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America Ferrera Profile |
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Birth Date: April 18, 1984
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Birth Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
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Birth Name: America Georgine Ferrera
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Height: 5'1"
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Biography |
America Georgine Ferrera was born on April 18, 1984, in Los
Angeles, California. Her parents are from Honduras and,
following their divorce, she and her five elder siblings
were raised by their single mom in suburban Woodland Hills.
She caught the acting bug early on as she began performing
in plays at school as well as in local community theater at
the age of 8, and she continued to hone her craft during her
school years.
After a decade or so as an amateur actress, Ferrera appeared
in her first feature film in 2002. She played Ana Garcia, a
first generation Mexican-American teen in East LA, in the
indie movie Real Women Have Curves. The role earned her
positive notice as well as a Special Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. That same year, she played Yolanda
in the made-for-TV movie Gotta Kick It Up! and Lillian
Rivera in the stage play The Have Little. In addition to her
work on the big screen and on stage, Ferrera guest-starred
on a 2002 episode of Touched by an Angel, and she also had a
small part in the "Fighting Fridas" episode of American
Family.
In 2004, Ferrera appeared as Victoria Roubideaux in the TV
movie Plainsong, costarring Aidan Quinn and Rachel
Griffiths, as Luiza in the short film Darkness Plus Twelve,
and got a shot at regular series work with $5.15/Hr, a
television pilot cowritten and directed by Richard
Linklater, which ultimately failed to get picked up as a
series. That October, she guest-starred on an episode of
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Ferrera added more indie film roles to her resume in 2005,
including another Sundance Festival favorite, How The Garcia
Girls Spent Their Summer, as well as the teen drama The
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with Alexis Bledel, and
the ‘70s skateboard flick Lords of Dogtown with Heath
Ledger.
Later that year, Ferrera went to New York City to costar in
the off-Broadway play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage
Blockhead at the Century Center for the Performing Arts. She
kicked off 2006 with the Sundance premiere of Steel City, a
drama in which she had the supporting role of Amy Barnes.
In September 2006, Ferrera made her debut as Betty Suarez on
the ABC series Ugly Betty. The show became an instant hit,
and Ferrera quickly became an unlikely star, portraying an
unattractive, fashion-challenged girl surrounded by stylish
and beautiful coworkers at Mode magazine. She was honored
with a best actress Golden Globe and a SAG award in January
2007.
Ferrera graduated from the University of Southern California
in 2007, where she double-majored in theater and
international relations. She also appeared in the
independent feature films Boy, Immigrant (2007) and Hacia la
oscuridad (2007), for which she was an executive producer. |
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Other
Information |
Parents are Honduran.
Is the youngest of 6 siblings.
Started acting in community theater and school plays at the
age of eight.
Is currently studying for a double-major in International
Relations and Theater at the University of Southern
California.
Two of her films, Lords of Dogtown (2005) and The Sisterhood
of the Traveling Pants (2005), opened in the United States
on the same day: Friday, June 3, 2005.
During an interview with her The Sisterhood of the Traveling
Pants (2005) co-star Alexis Bledel, for Latina Magazine, she
was stunned to believe that Alexis spoke Spanish during
productions of the film.
Went Calabash Elementary School in the San Fernando Valley
from 1994-1995 where she played one of the lead characters
in her 5th grade graduation play called "Oliver." She played
the "Artful Dodger" in the production.
Announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend, Ryan
Williams. [February 2007]. |
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