Selenis Leyva is an American actress. She is known for her role as Gloria Mendoza in 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 fi ...

comedy-drama series '' Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–19), and also starred on the

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

comedy-drama series '' Diary of a Future President'' (2020–21).

Life and career

Leyva was born and raised in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. She is of Cuban and Dominican descent. She has appeared in a number of Off-Broadway productions. On television, Leyva had a recurring role of Detective Mariluz Rivera in '' Law & Order'', and also appeared in different roles on the show and on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. She has guest-starred on ''

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'', ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'', ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...

'', ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

'', and ''

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

''. In 2013, Leyva began starring as Gloria Mendoza, a Latina leader in the jail, in the

comedy-drama series '' Orange Is the New Black''. Her character was recurring for the first two seasons and she was promoted to series regular in Season 3. Along with cast, she received three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also received ALMA Award for Outstanding Special Achievement in Television in 2014. The series ended in 2019, after seven seasons. During her time in ''Orange Is the New Black'', Leyva co-starred opposite

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

and Catalina Sandino Moreno in the 2016 courtroom drama film '' Custody'' directed and written by

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

, and played Monica Warren in the 2017 superhero film '' Spider-Man: Homecoming''. In 2018, she had a supporting role in the Netflix miniseries '' Maniac''. In 2019, Leyva was cast in the

comedy-drama series '' Diary of a Future President'' produced by Gina Rodriguez. The series premiered on January 17, 2020 and was cancelled in December 2021.

Books

Leyva is the co-author, with her sister Marizol, of the book ''My Sister: How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both'', which was published by Bold Type Books in March 2020.

Personal life

Leyva has one daughter, Alina. She is a supporter of the LGBT community and revealed in June 2015 that her sister Marizol is

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyva, Selenis American television actresses American film actresses American people of Dominican Republic descent American people of Cuban descent American stage actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses Living people 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses Entertainers from the Bronx Year of birth missing (living people)