The Stunning Transformation Of Morena Baccarin

Morena Baccarin, perhaps best known as the love interest in the blockbuster movie "Deadpool," has been making a name for herself in Hollywood. She may have started with a few failed sci-fi series like "Firefly" and V," but she eventually landed on the big screen — much to the delight of every dedicated Marvel fan. Her success also earned her an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of Jessica Brody in the 2011 television series "Homeland." 

"I've tried to follow my gut ... when projects come my way," the actor told Rose & Ivy. "Since I have kids and have a family, a lot of it has been about the time away versus the time with my kids, which informs the jobs I do take. It's been an interesting journey, it ebbs and flows, and as you mature you have different interests."

Just as her acting career has had its share of ups and downs, so, too, has her personal life. Over the years, she's seen adventure, passion, love, and heartbreak — all of which have played a part in transforming her into the talented actor and loving mother fans know and love today.

Morena Baccarin was born on June 2, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She's the daughter of Brazilian actor Vera Setta and Venetian television reporter Fernando Baccarin (via Elle). At the age of 7, she and her family immigrated to New York City due to her father's work.

"I have this internal cultural struggle where there's a side of me that is very Brazilian that misses the food and culture, and a side of me that's very American that really loves the structure and predictability here," the actor revealed in an interview with Independent. "I feel that my drive and ambition is more American, while the passionate, laid-back side of me is all Brazilian."

In New York, Baccarin followed in her mother's footsteps by pursuing her dream of acting. She attended Fiorello La Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She later attended The Juilliard School, participating in their theatrical program, where she continued to follow her passion and hone her acting skills. Immediately upon graduating from Juilliard, Baccarin was cast in the leading role in the 2001 film "Way Off Broadway" directed by Dan Kay. That same year she also got a role as Rita Wilson's assistant in the film, "Perfume," which included stars such as Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Williams, and Leslie Mann, among others.

Morena Baccarin's career was not necessarily on the "up and up" from the very beginning. After finishing her studies, Baccarin had a whole lot of talent but not a ton of experience. Because of this, she was cast as an understudy in a rendition of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull." The actor who took the main role was none other than the stunning Natalie Portman.

Reflecting on this experience in the podcast, "Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum," Baccarin admitted that it wasn't always easy to take a step back and let Portman take the spotlight. "I think also being young and having just graduated Julliard and having a chip on my shoulder, I was like, 'I should be doing this part,'" she said.

The fact that Portman was just on a whole different level experience-wise only made things worse for Baccarin. "She was a big star at that point already, and I was just graduating school. And I was an understudy, which, you know, there's definitely a hierarchy in theater. I was jealous," the actor shared. All these factors may have prevented her from forming a friendship with Portman, but that's not to say that Baccarin let her bitterness show. "I was very nice, of course, but inside I was dying," she joked. Since then, Baccarin has learned to let others shine — a lesson that has been key to her success.

Morena Baccarin's first big television role was as Inara Serra, a companion for the social elite, in Joss Whedon's 2001 space drama "Firefly." Inara Serra and Mal Reynolds, the captain of the ship, contend with sexual tension throughout the series in their love-hate relationship. "Firefly" takes place in the year 2517 and centers around a group of humans arriving in a new solar system after fighting in a civil war. The show was canceled after one season consisting of 14 episodes, but it has since earned a cult following.

In an interview with People TV, Baccarin speculated that the show was canceled because "it was ahead of its time." She continued, saying, "Nobody was doing sci-fi on regular network TV." The show's impact has been long-lasting and is responsible for launching Morena Baccarin's career. The meaningful friendships she made during filming have lasted her a lifetime, and she said she still stays in touch with them.

After its cancellation, Baccarin was approached in 2005 to reprise her character in the movie "Serenity," which would act as a continuation of "Firefly." In a 2018 interview, Baccarin admitted that she was surprised she'd have another opportunity to continue the story. She knew Joss Whedon was shopping it around but was unaware of the dedication of "Firefly" fans and Whedon's determination to get this movie made. "Serenity" would not have been possible if it wasn't for the incredibly high sales of the "Firefly" DVDs and its loyal fanbase (via USA Today).

In 2006, Morena Baccarin joined the cast of "Stargate SG-1" for the show's 10th and final season, further expanding her acting portfolio in the sci-fi community. "Stargate SG-1" is an adventure sci-fi television series that first premiered in 1997 and is based on the 1994 film "Stargate" directed by Roland Emmerich. Baccarin was offered the role of Adria, daughter of Vala and the magical leader of the ancient evil alien race, the Ori. Adria acts as their divine spiritual and military leader as she wages a religious crusade against the galaxy, demanding that they worship them as gods or be slaughtered. 

In an interview with The Sci-fi World, Baccarin said she enjoyed digging into the "truly evil" character. However, she wanted her portrayal of Adira to be likable and capture the character's true complexity as someone dedicated to her mission. During the interview, she admitted she also loved playing the character because she got to wear interesting contacts, even though she couldn't see out of them.

Baccarin reprised the character in the 2007 movie "Stargate: The Ark of Truth," in which Adria ultimately met her death. Robert C. Cooper, writer and producer of the series, told GateWorld that Adria was created to show Vala's redemption arc. Adira unleashing her evil plan on the galaxy motivates Vala to step up and be the hero.

In 2009, Morena Baccarin starred in a reboot of the 1983 miniseries "V," a futuristic series in which Baccarin plays Anna, an alien who uses her charisma to take advantage of humanity's naivete and take over planet Earth (via Collider). Anna hides her true reptilian self under human skin to fool the humans into trusting her. Baccarin told USA Today that she channeled the characteristics of various political figures when portraying Anna, thus making her character appear trustworthy and hiding her true intentions.

During the course of the series, FBI anti-terrorist agent Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) discovers the alien's true form and intent. Baccarin praised the series for having two empowered female leads. However, she admitted to Collider that she didn't get to have as much input into her character as she would have liked to. "I have some ideas and I would like to get them pushed through, but there's a network and studios and a lot of people to okay anything." Nevertheless, she clarified, "It's been fun to create this character."

The show was met with some initial success and was renewed for a second season, which premiered in 2011. Baccarin loved playing a character as complex as Anna but, unfortunately, the show was canceled after just 22 episodes.

The television series "Homeland," which ran from 2010 to 2020, had Moren Baccarin pushing her acting to new limits as she played Jessica Brody, the wife of Marine Corp Sniper Nick, played by Damien Lewis. Jessica Brody struggled as a single mother for eight years while Nick was held captive by al-Qaeda. Throughout the series, Jessica desperately tries to reconnect with her husband whom she thought was dead. In his absence, she fell in love with Nick's best friend. But upon her husband's return, she decides that she wants to work on rebuilding her marriage. 

In the Season 2 premiere, Jessica discovers that Nick lied to her about his religion and had become a practicing Muslim. Unable to understand why he would convert to the religion of his captors and angry that he lied to her, she throws Nick's copy of the Quaran on the ground. After the episode aired, the actor told Entertainment Weekly that she received "hate tweets" for disrespecting the religious text.

However, Baccarin was also recognized positively for her portrayal of Jessica — it earned her a nominee for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series in 2013.

In 2014, Morena Baccarin was cast in the role of Leslie Thompkins, Jim Gordon's wife in Fox's series "Gotham." She worked alongside Ben Mckenzie, who played the role of James "Jim" Gordon. Baccarin worked closely with Mckenzie during her time on set, and TMZ reported that Baccarin cheated on her husband with the "Gotham" actor.

In 2015, Baccarin's then-husband Austin Chick filed for divorce (via TMZ). While the decision to divorce might have been an obvious choice given her new romance, the divorce proceedings were long and tedious as Becarin and Chick fought over the custody of their young son Julius.

Morena Baccarin was the primary breadwinner of their family, and Austin Chick relied on her for income. In 2018, Baccarin agreed to pay $5,000 per month in spousal support and $3,500 per month in child support. Additionally, the parents were awarded joint physical and legal custody of Julius (via People).

While "Firefly" launched Morena Baccarin's career, 2016's "Deadpool" put her on the map in the eyes of every Marvel fan. In an interview with People TV's Couch Surfing, she described shooting the movie as "one of the best times of [her] life ... it was creative and fulfilling." "Deadpool" stars Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool himself and Baccarin plays his love interest, Vanessa. Baccarin was drawn to the script thanks to its "off-kilter" and "offensive" humor, which she told Rotten Tomatoes balances out the heartfelt moments of her romance. She also found it refreshing that while her character is the love interest in the film, she's tough and can hold her own.

In 2018, Baccarin reprised her role as Vanessa in "Deadpool 2." While promoting the film, the actor admitted to People that kissing actor Ryan Reynolds was akin to "kissing a giant latex condom." With the prosthetics Ryan Reynolds wears in the film, it was challenging for Beccarin to have chemistry with the actor. In the interview, she described the difficulty of connecting and reacting to someone when you cannot see their face. That wasn't the only challenging aspect of filming, though.

As Baccarin told "Good Morning America," a dream sequence that didn't make it into the movie required Baccarin and Reynolds to be underwater. For the scene, Baccarin was strapped into a chair and weighted down while underwater to prevent her from floating away, which was terrifying to Baccarin as she said she has a "huge phobia of being underwater." Despite the scene not making the final cut, "Deadpool 2" saw huge success, earning $784 million worldwide (via The Hollywood Reporter).

The set of "Gotham" may be where Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie first fell in love, but it's not actually where they met. Baccarin was a guest star in several episodes of the 2003 teen drama, "The O.C.," which starred McKenzie. While they were not in any scenes with each other, they crossed paths on set. McKenzie admitted on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" that he didn't remember meeting her and incidentally blew her off. However, the two reconnected on the set of "Gotham," and the couple began to date on- and offscreen.

In 2016, Baccarin and McKenzie welcomed their daughter Frances (via USA Today). A year later, the couple quietly married at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens on Baccarin's 38th birthday. As Ben McKenzie told Us Weekly, "When we wanted to book it, which was over a year in advance in our defense, the only date available was my wife's birthday."

Getting married on Baccarin's birthday made the day extra special. Still, Baccarin made it clear that she expects separate presents for her birthday and anniversary. At least Mckenzie only has one date he needs to remember!

In 2019, Morena Baccarin met with Venezuelan refugees crossing a bridge into Colombia, where they hoped to access vital resources such as food and medical care (via International Rescue Committee). In Colombia, she visited an emergency response clinic that provided care and resources to Venezuelan refugees forced to flee their country due to an economic crisis.

Baccarin is passionate about using her platform to help protect and empower women around the world. She wants to follow in her mother's footsteps, who was an activist for women's rights in Brazil. For many years, Baccarin has been a member of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a nonprofit that "responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises," as the organization's website details.

According to The Associated Press, the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has caused more than 6 million people to migrate from their home country, most of them finding refuge in Colombia, Peru, or Mexico. Part of the reason Baccarin feels so connected to this cause is that her home country of Brazil borders Venezuela. In an interview with the BUILD Series, she explained, "What makes me feel so passionate about it is that I identify." 

Although Morena Baccarin is a famous Brazilian actor, she went most of her career without giving a single performance in Portuguese. In 2019, this changed with the release of season 4 of "Sessão de Terapia" ("Therapy Session"), a soap opera produced by Grupo Globo — the largest media company in Brazil. In a major step away from her normally American repertoire, Baccarin took on the role of Sofia, a psychologist who supervises another therapist.

The part may have been pretty straightforward, but Baccarin was nervous about accepting it. The reason? She wasn't confident about performing in Portuguese. "I had never acted in my 'mom language,'" she told Globo Play, making a small yet adorable Portuguese error. "I left here [Brazil] when I was 10 years-old. It's been 30 years since I spoke the language every day." Because "Sessão de Terapia" represented such a big challenge for Baccarin, it would have been easy for her to let the opportunity slide by. However, the actor was determined to make it work. As she told Pedro Bial in a separate interview on Globo Play, "Firstly, I am Brazilian. I was born here. [Portuguese] was my first language, not English. And, I'm always here in Brazil." Acting in a real Brazilian soap opera was a way for Baccarin to honor her roots and embrace her native tongue.

In March of 2021, Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie welcomed their second baby, Arthur, into the world. Baccarin first shared news of her pregnancy when she showed off her baby bump on "The Talk." Arthur is Baccarin's third child but second with McKenzie. Arthur brought the couple hope for a great year in 2021, filling their lives with love and their home with three messy, joyful children. 

In 2018, Baccarin told People that her husband is both a wonderful father and partner. In 2020, even with the mayhem that comes with watching after two kids and a third on the way, Mckenzie still managed to keep the romance alive. Their date nights just became simpler and sometimes involved their then 4-year-old daughter Francis painting Mckenzie's nails and spiffing him up with colorful necklaces, bracelets, and a bow in his hair (via People).

An Instagram post revealed said makeover with the caption, "Parent date night = the 4yr old makes you 'fancy.'" On Mother's Day 2021, Morena Baccarin took to Twitter to share a photo of her three children playing on the bed. She tagged the photo "#chaos" but also wrote that she is blessed to be a mom.

In 2022, Morena Baccarin starred in NBC's American crime drama "The End Game" as Elenora Federova, an arms dealer and criminal mastermind who is relentlessly hunted down by Val Turner, an obsessive, strictly ethical FBI agent played by Ryan Micheel Bathe. While the rest of Val's team underestimates Elenora, Val understands the power Elenora wields. The actor told The Wrap that she was excited to work on the series because it was a show focused on women and written by women. "You've got these two women leads, you need to be able to write how women think, you know?" she explained. "And it is different than men." Unfortunately, the show was canceled after just one season. 

Nevertheless, Baccarin's career didn't end there. Two years ahead of the third "Deadpool" film, "Deadpool & Wolverine," Bacarrin told The Wrap, "I know nothing [about the film], 'cause I'm usually the last to know. I also live under a rock." Despite not knowing much, she said she'd love to be in the film. Her wish ended up coming true, although she joked to The Playlist, "I was hardly onset." She continued, saying, "Marvel is a big studio and they do things a certain way. So it did feel very different from [the others]."

Morena Baccarin's dual Brazilian and American identities have always been important to her, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily been easy for her to negotiate belonging to two cultures. Speaking to Pedro Bial for Globo Play, Baccarin explained, "It's very difficult to maintain [my connection to Brazilian] culture because I've been living there [in the United States] for a long time, since I was a child. I think in English, but when I'm here [in Brazil], I change a little."

Baccarin went on to say that her daily life feels deeply entrenched in all things American. "My whole family is American. I speak a lot with my mom, of course. But, it's hard to keep up with the language, the culture," she said. That's not to say that Baccarin has always felt accepted by the culture in the U.S. On the contrary, she has often felt like a bit of an outsider. "When I'm in Brazil ... I sometimes feel more gringa than Brazilian. Then, it passes. But, then, when I'm there [in the U.S.], I also don't feel like a gringa. I don't feel American. I feel Brazilian there," Baccarin admitted. 

The tension between these two sides of the actor's identity has prevented her from feeling like she completely fits in anywhere. And, matters have not been helped by her level of Portuguese. As she herself told Notícias da TV, "My Portuguese is that of a child."

Over the course of her career, Morena Baccarin has noticed that American and Brazilian audiences receive her acting differently. In the United States, she has noticed that her Brazilian side has changed the way that the public perceives her. Appearing on "The Noite com Danilo Gentili," Baccarin agreed with the theory that many Americans see her as "exotic." "I think maybe, for being from Brazil — I work outside of [Brazil] — there's something about me that's different that they can't really put their finger on," Baccarin shared.

Interestingly, Baccarin said that the dual aspect of her identity might be the factor that's most off-putting for American audiences. "I think ... there's something they can't understand. [They think,] 'There's something about her that's not totally American.' But, I'm also not super Brazilian because I don't have an accent when I speak there [in the United States]." In Baccarin's opinion, this has definitely affected her professional opportunities. "I think [Americans] get confused, so they cast me in the role of an indigenous alien character," she said, perhaps referencing her roles as an extraterrestrial character in "V" and "Stargate SG-1."

As the mother to Julius Chick, Frances Schenkkan, and Arthur Schenkkan, Morena Baccarin has her hands full. Like many other celebrities with kids, Baccarin has the unique challenge of balancing a booming career with the hard work of motherhood. Naturally, there are times when the actor feels like she can't really have it all. Commenting on this on the podcast "Inside of You," Baccarin admitted, "It's not easy. I'm in a perpetual state of forgetting something or dropping the ball somewhere. Or not being there for someone. All the time. ... You just become more accustomed to disappointing everybody all the time. You know, like, friends and work."

When forced to pick between motherhood and her career, though, Baccarin said that she knew what she would choose. As she explained in an interview with Numéro Netherlands, "I think if I had more time, I could probably be better at my job, but my family is everything to me so I weigh every job and every decision on how it would affect them." Luckily, though, Baccarin has been able to juggle her career and her home life, thanks to the excellent team that surrounds her. 

Speaking to Page Six at an event for the National Board of Review, Baccarin revealed, "I'm a disaster all the time. I'm happy to have clothes on right now, but people help me. They were zipping me up and putting stuff on my face."

Mariana Baccarin's native Brazil is one of the countries with the most foreign TV and film watchers, with most of the viewers preferring dubbed voiceovers to subtitles, according to Preply. As such, dubbing is a big industry in Brazil, and voiceover artists are receiving big praise for their work. 

Lines by Emma Watson (who is now rarely heard from) in projects ranging from "Harry Potter" to "Little Women" were mostly portrayed by Luisa Palomanes. Baccarin's voice, meanwhile, has been interpreted several times by Andrea Murucci.

Although Murucci is known for her excellent voiceover work, Baccarin has expressed an interest in dubbing her own roles. After all, Portuguese was her first language, and it would be nice to hear her own voice onscreen. However, on "The Noite com Danilo Gentili", Baccarin said that she's never been permitted to take on this role. "I've tried several times. I said, 'I speak Portuguese. Can I please do my own voice, even for 'Deadpool'?' But they don't let me," the actor revealed. One of the reasons could pertain to worker protections. "There are rules from the syndicates," Baccarin noted.

Ultimately, Baccarin's loss is Murucci's win. In the same episode of "The Noite," Murucci appeared and told the audience, "When Morena [said] she wanted to do her own voiceovers, I thought it was cool. But I also thought it was cool that it hasn't worked out."