Kristin Villanueva ’07
Kristin Villanueva is a versatile artist known for roles in TV, film, and theatre.
Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she moved to Washington, D.C. at age 15. At Purchase, she received the Chair’s Award for Achievement in Acting.
Villanueva is part of the award-winning cast of HBO’s The Pitt, which received the Actor’s Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in February 2026. Read more about the award.
Spanning stage, screen, and genre, Villanueva’s resume highlights a performer equally at home in intimate film work and large-scale theatrical storytelling.
Villanueva has worked extensively across the US at prestigious regional theatres in shows from classical pieces to new works, frequently collaborating with directors Mary Zimmerman and Mike Donahue.
She appeared in Mary Zimmerman’s visually arresting The White Snake, performing in acclaimed runs at leading American theaters, and took part in early lab productions of Here Lies Love at The Public Theater, the immersive musical that went on to wide critical and popular success. Her international credits include the Singapore Arts Festival production of The Wind‑Up Bird Chronicle, underscoring a career that spans classical texts, new work, and global stages.
She’s played Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona (The Old Globe), Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice (Playmakers Repertory) , Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare & Company), and Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors (Theatreworks Colorado).
Villanueva’s television work reflects a steady presence in smart, character-driven series. She had a recurring role in Netflix’s Bonding, and has appeared on TV Land’s publishing-world comedy Younger, HBO Max’s darkly comic mystery Search Party, and CBS’s long-running procedural Elementary, bringing nuance and specificity to guest and recurring roles across comedy and drama.
On screen, Villanueva has worked with notable filmmakers on high-profile independent features, including Paul Schrader’s critically acclaimed First Reformed, starring Ethan Hawke, and the political drama Viper Club, led by Susan Sarandon.
She starred in the original cast of Waterwell’s groundbreaking play The Courtroom and in its film adaptation that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022.
