The 13-Year-Old Actress Who Plays Gabi in 'Vivo' Has a Bright Future Ahead
Published Aug. 6 2021, 7:15 p.m. ET
Six years after the release of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, Netflix premiered Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first animated film, Vivo. Since Vivo was released on Netflix on August 6, the film has received mixed reviews. But everyone can agree that the cast members give a stellar performance, including 13-year-old breakout star Ynairaly Simo, who plays Gabi.
In the animated musical drama, Lin-Manuel stars as a beloved kinkajou named Vivo but his somewhat misguided sidekick, Gabi, manages to steal the show. Since the film’s premiere, fans are dying to know more about the talented young actress. Here’s what we know about Vivo’s Ynairaly Simo.
13-year-old Ynairaly Simo stars as Gabi in ‘Vivo’.
According to IMDb, Ynairaly was born to Dominican parents Ydamys and Joseph Simo, and started acting at only 5 years old.
The New Yorker's first role was in Amazon Prime's original series Creative Galaxy, and it’s clear that the young actress is just getting started. In addition to her acting career, Ynairaly’s Instagram feed suggests that the 13-year-old also has a future in fashion, much like her mom, who has been by her daughter’s side through every step of her accomplishments.
Ynairaly’s mom, Ydamys Simo, makes a living as a designer and her work has previously been featured at New York Fashion Week. Ydamys, who calls her daughter her “motivation,” is no stranger to the spotlight, and her daughter’s recent success proves that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Ydamys captioned a sentimental post on Instagram, “Seeing you smile and do all the things that give you joy is my greatest happiness. You are the living proof that you can achieve anything you set out in life even if life circumstances show you the opposite.”
Although the details of her health problems are unclear, Ydamys previously revealed that Ynairaly was hospitalized and underwent eight hours of surgery in July 2019. Since then, the young actress seems to be in good health and currently attends the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. But who else stars in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s new movie? Meet the cast of Vivo.
‘Vivo’ features a star-studded cast of industry veterans.
In addition to Zoe Saldana, Nicole Byer, and Katie Lowes, Gloria Estefan is also part of the star-studded cast. And according to Vivo director Kirk DeMicco, they couldn’t have done the film without her.
“We got down to Miami and recorded both her songs and did a bunch of her lines and she was a dream. I don't know how we would've thought to have made the movie without her,” Kirk told CBR. “But her connection to the movie, and to Marta... She was singing this song with Alex and Lin and I just felt like I'm surprised when things I dream about actually work. I'm happily surprised.”
Vivo is available for streaming on Netflix now.