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Inde Navarrette entered 2026 as an actress audiences might have recognized from 13 Reasons Why or Superman & Lois. She is ending it in an entirely different place.
At the center of that transformation is Obsession, Curry Barker’s twisted horror film that became one of the year’s breakout indie success stories. Navarrette plays Nikki, whose transformation from an awkward coworker into something far more unsettling gives her room to be funny, vulnerable and genuinely terrifying, sometimes within the same scene.
It is the kind of performance that can change the trajectory of a young actor’s career. Navarrette won Best Performance at the 2026 Seattle International Film Festival, while the acclaim surrounding her work has carried her into the awards conversation and introduced audiences to a side of her they hadn’t seen before.
© Frazer HarrisonFashion took notice, too. This summer, Navarrette became one of the faces of Gap’s Fall 2026 “Denim on Your Own” campaign, starring alongside musician Malcolm Todd. Directed by Tanu Muiño, the campaign pairs Gap’s denim legacy with a new generation of talent and puts Navarrette in a different kind of spotlight: dancing, moving and bringing her own point of view to an American fashion staple.
That independent streak goes back to childhood. Born Danielle Fabiola Navarrette in Tucson, Arizona, to a Mexican father and Australian mother, she grew up constantly on the move, attending 11 schools by age 15. Even “Inde” reportedly grew out of her childhood insistence on doing things herself.
At 18, she moved to California to pursue acting. She went on to play Estela de la Cruz in 13 Reasons Why before spending four seasons as Sarah Cortez on Superman & Lois. Those roles built the foundation, but Obsession revealed another dimension of her as a performer and arrived at a moment when her career was expanding well beyond television.
© Gareth CattermoleHer next chapter is taking her somewhere even bigger.
Along with the upcoming survival thriller Invertigo, Navarrette is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Rogue in Jake Schreier’s upcoming X-Men reboot. The casting puts her in the shoes of one of Marvel’s most recognizable female characters, a mutant whose ability to absorb another person’s memories and powers makes physical touch dangerous.
At 25, Navarrette has made 2026 a turning point, moving between horror, fashion and a superhero universe without losing what makes her compelling on screen.
