Meet Inde Navarrette, who plays Nikki in Curry Barker’s hit horror film, Obsession
The young actress drew inspiration for her breakout performance from scream queen role models Mia Goth in Pearl and Toni Collette in Hereditary
Inde Navarrette is the name on every horror fan’s lips right now. The newly minted scream queen is the star of Curry Barker’s supernatural fear flick Obsession (2025), which, as of May 18, has opened to US$23.1 million globally, per SlashFilm. It reportedly had a budget of less than US$1 million.
In the film, Navarrette plays Nikki Freeman, who falls in love with Michael Johnston’s Barron “Bear” Bailey after he wishes she would love him “more than anyone in the f***ing world”, by snapping a mysterious One Wish Willow stick. What ensues is a nightmare rather than a romantic comedy.
“I wanted to try something new, and this was nothing but new,” 25-year-old Navarrette told USA Today about her role, describing Nikki as “six different characters in one person”. She drew inspiration for her performance from Toni Collette in Hereditary (2018) and Mia Goth in Pearl (2022). “Whenever I would see myself on the monitor, I would be so terrified of myself,” she said in an interview with People magazine.
So what do we know about Inde Navarrette?
Horror is in her “blood”
Danielle Fabiola Navarrette was born in March 2001 in Tucson, Arizona, to an Australian mother and Mexican father. Her father’s career as a US Marine saw the family “ping-pong” across the country, per USA Today. Navarrette and her older brother were later raised by their single mother, per People. She got the name Inde because of her independent nature as a child.
The actress revealed to People magazine that the Mexican side of her family is “huge with horror”, giving her a deeper appreciation for the genre. She also enjoys watching anime, listening to podcasts, playing pool and painting.