Raquel Castro is an American actress and singer. She is known for starring in the 2004 film '' Jersey Girl'' as Gertie Trinké, the daughter of Ollie Trinké (

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

) and Gertrude Steiney (

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

), for which Castro won the

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for the Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger.Nayyar, Naimta (March 8, 2017)
"Raquel Castro: Actress, Singer-Songwriter Shares Her Incredible Journey!"
Women Fitness. She was a contestant in the American version of '' The Voice''.Johns, Gibson (October 28, 2015)
"Raquel Castro dishes on 'Empire,' being on Team Christina on 'The Voice,' and her new single"

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

Background

Castro's father is Puerto Rican, and her mother is of Italian and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent.

Career

Acting

Castro made her acting debut in an episode of the television series, ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

''. She then played the daughter of

and

's characters in the 2004 film '' Jersey Girl'', directed by

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

. She appeared in a 2005 episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' entitled "

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

" and in the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

'' Little Fugitive''. Castro appeared in two second-season episodes of ''

Liv & Maddie ''Liv and Maddie'', also known as ''Liv and Maddie: Cali Style'' for the fourth season, is an American comedy television series created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart that aired on Disney Channel from July 19, 2013 to March 24, 2017. The series ...

'' ("BFF-A-Rooney" and "SPARF-A-Rooney") as Liv's best friend South. In 2006, she was cast as Nicole in the music video for the

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

song " Runaway Love" with Mary J. Blige, where she plays an abused self-conscious girl who runs away. She later was featured in the 2007

, ''Tracks of Color''. She has a role in '' The Ministers'' (2009), starring

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

. Raquel also spent quite a few years at a dance studio with her younger brother on Long Island.

Singing

Castro was a contestant on the first season of the reality television singing competition program '' The Voice'', She was selected in the Blind Audition round and was coached by

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. She progressed to the first round of the Live shows before being eliminated with Lily Elise in favor of Frenchie Davis and

Beverly McClellan Beverly McClellan (July 6, 1969 – October 30, 2018) was an American singer and a contestant in the first season of the American TV series ''The Voice'', reaching the final four. At age four, McClellan started playing the piano and later lea ...

. Castro recorded a cover of Aguilera's "

Ain't No Other Man "Ain't No Other Man" is a song by the American singer Christina Aguilera from her fifth studio album '' Back to Basics'' (2006). Aguilera co-wrote the song with Kara DioGuardi, Charles Martin Roane, Harold Beatty and the producer DJ Premier. "Ain ...

" and posted it on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Castro has also listed

and

Selena Selena Quintanilla Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), known mononymously as Selena, was an American Tejano singer. Called the " Queen of Tejano music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most celebrated Mex ...

as her idols and major influences. Castro released her first single titled "Diary". According to her

page, the song was written by

Alyssa Bonagura Alyssa Bonagura (born April 1, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life and career Alyssa Bonagura is from Franklin, Tennessee. She is the daughter of singers Michael Bonagura and Kathie Baillie of Baillie & the Boys. She has been sing ...

and Ted Bruner. It was produced by J Chris Griffin. It was released on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

and

CDBaby CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that " ...

on February 1, 2012. She has uploaded the music video for "Diary" on

and recorded a dance remix of the song, released on March 11, 2012. The remix was released under the title "Diary (J Chris Griffin Remix)". She is also working on her debut album. A single called "Game Over" was released on January 29, 2013. Castro wrote it with the help of the IDA Program. In 2019, Castro provided vocals for the theme song to the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Original Series ''

Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a series of computer games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 '' Where in the World ...

''. Castro was also on season 2 of NBC's '' Songland'', where she presented her song "Wrong Places" to H.E.R., where she picked her song to put on her album.

Filmography

Discography

Albums as part of ''Empire'' cast

Singles

Music videos

Songwriting credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
JoBlo interview
(March 25, 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Raquel 1994 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters People from Long Island American people of Italian descent American people of Jewish descent American people of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses The Voice (franchise) contestants 21st-century American singers