Maika Monroe

Maika Monroe (born Dillon Monroe Buckley; born May 29, 1993 ) is an American actress and kiteboarder. She made her film debut in the drama At Any Price (2012). Her breakthrough came with the cult horror film It Follows (2014), which established her as a scream queen. Monroe has since starred in the thriller film The Guest (2014), the sci-fi thriller film Tau (2018), the psychological thriller films Greta (2018) and Watcher (2022), and the horror films Significant Other (2022) and Longlegs (2024).

Aside from her roles in horror and thriller films, Monroe appeared in the drama Labor Day (2013), the action film Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), the neo-noir Hot Summer Nights (2017), the comedy-drama After Everything (2018), the black comedy Villains (2019), and the action film God Is a Bullet (2023).

Early life
Monroe was born Dillon Monroe Buckley on May 29, 1993, in Santa Barbara, California. Her mother was a sign language interpreter and her father was a construction worker. She later changed her first name to Maika, by which she had already been known for most of her life.

At the age of 17, Monroe left Santa Barbara and moved to Cabarete in the Dominican Republic to continue training in kiteboarding after spending the previous summer there. She subsequently completed her senior year of high school online.

Career
Monroe made her professional film debut as Cadence Farrow in the 2012 drama At Any Price. She then had a small role in Sofia Coppola's 2013 crime film The Bling Ring. Also in 2013, Monroe starred in the drama film Labor Day, an adaptation of the novel of the same name. She played Mandy, a farm girl who romances with a young man and eventually becomes his wife and the mother of his child.

In 2014, Monroe starred as Anna Peterson in the psychological thriller film The Guest. That same year, she had her breakthrough role as Jamie "Jay" Height in the horror film It Follows. Both films were critically acclaimed and became cult hits, while also establishing Monroe as a scream queen.

In 2015, Monroe appeared in the Western film Echoes of War. In 2016, she starred in the invasion thriller film The 5th Wave, based on the novel of the same name. Also that year, Monroe starred in the science fiction film Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to Independence Day (1996), playing former First Daughter Patricia Whitmore.

In 2017, Monroe starred alongside Timothée Chalamet in the neo-noir coming-of-age film Hot Summer Nights as his girlfriend McKayla. In 2019, Monroe played Sandra in drama film Honey Boy. In 2020, Monroe portrayed Cindy Williams in the Canadian mystery thriller Flashback.

In 2022, Monroe played Julia in Watcher the psychological thriller feature directorial debut of Chloe Okuno. In 2023, Monroe played Case in the film God Is a Bullet, an adaption of the 1999 novel of the same name. In 2024, Monroe starred as Lee Harker in the horror film Longlegs alongside Nicolas Cage.

Personal life
Monroe was in a relationship with actor Joe Keery from 2017 to 2023. Since 2023, she has been dating real-estate agent Dalton Gomez.