this trip, Chávez shared, "It was everything, from changing the diapers to helping with feeding the baby." The experience helped her understand just how challenging parenthood can really be. "It's so much work! I have no idea how two people do it, let alone a single parent like Ariana," she exclaimed.

Naturally, Chávez's newfound aunthood allowed her to represent Ariana's experiences of motherhood in "Landman" on a whole new level. She incorporated many of her own memories into her character. However, portraying acts — like breastfeeding — onscreen was much trickier than she could have ever imagined. "I worked with a [breastfeeding] pillow, and even if I was holding it correctly, it all comes down to a camera angle," Chávez noted. Luckily, "Landman" was able to provide the actor with the resources necessary to make her scenes as Ariana believable. "My intimacy coordinator gave a lot of cues on how to imitate breastfeeding as Ariana properly," she explained.

For the duration of two seasons and a Christmas special, Paulina Chávez played the lead role in "Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love." As she brought Ashely's character to life, Chávez began to reflect on issues of representation. To her knowledge, there weren't any other young Latina geniuses represented on television. Those roles, she told Young Entertainment, belonged principally to the White male characters you'd see in the cast of "The Young Sheldon."

In her chat with Hola!, Chávez reflected, "As a little kid growing up, I never saw myself in English television, further, not in positive roles." Chávez soon began to think of ways to uplift the Latino community. "We want to open the doors for the people that are coming behind us," she added. "And we want to keep the door open. Knock the door down. I think it's really important."

Chávez's activism, however, spanned beyond simply creating more opportunities for Latinas in Hollywood. She also wanted to help people from all across the broader community. With this in mind, Chávez decided to promote the WomensLaw Email Hotline — which supports women in situations of domestic violence. The actor was particularly drawn to the hotline because it provides help to women in Spanish as well as English. "Their work is important, as their belief is in the strength of Latinas," Chávez told The University of Washington's The Daily.

Paulina Chávez has made an effort to always honor her roots, and when she first read the script of "Landman," the actor felt an immediate connection. Unlike her "Landman" co-star, Jacob Lofland, whose father worked in the oil fields, Chávez didn't know much about the oil business before filming the show. However, she was used to driving past the oil fields on her long road trips across Texas and was curious to learn more. "I didn't know about the industry, and so it really does affect so many families in so many different ways and people who live in that area," Chávez shared on "The Cruz Show." "And that immediately grasped my attention."

In the same interview, the actor went on to explain that Ariana's character felt very familiar to her. At times, she was even able to bring some of her own family members into the role. Speaking about her interpretation of Ariana, "The women in my life have very much shaped who she is. And, every time I do a scene — especially me yelling at Manuel ... that was my mom, that was my grandma." Chávez then added that her aunt's experience of widowhood also helped her understand what Ariana was going through with the death of her on-screen husband. "My tía lost her family, and I saw firsthand how it affected her," the actor divulged.

When Paulina Chávez first started working on "Landman," she viewed the project as just another job. In the same way that she once drove from her base in San Antonio to Dallas for acting classes, Chávez commuted between her hometown and Fort Worth for "Landman." Eventually, though, the actor realized that she would never bond with her co-stars unless she began spending more time near the filming location. "This season, Jacob [Lofland], my co-star who plays Cooper, was like, 'You have to stay in Fort Worth. Whether you're working a lot or not, you just have to stay here and hang out with us,'" Chávez recalled in a conversation with Elle. Encouraged by these words, the actor decided to stick around more — and she had no regrets.

The more time that Chávez invested in her co-stars, the more she bonded with them. "We were always going out, especially after work, for a beer at a bar," the actor revealed in the same interview. "But my most fun memory is just going to Jacob's house. We would just sit outside in a circle and chat, and then sometimes someone would bring a guitar, and we would just have music playing." These moments of togetherness allowed Chávez to develop real, off-screen friendships with her castmates. Reflecting on these fun times, the actor said it was nice to have "a bonding experience with everyone."

Paulina Chávez made a name for herself in a television comedy and then went on to make a splash in an on-screen drama. Although both of these genres appealed to her for different reasons, Chávez began to develop an interest in something a little scarier. Speaking to Elle, the actor explained, "I really want to get into psychological [films] and really get into somebody's head. I would love to do something like 'Promising Young Woman' or 'American Psycho.'" What drew her to this area? "I want to make people afraid a little," Chávez mused.

Luckily, the actor was granted the opportunity to do just that. In February 2026, Deadline reported that Chávez had been cast in a vampire horror movie titled "Crave." Produced in Spain, the film follows the story of a young woman who becomes entangled in the dangerous world of a traveling carnival. For Chávez, this film represented the chance to work alongside other big stars, such as the Spanish actor, Alicia Sanz, and Hollywood legend Jason Isaacs — a.k.a. the exceptionally blond Lucius Malfoy from the "Harry Potter" franchise. She also had yet another opportunity to show her versatility and prove that the "Landman" actor who plays Ariana is stunning in tons of different contexts.

Horror films aren't the only thing that Paulina Chávez could be looking forward to. The television star has also hinted at the possibility of pursuing a university degree. Like Natalie Portman and Emma Watson before her, Chávez might want to explore the academic side of her creative passion. As the actor revealed to San Antonio's KENS 5, she even has a potential college major all picked out. "I would like to do Mexican American Studies," Chávez revealed. Fascinatingly, her interest in the subject can be traced to her personal experiences representing Latinas onscreen. "I'll never shut up about [representation]," she said. "And, so, if you don't like it, go bark up someone else's tree. I don't care!"

Chávez's motivations for learning more about Mexican American Studies partially have to do with the way that the entertainment industry deals with the topic. In the actor's view, television shows representing Latino families have seemingly gone in and out of style over the years. As Chávez shared in the previously cited interview, "I feel that at the time where 'Ashley Garcia' was on, there were so many Latino shows. There was 'Iglesias,' 'One Day at a Time,' the list goes on, and they just kept getting cancelled." Learning more about these dynamics could help achieve her long-term goal of achieving better representation for Latinos on-screen. "My responsibility is not just playing a role," she added. "It's so much deeper than that."