Ana Celia de Armas Caso was born on April 30, 1988, in Havana, Cuba. She grew up in the small city of Santa Cruz del Norte. Her father, Ramón, worked in various jobs, including as a bank manager and teacher, while her mother, Ana, worked in the human resources section of the Ministry of Education.

Ana de Armas has one older brother, Javier, who is a photographer based in New York City. During her childhood, she faced food rationing, fuel shortages, and electricity blackouts, but she has described her early life as happy.

She had limited access to the internet and popular culture beyond Cuba, but she developed a passion for acting at a young age. At 14, she successfully auditioned to join Havana's National Theatre of Cuba.

She left the four-year drama course shortly before presenting her final thesis because Cuban graduates are forbidden from leaving the country without first completing three years of mandatory service to the community.

At 18, with Spanish citizenship through her maternal grandparents, she moved to Madrid to pursue an acting career.

Ana began her career in Cuba with a leading role in the romantic drama Una rosa de Francia in 2006. She gained popularity in Spain with her role in the drama El Internado, which she starred in for six seasons from 2007 to 2010.

After moving to Los Angeles, Ana had English-speaking roles in the psychological thriller Knock Knock in 2015 and the comedy-crime film War Dogs in 2016. She rose to prominence with her role as the holographic AI projection Joi in the science fiction film Blade Runner 2049 in 2017.

For her performance as nurse Marta Cabrera in the mystery film Knives Out in 2019, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

She subsequently portrayed the Bond girl Paloma in the James Bond film No Time to Die in 2021 and Norma Jeane in the biopic Blonde in 2022. For Blonde, Ana became the first Cuban to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

In her personal life, Ana was married to Spanish actor Marc Clotet from 2011 to 2013. She has been linked to several high-profile relationships, including with actor Ben Affleck.

As of June 2024, she is in a relationship with Tinder executive Paul Boukadakis. Throughout her career, Ana has received numerous awards and nominations. She won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Knives Out and has been nominated for several prestigious awards, including the BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance in Blonde.