Dania Ramirez (born November 8, 1979) is a Dominican actress. Her credits include the roles of Maya Herrera in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

series '' Heroes'', Alex in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Entourage'', and Blanca during the last season of the

crime drama ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' on television. Her film roles include Alex Guerrero in '' She Hate Me'' and

Callisto CALLISTO (''Cooperative Action Leading to Launcher Innovation in Stage Toss-back Operations'') is a reusable VTVL Prototype, demonstrator propelled by a small 40 kN Japanese LOX-LH2 rocket engine. It is being developed jointly by the CNES, French ...

in the feature film '' X-Men: The Last Stand''. She portrayed Rosie Falta on Lifetime's ''

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, ...

'' from June 2013, until its cancellation in 2016. In July 2017, Ramirez joined the hit ABC series ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' for its softly-rebooted seventh season in a starring role as

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

. In 2023, she began the starring role of Captain Nikki Batista in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

crime drama '' Alert: Missing Persons Unit''.

Early life

Ramirez was born in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. At an early age, she decided to become an actress. As a young child, she would reenact

telenovelas A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

for her family. She was discovered by a modeling scout while working in a convenience store at the age of 15, and was offered a small part in a soda commercial. Later, she decided to pursue acting seriously and studied at the Actor's Workshop in New York City under Flo Greenberg. At 16 years old, Ramirez started at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

, where her volleyball talents led her to be placed among the top five in career digs, digs/game, solo blocks and total blocks. She graduated in 2000. After graduation, Ramirez moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue her acting career.

Career

Music videos

Ramirez has appeared in several music videos, including

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

's '' Streets is Watching'' (1998),

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

's " All Good?" feat.

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

(2000),

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

' " Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (2000),

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

's " Hush" (2005),

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

's " Into the Night" (2007), as well as " Cry Baby Cry" (a collaboration of Santana and Sean Paul). Ramirez appeared in

Wisin & Yandel Wisin & Yandel were a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo consisting of Wisin and Yandel. They started their career in 1998 and stayed together until 2023, winning several awards including a Grammy Award in 2009. They became the first and the only regga ...

's music video " Dime Qué Te Pasó", in which she played the main character, the wife and mother of a military man in Iraq who finds out her husband died at war. She was also featured in

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

group Sporty Thievz's video "Cheapskate" in 1998.

Films

Ramirez appeared as an extra in the

film ''Subway Stories'' (1997), where she met filmmaker

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

who would later cast her in the film '' She Hate Me'' (2004). She played older sister Lauri in the film ''

Fat Albert ''Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids'' (often referred to simply as ''Fat Albert'') is an educational American animated television series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a nu ...

'' (2004). She was

(one of The Omegas) in the

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

film '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006). She went on to star in ''The 5th Commandment'', a film written by and starring Rick Yune, in 2008. In 2012, Ramirez appeared in two films, playing Selena in '' American Reunion'' and a

bicycle messenger Bicycle messengers (also known as bike or cycle couriers) are people who work for courier companies (also known as messenger companies) carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business dist ...

in ''

Premium Rush ''Premium Rush'' is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by David Koepp and written by Koepp and John Kamps. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, and Jamie Chung. It follows a bicycle messenger chased aroun ...

''.

Television

Ramirez appeared as the minor character Caridad in the final episodes of the

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', and as Blanca Selgado, a recurring role during season six of ''

''. Ramirez portrayed the character of Maya Herrera on the TV series '' Heroes''. Ramirez was a guest judge on episode five of Cycle 14 of

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

. Ramirez guest starred as Alex, an employee of Turtle's, who begins a relationship with Turtle in season seven on the TV series '' Entourage''. From 2013 to 2016, Ramirez portrayed protagonist Rosie Falta in the Lifetime series ''

''. In July 2017, Ramirez was cast as a series regular in the softly-rebooted final season of ''

''. She portrayed Jacinda Vidrio, the real-world counterpart of the series' second iteration of

. In 2018, Ramirez was cast in another fairytale-themed drama, '' Tell Me a Story'' for

CBS All Access Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily ...

. Ramirez played Hannah Perez, who is loosely based on Gretel from ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

''. As of 2023, Ramirez stars in '' Alert: Missing Persons Unit'', which premieres on Fox on January 8. Her casting was announced in August 2022.

Other media

Ramirez has appeared in several magazine spreads. She has also been listed in several of the world's top publications' "Sexiest Ladies of the Year" lists. In 2009, she was added to the roster of models for

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...

Cosmetics. In January 2010, Ramirez and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

launched the company's "Clean Makeup for Clean Water Campaign".

Personal life

Ramirez dated ''

Soul Plane ''Soul Plane'' is a 2004 American black comedy Parody film, parody film directed by Jessy Terrero (in his List of directorial debuts, feature film directorial debut). The film stars Tom Arnold (actor), Tom Arnold, Kevin Hart, Method Man and Sn ...

'' director

Jessy Terrero Jessy Terrero (born October 7, 1972) is a List of people from the Dominican Republic, Dominican Film director, film and music video director. Career Terrero appeared as an extra on the 1992 film ''Juice (1992 film), Juice'' starring Tupac Shakur ...

until 2008. In September 2011, she became engaged to director John Beverly "Bev" Land. The couple married on the beach in

Punta Cana Punta Cana is a resort town in the easternmost region of the Dominican Republic. It was politically incorporated as the "Verón–Punta Cana township" in 2006, and it is subject to the municipality of Higüey (La Altagracia Province). According ...

, Dominican Republic on February 16, 2013. Ramirez is the stepmother to Land's son from his previous marriage to Sharon Leal, Kai Miles. On July 15, 2013, Ramirez announced that she was pregnant with twins. That December, she gave birth to fraternal boy-girl twins.

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Dania 1979 births Living people Actors from Santo Domingo American people of Dominican Republic descent American voice actresses Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Dominican Republic film actresses Dominican Republic television actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses Mixed Dominicans Montclair State University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses

Early life

Career

Music videos

Films

Television

Other media

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

See also

References

External links