Cristina Ochoa Lopez (born 25 January 1985), known professionally as Christina Ochoa, is a Spanish actress and science communicator.

Early life

Ochoa is the grand-niece of 1959 Nobel Prize winner

Severo Ochoa Severo Ochoa de Albornoz (; 24 September 1905 – 1 November 1993) was a Spanish physician and biochemist, and winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with Arthur Kornberg for their discovery of "the mechanisms in the ...

,Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1959
and the daughter of acclaimed Spanish sculptor

Victor Ochoa Victor Ochoa (born August 2, 1948) is an activist, painter, graphic designer and master muralist. He has painted over 100 murals, many of them in San Diego, California. He is considered one of the pioneers of San Diego's Chicano art movement. Oc ...

. She has spent her life surrounded by members of both the scientific and artistic worlds.

Theatre and film

From there, Ochoa moved on to work in theatre and TV, including on ''

I Hate My Teenage Daughter ''I Hate My Teenage Daughter'' is an American sitcom that ran on Fox from November 30, 2011, to March 20, 2012. It aired at the 9:30 pm (E/P)/8:30 pm (C) timeslot after ''The X Factor''. The series stars Jaime Pressly and Katie Finneran. On May ...

'', ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American television sitcom, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, that aired on ABC for 11 seasons from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The series follows the lives of three diverse but interrelated fa ...

'' and Spain's ''

La que se avecina ''La que se avecina'' is a Spanish television sitcom created by Alberto Caballero, Laura Caballero and Daniel Deorador. The show is set in the fictitious Mirador de Montepinar, a condominium located in the suburbs of Madrid. The show is an ind ...

'', as well as in films, including ''Cats Dancing on Jupiter''. She is the founder and owner of QE (Quantum Entanglement) Productions, responsible for the 2011 short film ''Stay with Me'', which won awards at film festivals both internationally and in the United States.Los Angeles Movie Awards 2011
. In 2014, Ochoa played Karen Morales on the

Robert Rodríguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...

show, ''

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

''. She has portrayed Renn on the

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

drama '' Animal Kingdom'' since 2016. In 2017 she became the female lead of

NBC Universal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and headquartered at 30 ...

and Syfy series '' Blood Drive''. On 20 February 2018, Ochoa played Ashley Morales in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

drama series ''

A Million Little Things ''A Million Little Things'' is an American family drama television series created by DJ Nash for ABC. Produced by ABC Signature and Kapital Entertainment, it features an ensemble cast including David Giuntoli, Grace Park, Romany Malco, Chris ...

'' before the series ordered in May 2018. Ochoa exited the series after one season and 13 episodes in first-season episode, "Twelve Seconds" on 31 January 2019.

Writing

Ochoa has written articles for several publications. Her first published work was featured in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'' Spain., VOGUE Ed. Conde Nast Oct 2010. Article BOA – Christina Ochoa. She has regular spreads featured in '' H'',, H Magazine, Ed. Future of Hollywood Spreads, Issues- 2010–2011. in which she focuses on profile pieces and book reviews. She also has a monthly film column in ''

El Imparcial ''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was "an anti-'' Popular'', pro-Independence tabloid" in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of ...

''.
Author: Christina Ochoa.

Science communication and academia

Ochoa is on the advisory board for Oceana (non-profit group), OCEANA and Earths Oceans. She is the host of the ''Know Brainer'' podcast, and has been the host and keynote of several scientific conferences and shows including the college prep program ''

MESA A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge, or hill, bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and standing distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks, such as shales, capped by a ...

'', Bitesize TV's ''Chaotic Awesome'', and ''NERD ALERT'' on

The Young Turks ''The Young Turks'' (''TYT'') is an American progressive and left-wing populist sociopolitical news and commentary program live streamed on social media platforms YouTube and Twitch, and additionally selected television channels. ''TYT'' se ...

network. She is part of the Los Angeles Committee for

Science for Society Science for Society (also known as S4S Technologies) is a technology-based social enterprise that started in 2008 as an informal group of students from different backgrounds including engineering, medical, business and science. Science for Society ...

, which promotes science in society and scientific literacy, and which is the sponsor of the

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

Science and Engineering Fair (

ISEF The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more ...

). She served as commentator for ISEF 2017. She has been an active member of Mensa since 2009. After graduating from Santa Isabel La Asunción in Madrid, she began an undergraduate degree in oceanographic engineering at

Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, also known as the ULPGC (''Spanish'' Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is a Spanish public university located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the capital city of Gran Canaria island. It is t ...

, off the coast of Africa in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. She continued with advanced marine biology studies at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

in Australia, where she focused on

Elasmobranchii Elasmobranchii () is a subclass of Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fish, including modern sharks ( division Selachii), and batomorphs (division Batomorphi, including rays, skates, and sawfish). Members of this subclass are characterised by h ...

, subclass which includes sharks and rays. She also enrolled in additional subjects in particle physics at the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) but merged into full-time acting before she could complete her master's degree. She has also participated as an expert guest on the scientific comedy podcast ''Professor Blastoff'', part of the

Earwolf Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. initially built around the ''Comedy Death-Ray Radio'' podcast, the network has since grown to include many podcasts on diverse subjects. ...

network;

Cara Santa Maria Cara Louise Santa Maria (born October 19, 1983) is an American science communicator. She hosts the podcast ''Talk Nerdy'' and co-hosts ''The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'' podcast, and was a co-host of TechKnow on Al Jazeera America. Santa M ...

's ''Talk Nerdy''; and several online STEM education platforms.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
''El Imparcial'' homepage

''Know Brainer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochoa, Christina Living people 1985 births Spanish marine biologists Spanish stage actresses Spanish film actresses Spanish television actresses Actresses from Barcelona University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria alumni James Cook University alumni Mensans Spanish women writers Writers from Barcelona Spanish people of Asturian descent