Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

satirical romantic dramedy series ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan te ...

'' (2014–2019), for which she received a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

in 2015. Born and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Rodriguez began her career in 2003 in theater productions and made her screen debut in an episode of the police procedural drama series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. Her breakthrough came in 2012, in the independent musical-drama film '' Filly Brown''. She has gone on to star in such films as ''

Deepwater Horizon ''Deepwater Horizon'' was an ultra-deepwater, Dynamic positioning, dynamically positioned, Semi-submersible platform, semi-submersible offshore drilling Oil platform, rig owned by Transocean and operated by the BP company. On 20 April 2010, ...

'' (2016), ''

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

'' (2017), ''

Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy a ...

'' (2018), '' Miss Bala'' (2019), '' Someone Great'' (2019), '' Scoob!'' (2020), '' Awake'' (2021), '' I Want You Back'' (2022), and '' Spy Kids: Armageddon'' (2023). She voiced the titular character of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

animated action-adventure series ''

Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a Carmen Sandiego (video game series), series of computer video games created by the American software company Broderbund. Whi ...

'' (2019–21) and starred and executive produced the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

comedy-drama series '' Diary of a Future President'' (2020–21). In 2023, Rodriguez began starring in and executive producing the ABC comedy series, '' Not Dead Yet''.

Early life

Rodriguez was born on July 30, 1984, in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the youngest daughter of Puerto Rican parents, Magali and Gino Rodriguez. Her father was a boxing referee. She has an older brother and two sisters. She was raised in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side. At the age of seven, Rodriguez performed at the salsa dance company Fantasia Juvenil. Rodriguez was raised Catholic, and went to high school at St. Ignatius College Prep. She focused on salsa dancing until age 17 when she began acting more. At the age of 16, she was among thirteen teenagers to be accepted into

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's Theatrical Collaboration. She attended NYU's

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

. She trained for four years at the

Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...

and Experimental Theatre Wing, and earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in 2005. She portrayed

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

in the world premiere of ''Casa Blue'' in the UK, in the play called ''The Last Moments in the Life of Frida Kahlo'' at the American Stage Theatre.

Career

Rodriguez made her screen debut appearing in an episode of ''

'' in 2004. She later has appeared on '' Eleventh Hour'', ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' and ''

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...

''. On October 19, 2011, Rodriguez landed the recurring role, Beverly, in the soap opera series ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

''. She received a role in the musical film ''Go for It!'', for which she received a 2011 Imagen Awards nomination. In 2012, Rodriguez played young hip-hop artist Majo Tenorio in the independent musical-drama film '' Filly Brown'', for which she won an Imaged Award. She received good reviews for her performance in film. She also was the recipient of the Best Actor Award at the First Run Film Festival in New York. On June 9, 2013, Gina won the Inaugural Lupe Award. On April 16, 2013, during an interview, she revealed she was offered a role in the Lifetime television series ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, ...

'', but turned it down. On October 16, 2013, she joined the cast of the film '' Sleeping With The Fishes''. On February 27, 2014, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' announced that Rodriguez would play the titular role of Jane Villanueva in ''

'', for which she went on to win a

. On June 4, 2014, Rodriguez joined the cast of the drama film '' Sticky Notes''. In August 2015, she co-hosted the 2015 Teen Choice Awards with

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

and

Josh Peck Joshua Michael Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, and YouTuber. Peck began his career as a child actor, appearing in the film Snow Day (2000 film), ''Snow Day'' (2000) and the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''The Ama ...

. She voiced Mary in the animated film '' The Star'', which was released in November 2017, as well as Una in

Blue Sky Studios Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American visual effects and computer animation animation studio, studio, which was active from 1987 to 2021. It was based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was founded on February 22, 1987, by Chris Wedge, Michael F ...

' ''

'' a month later and played Anya in the science fiction thriller film ''

'', opposite

Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...

. She also voices

in the

animated series ''

'' which premiered on January 18, 2019. In March 2018, Netflix announced that they had acquired the live-action film rights for ''Carmen Sandiego'' and that Rodriguez would star as Sandiego in the film. Rodriguez owns the production company I Can & I Will Productions. She worked on projects at CBS and The CW centered around the Latino community. She served as a producer and starred in the 2019

romantic comedy film '' Someone Great''. In 2019, Rodriguez starred as the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in the action thriller film '' Miss Bala''. In the same year, it was announced that Rodriguez was cast in the upcoming Netflix science fiction thriller '' Awake''. She also voiced the role of

Velma Dinkley Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short red pleated skirt, knee high socks, Mary Jane shoes, and a pair of black square glasses, which she ...

in the animated adventure film '' Scoob!''. Rodriguez served as the executive producer for the

show '' Diary of a Future President'', where she also starred as the title character as an adult. She was nominated for the

Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performance The Children's and Family Emmy Awards, or Children's and Family Emmys, are a part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts a ...

for the show's second season. In 2024, Rodriguez was announced as one of the co-hosts (along with

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

) of the upcoming ABC game show '' Lucky 13''. The series premiered on July 18, 2024.

Personal life

In an interview, Rodriguez revealed that she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, a thyroid condition, at the age of 19. In a 2014 interview, she said, "I grew up Catholic. I have Jewish in my family and I attend a Christian church in Hollywood. I am basically all over the place." In 2016, Rodriguez began dating actor and

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter Joe LoCicero, whom she met on the set of ''Jane the Virgin''. They were engaged in August 2018 and were married on May 4, 2019. She gave birth to their son in March 2023. On October 15, 2019, Rodriguez posted an apology to Instagram for posting a now since-deleted video of herself saying the word "

nigga ''Nigga'' (), also known as "''the N-word''", is a colloquial term in African-American Vernacular English that is considered as a vulgar word in most contexts of its use. It began as a dialect form of the word ''nigger'', an ethnic slur agai ...

s" while singing along to " Ready or Not" by the Fugees, garnering widespread public backlash. Within hours, she posted a second apology on the platform, stating: "The word I sang carries…a legacy of hurt and pain that I cannot even imagine…I feel so deeply protective and responsible to the community of color but I have let this community down. I have some serious learning and growing to do and I am so deeply sorry for the pain that I have caused."

Philanthropy

Rodriguez has been involved with various charities and philanthropic efforts, made possible by her rising visibility as a film and television actress. In 2015, she became involved in Custom Ink and Naja Lingerie, both of which Rodriguez has stated have a special connection to her life and experiences. On March 16, 2015, she was announced as a member of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), the largest non-profit organization in the U.S. that supports Hispanic American higher education. Because attaining an education was the biggest priority in Rodriguez's household, coupled with her determination to work towards a degree, she was able to work towards receiving a HSF scholarship. Later in 2015, PACER's (The Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) National

Bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

Prevention Center teamed up with Custom Ink and enlisted the help of various celebrities, Rodriguez among them, to raise money for their fifth annual "Be Good to Each Other Campaign". Throughout the month of October 2015, people were encouraged to purchase a ''celebri-tee'' from Custom Ink, who donated all the proceeds from bullying prevention T-shirts to PACER. Rodriguez, in designing a ''celebri-tee'' which featured the phrase "Kindness Is Always In Style" in cursive print, took a stand for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion in support of bullying prevention, and stated that her parents always taught erthe power of thinking positively and treating others with respect. She also hopes that through the Be Good to Each Other Campaign, such a message could be continued to be spread to younger generations. Also in October 2015, Rodriguez was announced as a partner of Naja, a lingerie line founded in 2014 with ambitions to help women and the environment. Because Naja is vertically integrated, thereby shortening manufacturing lead times by up to eighty percent, it allows the company's savings to go towards school books, lunches, and uniforms for employees' children, and there's also an emphasis on a flexible work environment. Having seen the hardships of single mothers through a close friend from college, Rodriguez wanted to support a company that primarily employed

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

s and allowed

remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...

. She also cites Naja's commitment to creating lingerie for women of all shapes and sizes and encouraging body confidence as a factor for becoming involved with the lingerie line; admitting that it was a process for her to fall in love with her own body, Rodriguez also spoke on the importance of empowering women to love their own bodies and what they wear. Naja is also environmentally-conscious in its production, as more than half of all of its pieces are made of synthetics (like nylon)—that have been fabricated from recycled plastic bottles—and makes use of

digital printing Digital printing is a method of printing from a Digital data, digital-based image directly to a variety of media. It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed usi ...

as a more environmentally friendly measure. In 2016, Rodriguez was named to Oprah's ''SuperSoul 100'' list of visionaries and influential leaders. In 2017, Rodriguez, among several other artists, sang on the single " Almost Like Praying". Sparked by

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, singer, filmmaker, rapper, and librettist. He created the Broadway musicals '' In the Heights'' and ''Hamilton'', and the soundtracks for the animated films '' Moana' ...

, creator of Broadway's ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'', all proceeds from the song benefited those affected by

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that affected the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which accounted for 2,975 of the 3,059 deaths. It is the ...

in Puerto Rico.

Filmography

Film

Television

Directing

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Gina 1984 births Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Chicago African–Hispanic and Latino American relations American actresses of Puerto Rican descent American people of Jewish descent American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American television directors American voice actresses American women film producers American women television directors American women television producers Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Christians from Illinois Film people from Chicago Film producers from Illinois Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hispanic and Latino American television people St. Ignatius College Prep alumni Television producers from Illinois Tisch School of the Arts alumni