| Ana Alicia | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ana Alicia Ortiz December 12, 1956 Mexico City, Mexico[1] |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1977–1997 |
| Spouse | Gary R. Benz (1994-present; 2 children) |
Ana Alicia (born December 12, 1956) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as scheming heiress Melissa Agretti on the long-running primetime soap opera Falcon Crest.
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She was born as Ana Alicia Ortiz in Mexico City to a clothing manufacturing executive mother and a father who worked in business.[1] Her family moved to El Paso, Texas when she was a child. Upon graduating high school in 1973, Ortiz earned a scholarship to Wellesley College, but eventually left, instead pursuing her bachelor's degree in drama at the University of Texas at El Paso to be closer to her mother and siblings. Her first professional role under an AEA contract was as one of the Pigeon Sisters in a production of "The Odd Couple" starring Bob Denver at The Adobe Horseshoe Dinner Theater in El Paso.
After earning her degree in 1977, Ortiz moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for roles in various productions. She won the part of Alicia Nieves on Ryan's Hope, a daytime soap opera, moving to New York City for taping. After fifteen months on the show, Ortiz moved back to Los Angeles part-time and kept auditioning while attending law school at Southwestern University at night back in Texas. Eventually, her acting opportunities suffered and she decided to pursue acting full-time.
Following several guest roles in episodic television, including two separate roles in Glen A. Larson's series Battlestar Galactica and a role on his series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Ortiz auditioned for the role of spoiled, selfish vineyard heiress Melissa Agretti on Falcon Crest as a replacement for actress Delores Cantú who had played Melissa for one episode in early 1982. Melissa went on to become the series' "love to hate" character and a firm fan favourite, as a worthy rival for the show's arch-villainess Angela Channing, played by Jane Wyman. Ana appeared in the 1983 TV-movie, Happy Endings, opposite John Schneider and her former Ryan's Hope co-star, Catherine Hicks.
In 1989, Ortiz appeared with Raúl Juliá in the movie Romero, her only non-television film role apart from Halloween II in 1981. Then in 1990, Ana Alicia appeared in the made for TV Movie "Miracle Landing" where she played the role of Michelle Honda. Miracle Landing is a 1990 television film based on an in-flight accident aboard Aloha Airlines Flight 243 that occurred in April 1988. The Boeing 737-200 was flying from Hilo, Hawaii to Honolulu, Hawaii, when it experienced rapid decompression when a section of the fuselage was torn away. She continued to play guest roles on episodic television, including two episodes in the action series Renegade which reunited her with her former Falcon Crest screen husband Lorenzo Lamas. This was her last known acting role. She has since moved back to El Paso to raise her family
In October 2010, Ortiz appeared in a promotional video for the Norwegian television show Gylne Tider. She and other celebrities filmed a cover of The Beatles song "Let It Be"[2]
Ortiz married Gary Benz on April 24, 1994; they have 2 children.