Laysla De Oliveira: Bio, Ethnicity, Lioness Role & Husband

Laysla De Oliveira went from Toronto sidewalk discovery at age 14 to commanding scenes in Taylor Sheridan’s military thrillers. Her Brazilian immigrant parents’ sacrifice—the mother who arrived as a cleaning lady, the daughter now portraying a Marine Raider—powers the emotional core of Paramount+’s Lioness.

Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario · Family Origin: Brazilian · Modeling Start: Age 14 · Breakout Role: Cruz Manuelos in Lioness · Other Key Role: Dodge in Locke & Key

The table below consolidates key biographical data from verified sources.

What ethnicity is Laysla De Oliveira?

Laysla De Oliveira is a Canadian actress of Brazilian origin. Her parents are Brazilian immigrants who built a life in Canada with limited resources—her mother immigrated as a cleaning lady, according to interviews with the LA Times profile. Her heritage is more complex than a single label: she is Brazilian by nationality and ancestry, specifically with Portuguese roots and some Croatian ancestry on her maternal side, according to EthniCelebs ancestry data. Her maternal grandfather was Manuel Antonino de Oliveira, son of Francisco de Oliveira and Maria dos Santos.

Family background

The family story carries the weight of immigrant sacrifice. Laysla’s mother arrived in Canada with little and worked her way up. That background shaped Laysla’s worldview—she lived briefly in Brazil at age 10, where local children embraced her, but was bullied upon returning to Canada. “I think because I had a little bit of a different accent or something, and the kids were a little bit mean,” she told the LA Times. She honors those sacrifices through her work, calling her role in Lioness a tribute to her parents.

Cultural influences

Her multicultural background surfaces in her professional life. On the set of Lioness, she bonded with co-star Zoe Saldaña over their shared Latin heritage. “With me and Zoe, because we’re both Latin, it was very much that side of our culture. We would be talking about rice and beans,” Laysla told the Winnipeg Free Press interview. She practiced Spanish using her Portuguese fluency.

The pattern reveals that her cultural identity functions as professional capital—she leverages it for authentic performances and co-star relationships rather than treating it as background information.

Who is Laysla De Oliveira married to?

Laysla De Oliveira married actor Jonathan Keltz in May 2025. The couple met while working on the 2018 film Acquainted, where Jonathan played a character with a Hollywood area code that caught Laysla’s attention. “He was the first actor I ever met,” she told the LA Times interview. “I remember thinking, ‘He has a 310 area code,’ which was a whole thing for me at the time.” She describes him as someone who changed her life by opening doors she didn’t know existed.

Spouse details

Jonathan Keltz is a Canadian actor known for roles in various film and television projects. According to Wikipedia, the couple got engaged in December 2021 in Malibu, California. They kept their relationship relatively private before the engagement announcement. The wedding took place in May 2025, though the exact date and location remain undisclosed.

Relationship timeline

The relationship timeline spans several years of growing professional and personal connection. They were first linked publicly during Acquainted’s press cycle in 2018. The engagement in December 2021 marked their first public confirmation of the relationship, with Laysla sharing the news in her characteristic low-key fashion on social media. The May 2025 wedding represents their commitment after three years of engagement.

The catch is that her public narrative frames him as catalyst rather than collaborator—a pattern common among actors who credit mentors for early opportunities.

Will Laysla De Oliveira be in season 2 of Lioness?

Yes. Laysla De Oliveira appears as Cruz Manuelos in Lioness Season 2—a return that almost didn’t happen. Creator Taylor Sheridan initially planned no Season 2 role for Cruz following the character’s arc in Season 1, according to interviews with the LA Times. Laysla recalled seeing Sheridan’s changes with emotion: “He totally changed my whole life, he opened this door for me,” she said, tears in her eyes.

Season 2 status

Cruz Manuelos returns as a U.S. Marine Raider recruited by the CIA in an undercover operation. The character endured severe physical and emotional abuse in Season 1, and Laysla underwent extensive training at Unbreakable for the role, according to behind-the-scenes content. The show premiered July 23, 2023, on Paramount+ with episodes released weekly on Sundays, and has continued into Season 2.

Cruz Manuelos role

Cruz is a Marine Raider with a deeply wounded backstory—she was sex-trafficked by the cartel before being recruited as an asset by the CIA for the Lioness program. Laysla’s performance drew praise for bringing emotional authenticity to a character whose trauma is central to the narrative. The role marked her transition from Netflix fantasy (Locke & Key) to prestige military thriller.

The implication is that her continued presence validates the showrunner’s reversal and signals Laysla’s status as essential to the ensemble rather than a supporting player.

What languages does Laysla De Oliveira speak?

Laysla De Oliveira is multilingual, speaking Portuguese as her first language at home and English as her professional language. She grew up speaking Portuguese due to her Brazilian immigrant parents. Her Portuguese proficiency enabled her to provide the Portuguese dub for co-star Darby Stanchfield during Locke & Key filming, according to the Locke & Key Fandom wiki.

Multilingual background

Her multilingual ability extends beyond Portuguese. Growing up in a Brazilian household in Canada meant English was learned externally while Portuguese dominated home life. Her Brazilian roots gave her a foundation for learning Spanish as well—she practiced Spanish with Zoe Saldaña during Lioness filming, leveraging her Portuguese fluency as a base. The linguistic versatility is common among children of immigrants navigating between heritage and mainstream cultures.

The implication is that her multilingualism operates as social currency in Hollywood’s professional environment rather than a pure skill asset.

Laysla De Oliveira movies and TV shows

Laysla De Oliveira’s filmography spans television dramas, horror films, and streaming hits. Her career began with small television appearances before landing her breakout role as Dodge in Netflix’s Locke & Key. She stars as Cruz Manuelos in Paramount+’s Special Ops: Lioness, a role that elevated her profile significantly.

Key roles

Her most recognized roles include Dodge/Echo in Locke & Key (Netflix, 2020-2022), a supernatural character who served as a primary antagonist across the series. In the horror film In the Tall Grass (2019), she played Becky DeMuth. She appeared in Guest of Honour, a drama directed by Atom Egoyan. Her television credits include single episodes in Covert Affairs (2012) and Nikita (2013), recurring roles in iZombie and The Gifted (2018-2019), and a role in Jalen Vs. Everybody (2017).

Career highlights

The trajectory from modeling discovery at 14 to a starring role in a Taylor Sheridan production represents her most significant career milestone. Lioness premiered July 23, 2023, and quickly became a critical talking point. Laysla trained extensively for the role, working with Unbreakable for the physical demands. The performance marked a clear pivot from fantasy genre work to grounded, emotionally complex drama.

The pattern suggests her career moves toward increasingly grounded roles—each shift away from fantasy toward military drama represents strategic positioning for awards-caliber work.

“He totally changed my whole life, he opened this door for me,” Laysla says of Taylor Sheridan.

— Laysla De Oliveira, LA Times interview

“With me and Zoe, because we’re both Latin, it was very much that side of our culture. We would be talking about rice and beans.”

— Laysla De Oliveira, Winnipeg Free Press interview

Laysla De Oliveira’s journey from Toronto sidewalk discovery to Taylor Sheridan’s set carries a particular weight because it’s rooted in her family’s immigrant story. Her mother arrived with little; her daughter now commands scenes in prestige television. That arc—from cleaning lady’s daughter to Marine Raider actor—isn’t just personal mythology. It reflects what Lioness itself is about: people forged by hardship finding purpose in high-stakes operations where the personal and professional collide. For viewers drawn to the show, Laysla represents the human core beneath the tactical machinery.

Related reading: Jessica De Gouw · Drea de Matteo

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