Natalie Morales (actress)

For the television journalist of the same name, see Natalie Morales

Natalie Morales

Morales at the San Diego Comic Con, July 23, 2009
Born February 15, 1985
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation Actress
Years active 2006–present

Natalie Morales (born February 15, 1985) is an American actress. She starred in the ABC Family television series The Middleman, and had a main role on the first season of the USA Network series, White Collar. In 2010, she appeared in the feature films Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Going the Distance.

Life and career

A native of Kendall, Florida, a suburb of Miami, Morales is of Cuban descent.[1][2] She attended St. Agatha Catholic School while growing up, and then went to Southwest Miami Senior High School. She participated in the University of Miami's Dow Jones Minority High School Journalism Workshop.[3]

Morales had a guest appearance on CSI: Miami in 2006, and played a character in Pimp My Ride that year, a video game version of the MTV television series.[4] Her first major role was in The Middleman, a sci-fi dramedy which aired on the ABC Family network for one season. She starred as Wendy Watson; the series was adapted from the comic book, The Middle Man. Morales also starred in and executive produced a Web series, titled Quitters.[5] The series was an official selection of the 3rd annual ITVFest (Independent Television Festival) in Los Angeles in August 2008.[6]

In 2009, Morales joined the cast of the USA Network television series, White Collar, for the first season. She portrayed Lauren Cruz, a junior FBI agent.[7] In May 2010, Morales began appearing in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, portraying Lucy, girlfriend of Aziz Ansari's character Tom Haverford and bartender at The Snakehole Lounge, and has recently appeared in a Doctor Who special commenting on the phenomenon of regeneration.

Morales appeared in Oliver Stone's 2010 film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, a sequel to his 1987 film Wall Street.[8] She was cast as Chelsea Handler's best friend in Are You There, Chelsea?, but left the series when the cast was replaced for creative reasons.[9] Morales also appeared on the Aaron Sorkin-created HBO drama, The Newsroom, guest-starring as Kaylee, the girlfriend of Dev Patel’s character, Neal.[10] In 2013, Morales joined the cast of Trophy Wife as Meg, Kate's best friend.[11]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2006 CSI: Miami Anya Boa Vista TV series, episode: "Darkroom"
2006 Pimp My Ride Aiyana Video game
2008 Quitters Natalie Web series
2008 The Middleman Wendy Watson TV series, 12 episodes
2009 Boldly Going Nowhere Ruby TV movie
2009 Rockville CA Isabel Web series, episode: "Shoegazed"
2010 The Time Machine Natalie Short film
2009–2010 White Collar Lauren Cruz TV series, 9 episodes
2010 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Churchill Schwartz Trader
2010 The Subpranos Beatrice Ramirez Web series, episode: "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves"
2010 Going the Distance Brandy
2011 The Cape Kia TV series, episode: "The Lich (Part 1)"
2011 6 Month Rule Sophie
2010–2015 Parks and Recreation Lucy TV series, 6 episodes
2011 Freeloaders Red Dot Girl
2012 The Newsroom Kaylee TV series, 2 episodes
2012 90210 Ashley Howard TV series, 3 episodes
2013–2014 Trophy Wife Meg Gomez TV series
2014 Girls Clementine TV series, 3 episodes

References

  1. ↑ Hernandez, Lee (March 25, 2010). "'White Collar' Fires Natalie Morales, 'Parks and Recreation' Hires Her!". Latina. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  2. ↑ "From Kidnap Victim to Kicking Butt". Miami Herald. June 23, 2008. p. 8a.
  3. ↑ "Miami Montage".
  4. ↑ "Slice of SciFi Interview With "The Middleman" Star Natalie Morales".
  5. ↑ Quitters at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ "Independent Television Festival 2008 : Quitters". Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  7. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (September 8, 2009). "Actress joins USA crime series". Reuters. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Who's that Girl? Natalie Morales Goes from TV to "Wall Street"".
  9. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (July 3, 2011). "Exclusive: Chelsea Handler's New NBC Sitcom Cuts Three Castmembers in Overhaul". TVLine. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  10. ↑ "White Collar Alum Joins Sorkin Show, X Factor Finale Beats The Voice and More!". TVLine. July 3, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  11. ↑ "'White Collar' Alum Joins ABC Comedy Pilot 'Trophy Wife'". The Hollywood Reporter. November 26, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natalie Morales.