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Gina Torres Profile |
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Birth Date: April 25, 1969
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Birth Place: New York City, New York, USA
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Birth Name: Gina Torres
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Height: 5'10"
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Biography |
Gina Torres was born April 25, 1969, in New York City. The
youngest of three children, she gravitated toward the stage
from an early age. “Ever since I can remember, I wanted to
perform -- needed to perform,” she admits. “My junior high
school chorus director made the mistake of giving me a solo
in an eighth-grade production of Barnum… and when I got my
first round of applause, it was mother’s milk; it’s what’s
called ‘being bitten.’”
Convinced that her future was in showbiz, Gina enrolled in
New York City’s prestigious High School of Music and Art
where she majored in vocal training. In her spare time, she
also showed off her impressive mezzo-soprano in school
productions, as well as in her church’s gospel choir.
Following high school, Gina immediately began her long
apprenticeship in showbiz by working as a receptionist at
the Lincoln Center Theater Company. Although the job was far
from glamorous, it did give her plenty of time to pursue a
career in acting and, within a matter of months, Gina was
appearing in a number of plays and musicals including
Dreamgirls, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and
Marvin’s Room. “Stage is my first love,” she says. “It's
hard work, but it's so rewarding. It's immediate
gratification. You know if they love you and you know if
they don't. The audience is definitely the other character
in a play.”
Despite Gina’s love for the theater, she knew the real money
was in television and film and she eventually made her
small-screen debut in a 1992 episode of Law & Order. More
television work soon followed and Gina spent the next five
years appearing in hit shows such as M.A.N.T.I.S., NYPD
Blue, One Life to Live, Dark Angel, Profiler, and La Femme
Nikita. Gina also made her first foray onto the big screen
in 1996 in Bed of Roses, a moving romantic film starring
Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson.
Gina caught a big break the following year when she landed
the recurring role of Nebula on Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys. She stayed with the popular program until 1999
before receiving her very own sci-fi show, Cleopatra 2525.
The campy program featured Gina as a cryogenically frozen
exotic dancer who is accidentally thawed out in the
not-so-distant future. Despite the far-fetched premise, the
show lasted two seasons and paved the way for bigger and
better roles in series such as Firefly and The Shield.
Gina also landed the plum role of Cas opposite Keanu Reeves
in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both of
which were released in 2003. In addition to being her
biggest paycheck to date, the films also introduced her to
her future husband, actor Laurence Fishburne.
Gina’s appearances in the blockbuster films allowed her to
transition out of the fantasy and sci-fi genres and she made
the most of the opportunity with recurring roles in 24 with
Kiefer Sutherland and Alias with Jennifer Garner. She was
also given the chance to costar with her husband once again
in Five Fingers (2006), a terrorist thriller set in Morocco.
“It's about a young idealist man, played by Ryan Philippe,
who is kidnapped and then held for interrogation,” she
explains. “He is being interrogated by Muslim
fundamentalists, played by myself and Laurence Fishburne.
It's very timely with what's going on in the world today.”
Gina returned to the small screen in 2006 in Standoff, an
entertaining series about a pair of hostage negotiators.
“When I read the script, I thought ‘OK great! Here’s a woman
who is fully realized -- who is a professional,'” she
recalls. “She is in present-day. She’s not on a ship. I’m
not eating people or consuming them.”
In 2007, Gina’s film career continued to take off as she
appeared in I Think I Love My Wife -- a hilarious romantic
comedy starring Chris Rock and Steve Buscemi. |
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Other
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Engaged to Laurence Fishburne |
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