All About Ester Expósito, the Actress Rumored to Be Dating Kylian Mbappé

THE RUNDOWN

• Spanish actress Ester Expósito first rose to fame on Netflix’s Élite.
• She’s since become a familiar face across fashion, beauty, and film.
• The actress has also sparked dating rumors with French soccer star Kylian Mbappé.

Ester Expósito has been one of Spain’s biggest breakout stars since Netflix’s Élite became an international phenomenon. In the years since, the actress has built a career spanning television, film, and luxury fashion campaigns while amassing millions of followers on social media.

More recently, Expósito has made headlines for another reason: romance rumors involving French soccer star Kylian Mbappé. Although neither has publicly confirmed a relationship, the pair has been photographed together several times, drawing increased attention as Mbappé competes in the FIFA World Cup.

Here’s everything to know about the actress behind the headlines.

Expósito was born on Jan. 26, 2000, in Madrid.

She discovered acting at a young age and began performing in theater productions as a teenager before landing early television roles, including appearances in the Spanish series Vis a Vis and Centro Médico.

Speaking with Oprah Daily in 2020, Expósito reflected on how quickly her career changed after finding success on screen.

“In two years, Élite has changed my life completely,” she said. “Even though I had already done two movies and participated in other shows, the success of this show has obviously made, like, a before and after in my career, where now people know who I am around the world.”

Although Expósito had already been acting professionally, her breakout role came in 2018 when she was cast as Carla Rosón in Netflix’s Spanish teen drama Élite.

The series became one of Netflix’s biggest international hits and introduced the actress to audiences around the world. Expósito appeared throughout the show’s first three seasons before leaving to pursue other projects.

Looking back on the role, she told Oprah Daily, “I’ll always appreciate what Carla has taught me.”

She also told Numéro in 2023 that she believes the show’s willingness to explore complicated characters helped make it resonate with viewers.

“I think the series is now embedded in a generation that will remember it as the series of their teenage years,” she said. “Young people can see themselves in all the contrasting emotions felt by the characters.”

Since leaving Élite, Expósito has steadily expanded her résumé with projects in both television and film.

She has appeared in series including Someone Has to Die, Veneno, and Bandidos, as well as films like Venus and Lost in the Night.

At the 2026 Monte-Carlo Television Festival, she received the International Golden Nymph Award for Most Promising Talent in recognition of her work.

Her next project is Drawn Together, Amazon Prime Video’s adaptation of Mercedes Ron’s novel Marfil. The streamer announced that the film will premiere on Sept. 9, 2026.

Acting, she told Vogue Mexico in 2025, has been her dream for as long as she can remember.

“Since I was little, I always wanted to be an actress. I don’t know why, because there’s no one in my family who does anything related to this, but it’s like I was born with it; I always knew it.”

Beyond acting, Expósito has become a fixture in the fashion and beauty worlds.

She has worked with brands including Desigual, Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, Dolce & Gabbana, Marine Serre, and Bvlgari.

Speaking to Vogue Mexico in 2025, Expósito described fashion as “a very powerful and beautiful tool for artistic expression.”

“I want to enjoy it, experiment with it, and not become too obsessed with it, but rather something that simply brings me enjoyment and opportunities,” she said.

Expósito’s reach extends well beyond television.

She has more than 24 million followers on Instagram, where she shares behind-the-scenes moments from film sets, fashion campaigns, travel, and personal projects.

Despite her massive online audience, she tries to keep social media in perspective.

“I consider Instagram for what it is: a small portion of myself that is not meant to be more than what it is,” she told Numéro in 2023. “It’s a tool which allows me to share my latest projects and a few moments of my life, without losing sight of the fact that it is not reality.”

She added that while she’s grateful it allows her to connect with fans, she also makes an effort to step away from social media whenever she can.

“I personally try to disconnect, to put down my phone from time to time,” she said, “even if it is hard to do it as much as I’d like because of my work.”

Expósito has recently started sparking dating rumors with French soccer star Kylian Mbappé.

Neither Expósito nor Mbappé has publicly confirmed a relationship. Still, the pair has been photographed together several times this year, fueling speculation about their connection.

In April, they were seen spending an evening together in Paris, where they were photographed at dinner before heading to a bowling alley.

Weeks later, they were spotted vacationing together in Sardinia while Mbappé recovered from a hamstring injury.

In June, the pair was also photographed in Ibiza before the start of the FIFA World Cup.

Despite the growing attention, neither has publicly addressed the nature of their relationship.

As Expósito’s career has grown, she has spoken candidly about adjusting to life in the public eye.

During the 2026 Monte-Carlo Television Festival, she acknowledged that attention surrounding her personal life has become part of the job.

“Since Élite, it’s been the same every time something happens in my private life,” she told Le Parisien. “I don’t want it to overshadow my career.”

She also reflected on growing up in the spotlight during a 2025 interview with Vogue Mexico, saying, “The transition from girl to woman was a very intense moment in my life because it’s a very sensitive stage where you feel everything very intensely and where you still don’t know yourself.”

Expósito has been asked about the Mbappé dating rumors. She avoided sharing their status outright, telling Europa Press in March, “I’m not going to say anything, but I’m doing great.”

While Expósito has recently become associated with one of the world’s biggest soccer stars, she’s acknowledged that the sport is still fairly new to her.

“I know nothing about football,” she told Le Parisien. “I’ve only been to a stadium a few times in my life. At home, nobody watched matches on television. Even though Spain is a great football country...I don’t have that culture.

“It’s a world I’m discovering,” she added. “So I’m starting to get interested.”

Although Expósito became internationally known through Élite, she has repeatedly said she doesn’t want to be boxed into any specific categories.

“I don’t want to be known for only one genre, and I’d love to explore all the possibilities,” she told Numéro in 2023. “The more, the better!”

She’s also expressed interest in working in more languages as her career continues to grow.

“I hope I’d be able to keep supporting the Spanish industry in the future,” she told the magazine, “although I’d also like to discover new cultures and work in other languages, like English.”

Back in 2020, she shared a similar goal with Oprah Daily.

“I really want to go back to movies,” she said. “I would also love to make a comedy because I haven’t explored that in a TV show or movie...I also would like to go back to theater. But one thing at a time!”