She made her breakthrough as the title character of the film Alita: Battle Angel (2019) and starred in the series Brand New Cherry Flavor (2021), which she also co-produced.

Shortly after relocating to Los Angeles in 2009, she made her film debut playing the character Crystal in Jamesy Boy, written and directed by Trevor White.

She then landed recurring roles on two hit TV series: American Horror Story: Murder House and Parenthood.

In 2019, she made her major studio lead debut with the film Alita: Battle Angel, an adaptation of the manga Gunnm directed by Robert Rodriguez.

[12] That year, it was announced that Salazar would have a main role on the Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.