| Judy Reyes | |
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Reyes at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival |
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| Born | November 5, 1967 [1] The Bronx, New York, United States[1] |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Edwin M. Figueroa (divorced)[2] |
| Partner | George Valencia[3] |
Judy Reyes (born November 5, 1967 in the Bronx, New York)[1] is an American actress of Dominican heritage. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the TV comedy Scrubs.
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A native of The Bronx, Reyes has three sisters,[4] including a twin sister named Joselin, who played a paramedic on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Reyes grew up on Bainbridge Street from the age of 13 to the age of 25 or 26.[4] She attended Hunter College in Manhattan, where she began her acting career.[2]
Reyes had a short stint on The Sopranos as the girlfriend of Paulie Walnuts. She also made a brief appearance on the American television series Oz, where she played the wife of the blind Correctional Officer Eugene Rivera. She made an appearance in the Law & Order episode "Sisters of Mercy". She has also starred in The Fuzz Show as Girl #1.
She is best known for her portrayal of nurse Carla Espinosa on the NBC comedy Scrubs from 2001 to 2009. "I really admire Carla – she's smart and sassy and a very good nurse", says Reyes of her character. "I like that she remains confident and unapologetic in a world where nurses don't receive the same respect as doctors". Carla was introduced in the show's pilot episode, "My First Day", and starred in eight of the nine seasons, last appearing in the eighth season finale, "My Finale".
Reyes' other film credits include Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, and the independent film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God, Be Back by Five. She can also be seen in the film Washington Heights. Additionally Reyes acted in and co-produced (with her husband) Taino, a short film which was screened at the 1999 New York International Latino Film Festival and at the 2001 Los Angeles Latino Film Festival. She has also made an appearance in the TV show Castle as the adoptive mother of an abducted girl.
Reyes' television credits include 100 Centre Street, Paulie Walnuts' girlfriend Michelle in Season 2 of The Sopranos and a guest stint on Third Watch. Her made-for-television movies include John Sanford's Mind Prey, with Eriq La Salle, The Prosecutors, the role of Luz Cuevas, the mother of a baby kidnapped from her crib during an arson-set fire, in the Lifetime Movie Network drama Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story, a homeless woman in the 2006 Hallmark Channel movie, Our House, and as a concerned mother in the ABC drama Off the Map.
In 2011 she stars as Angela, a mother dealing with the return of her estranged husband into her life after a stint in prison in the family drama Gun Hill Road. The film is set in Reyes' native Bronx, and its title refers to a real-life street that intersects the Bainbridge Street on which Reyes herself grew up.[4] The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2011.[5]
Reyes was married to writer/director Edwin M. Figueroa for 11 years before they divorced.[2]
Reyes and her boyfriend George Valencia have a daughter, Leila Rey, born on November 27, 2009.[3]