10 Things You Need to Know About the New Queen of the South, Alice Braga

It's actually pronounced A-LEE-SEE.

She Alice speaks fluent Portuguese, Spanish, and English — and you'll be able to hear some of her Spanish skills on Queen of the South.

Her aunt is famous actress Sonia Braga.

Alice played Anna in I Am Legend alongside Will Smith, and the superstar actor left a solid impression on her. "To be able to get to see the human being that he is, it was an honor," she gushed. "He's such a kind, gentle, and generous actor and wonderful person to work with."

"[I love] pão de queijo. It's made with yucca flour and cheese. It reminds me of my childhood. And [I love] the dish feijoada, which is like this black beans — it's kind of similar to a bunch of foods from Latin America but made with different spices. So that's something that you eat with rice and it's the beans with some meat inside, cooked very slowly, and then you eat [it] fried yucca. It's very fattening, but it's amazing!"

Alice read La Reina del Sur by Arturo Pérez-Reverte eight years ago after a friend told her she should read it. "I completely loved it because of this character," she said of Teresa Mendoza. "I think she's a very strong female character — someone that is resourceful, [someone] that came from poor life circumstances but never victimized herself. I always say that heroes are not victims, so it's nice to play a character that always wants to fight and never gives up."

Don't expect to see the same Teresa Mendoza story you read about in the book or watched Kate de Castillo portray on the iconic telenovela. "The writers [on Queen of the South] decided to do a different journey for this character," she teased.

Besides serious acting chops, Alice also has director experience on her résumé. She directed Neymar Jr.'s popular YouTube series leading up to the World Cup in Brazil. "It was great to see his journey to become one of the most important athletes in the world," she recounted of her friend and first-ever experience in the director's chair.

"I only put some leave-in [conditioner at the ends] to make the curls last longer, but that's it," she told us.

"I love using the Clinique Stay Matte Oil-Free Makeup ($24) and Chanel mascara. No matter what, I need to have moisturizer. My skin gets dry so easily, so that's definitely something that I bring. And my favorite toothbrush!"