Monica Rivera

Monica Marie Rivera is an actress, dancer, and model from Ceiba, Puerto Rico. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications and Emerging Media from Valdosta State University and then continued to receive various technical certifications in Cybersecurity, IT, and data analytics. When she's not on the runway or on set, she can be found working for her own consulting and design business that she started in 2020. Monica's passion for performance began at a very early age while living in Puerto Rico. Being raised on a military base she started taking dancing classes through the YAC (Youth Activities Center) where she learned and performed traditional bomba, ballet, and tap dance. Later in high school, she then cultivated these skills further by joining the drama club where she took lead in several plays and performed in an award-winning pantomime at the Florida State Thespian Festival in 2012. During this time she also studied coding and wrote various programs in languages like Python, C+, and Java, earning her first tech internship at a Fortune 500 company at 17 years old as a GIS analyst. Monica's performance arts and modeling career ran parallel to her desire to earn her college degree and pivot further into tech and marketing. While working her way through school, she landed her first nationwide commercial for UWF and became the cover model for Jacksonville Bridal Magazine in 2018. Shortly after she entered the DC Comics Universe in Suicide Squad II for her skills in choreographed dancing. In the same year also journeyed to LA to be a Temple Guard in the re-imagined Legends of the Hidden Temple (2021). After graduating with her degree in Communications and securing a position with a tech-start up, she walked in New York & Paris Fashion week, earning press coverage from Elle, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazar, and more. Monica's desire for learning did not end when she graduated college. In order to further her skill set, Monica immersed herself in martial arts, swing dance, language-learning, and gymnastics. She has also continued learning from Marvel's greatest, being a stand-in for Zoe Saldana and earning a credited role in the greatly anticipated Black Panther II: Wakanda Forever as a Talokan Guard. Monica continues to develop and grow in roles that highlight her background as an indigenous POC.