In 2021, Anya Taylor-Joy had the honor of joining the list of personalities who have hosted the iconic comedy show Saturday Night Live, and she took the opportunity to remind the audience that she is proudly a Spanish speaker. At the end of her monologue, the actress—who was gaining recognition for her work in the acclaimed series The Queen’s Gambit—requested to conclude in her native language, and displayed a flawless Argentine accent that excited the Latino community. Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy, who recently starred in the new George Miller film Furiosa, has an Argentine father of American and Scottish descent and a mother born in Zambia with English and Spanish ancestry. Although she was born in Miami while her parents were on vacation in the city, she lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina until the age of six, attending a bilingual school, before her family moved to London, England. She has shared that the experience was not pleasant, and she even avoided learning English to convince her parents to return to Argentina.
In an interview with the Standard, she reflected on her adaptation process: “When I was younger, I didn’t fit anywhere. I was too English to be Argentine, too Argentine to be English, too American to be anything.” She has stated that she was bullied for being a foreigner and for her physical appearance, which has now made her one of the most recognizable actresses in the industry. She attributes her ability to easily adapt her accent to her childhood issues, noting that she sounds more English in England and adjusts her speech in Ireland. Despite her Latin background, the actress does not usually play Latina characters in Hollywood. Her first role—and the one that immediately put her on the map—was in Robert Eggers’ film The Witch, where she played the teenage daughter of an English couple.
In a Vulture interview, Taylor-Joy noted that she identifies as Latina (particularly white Latina), but she is “careful” about auditioning for Latin roles. She expressed her awareness that she does not look like a typical Latina and does not want to be pigeonholed into such roles when she is actually white and blonde. In 2021, when Variety profiled the actress, it stated that she was the “first person of color to win the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a miniseries since Queen Latifah in 2008,” sparking negative reactions online as some users highlighted that the actress is not a person of “color”. This recalls the instance when Spanish actor Antonio Banderas was also labeled as a “person of color” by some media outlets after being nominated for an Oscar for his work in Pedro Almodóvar’s film Pain and Glory. Banderas does not identify as a person of color, yet he considers himself Latino when in the United States.
This complexity of identity for Spanish speakers in the United States is evident, with many people in Latin America having indigenous or mestizo heritage, while others are predominantly white. In Argentina, where Taylor-Joy’s father is from, 97% of the population has European ancestry, with 56% also having indigenous or mestizo heritage. In Spain, where her mother is from, the majority of the population is white. However, Hollywood often lumps anyone who speaks Spanish under the Latino label. The fact that Taylor-Joy can speak Spanish attracts even more attention from Latino fans. One of her most viral videos is one in which she reveals that her favorite foods are “churros with dulce de leche, provolone bread, and empanadas, which are not as common in the United States.” Regarding her connection to her country and the love she receives from Argentinians, the actress tearfully expresses, “The idea that people in Argentina love me in that way and want me to represent them makes me cry.”
