Diane Guerrero

Diane Guerrero
Born July 21, 1986
New Jersey
Occupation Actress
Years active 2011–present

Diane Guerrero (born c. July 21, 1986)[1][2] is an American actress best known for her current roles of Maritza Ramos on the Netflix web series Orange Is the New Black and Lina on Jane the Virgin. Guerrero grew up in Boston and remained there after the rest of her family was deported to Colombia.

Background

Guerrero was born in New Jersey to Colombian parents and raised in Boston. As the only American-born child in her family, she remained in America when the rest of her family was deported back to Colombia.[1] Both of her parents and her older brother were deported to Colombia when she was 14.[1][3] Her parents had pursued legal citizenship, but had been fraudulently represented. The deportation happened without warning causing Guerrero to come home one day to a partially cooked dinner and an empty home. While Guerrero was able to make her way, her toddler niece grew up without a family support system and wound up in jail.[4]

She was raised in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods in Boston after being taken in by other Colombian families.[1] She has had an interest in acting since a young age and took advantage of free opportunities in the neighborhood or at school. Then she attended Boston Arts Academy, which is a performing arts high school, where she was in the music department.[5] Among her high school activities was singing with a jazz group, but she anticipated pursuing political science and communications in college.[5] In 2010, she appeared in the Faces; she is also in the single music video that was shot in Norwood, Massachusetts for Louie Bello.[6] Her first job after college was in a law office.[5] At age 24, she decided to pursue a career in acting.[7] In 2011, she moved to New York city and studied acting at the Susan Batson Studios where she met her manager Josh Taylor.[5] Guerrero's life experience compels her to advocate for immigration reform and is an influence that she draws upon in her acting.[8][9]

Career

She auditioned for a role on Devious Maids, but ended up with a role on Orange is the New Black, where she plays a Bronx-bred character that is likely Puerto Rican.[5] For season 2, she was part of the cast that earned recognition for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards.[10][11] She has had a recurring role on Are We There Yet?.

In 2014, she appeared in Emoticon ;), a comedy about a May–December romance in which her father is involved with a doctoral candidate.[12] Her performance as Amanda ("Mandy") Nevins, an adopted teenage child, elicited positive criticism such as a description of a "well-drawn smaller moment" that was "beautifully rendered" according to Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter and a performance that "command sympathy" according to Inkoo Kang of the Los Angeles Times.[13][14]

One of her upcoming roles is as an 1800s Cuban confederate spy, loosely based on the life of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, for Peter and John.[5] She has been cast in The CW's upcoming series Jane the Virgin in a recurring role.[15][16]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2011Ashley/AmberAshleyshort
2011FestivalIvan Model 2
2012Open VacancyTatiana
2012Saved by the PolePrincessshort
2014Emoticon ;)Amanda Nevins
2014My Man Is a LoserMalea
2014Beyond ControlTasha
2015Peter and JohnLucia
Television
Year Title Role Notes
Pushing DreamsLynette Melendez
2011Body of Proof (season 1)Sara GonzalesEpisode: "Buried Secrets"
2012Are We There Yet? (season 3)Stacey4 episodes: The Cooking Episode; The Life Insurance Episode;
The Thanksgiving Episode; The Wrong Way Episode
2013Orange Is the New BlackMaritza Ramos17 episodes
2013Blue Bloods (season 3)CarmenEpisode: "This Way Out"
2013Person of Interest (season 3)AshleyEpisode: "Liberty"
2014Taxi Brooklyn (season 1)Carmen LopezEpisode: 1.2
2014Jane the VirginLinaRecurring

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Rivera, Zayda (2014-06-05). "Diane Guerrero returns for 'Orange is the New Black' second season". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  2. ↑ "Twitter / dianeguerrero_: Thank you everyone for the wonderful birthday wishes 😘". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
  3. ↑ Carolina Morneno (June 18, 2014). "OITNB's Diane Guerrero Opens Up About Her Parents' Deportation". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ Guerrero, Diane (2014-11-15). "Op-Ed: 'Orange is the New Black' actress: My parents were deported". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Erazo, Vanessa (2014-06-05). "Diane Guerrero of ‘Orange is the New Black’ is on the Front Lines of Fighting for More Latinas on TV". Remezcla.com. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  6. ↑ "Tracked Down: Mayor Tom Menino, Doug Flutie, Louie Bello & more...". Boston Herald. 2010-03-28. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  7. ↑ Caceres, Juan (2014-05-28). "LatinoBuzz: Emoticon;) – Interview with Livia De Paolis & Diane Guerrero". Indiewire. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  8. ↑ Ramirez, Tanisha L. (2014-06-19). "OITNB’s Diane Guerrero Opens Up About Her Parents' Deportation". Cosmopolitan Latina. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  9. ↑ Rodriguez, Priscilla (2014-06-16). "Diane Guerrero of OITNB Discusses How Her Family Was Deported When She Was 14". Latina. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
  10. ↑ Leeds, Sarene (January 26, 2015). "SAG Awards: The Complete 2015 Winners List". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ Keegan, Rebecca (January 26, 2015). "SAG Awards 2015: 'Birdman' feathers its nest as Oscars nears". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ Gates, Anita (2014-05-02). "Summer Movie Release Schedule". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  13. ↑ Scheck, Frank (2013-10-14). "Emoticon ;): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  14. ↑ Kang, Inkoo (2014-05-29). "Review 'Emoticon ;)' attempts to tackle relationships in 140 counts or less". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  15. ↑ Saraiya, Sonia (2014-05-16). "Fall TV previews: The CW has superheroes and virgins on deck". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
  16. ↑ Trivino, Jesus (2014-05-31). "#Interview With Diane Guerrero of ‘Orange Is The New Black'". Latina. Retrieved 2014-06-08.

External links