Lillian Hurst (born August 13, 1943) is a Puerto Rican actress and comedian, She made her debut as a television comedian in the early-1960s. She has worked in film, stage and television productions in the United States.

Early life

Hurst was born in the Villa Palmeras neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her father owned the "Farmacia Imperial" ("Imperial Pharmacy"), located in Barrio Obrero, Santurce. She received her primary and secondary education in San Juan, the capital.Profile
prpop.org; accessed July 11, 2016. At an early age, she informed her parents that she wanted to be an actress. They soon enrolled her in Ana Santisteban's modeling academy. In 1960, when she was 17 years old, she was discovered by producer Gaspar Pumarejo.

Career

In 1960, Hurst was contracted and she starred in the television comedy ''Pompilia y su Familia'' (''Pompilia and her Family''), which was broadcast on WAPA-TV. Later, she hosted ''La Hora del Niño'' (''The Children's Hour'') on Channel 6. Some of the other comedies in which she participated in the 1960s were ''Casos y Cosas de la Casa'' (''Cases and Things of the House'') with actor Braulio Castillo and ''Matrimonio y Algo Más'' (''Marriage and Something More''). In 1969, Hurst was contracted by Panamericana de Television of

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

to work in the program ''El Hit del Momento'' (''The Hit of the Moment''), for one year. When Hurst returned to Puerto Rico, she went to work in some of the programs produced by her cousin,

Tommy Muñiz Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (4 February 1922 – 15 January 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneerin ...

. She also participated in various theater productions for the first time. Among them were ''La Casa de las Hojas Azules'' (''The House with the Blue Leaves'') and '' La Verdadera Historia de Pedro Navaja'' (''The True Story of Pedro Navaja''). In 1980, Hurst wrote and produced a stage show which she presented at the Condado Beach Hotel in San Juan.

Career in the United States

Hurst went to New York City where she worked for a short time on some

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

productions. In 1989, she moved to Los Angeles, California. She also enrolled at Santa Monica College and majored in psychology. Hurst was able to work in both Spanish and English language productions. She landed a role as "Mrs. Maris" in '' Windows'' (1991), which was presented at the Taper Forum Theater, and as "Lola" in ''La Balada de Tina Juarez'' (''The Ballad of Tina Juarez''; 1992). She founded an acting school for Hispanic children.Profile
Blockbuster.com; accessed July 11, 2016.

Later years

Hurst has participated in twenty movies, including the 2005 film '' English as a Second Language''. She has also made over thirty television guest appearances in programs such as '' JAG'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'', '' The King of Queens'', '' The X-Files'', '' ER'', '' Lost'', '' True Blood'' and a recurring role in '' Dharma & Greg'', where she played the role of "Celia" in sixteen episodes. She also appeared in the '' Ugly Betty'' episode "

A Tree Grows in Guadalajara "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara" is the 22nd episode of the first season of the American television dramedy ''Ugly Betty.'' It was written by Tracy Poust and Jon Kinnally and directed by Lev L. Spiro. The episode was originally broadcast by the Amer ...

" as Yolanda Salazar, the grandmother of

Betty Suarez Beatriz U. Suarez is the protagonist of the American comedy-drama series ''Ugly Betty''. She is portrayed by America Ferrera, who won a 2007 Golden Globe Award and 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal of the character, as well as the ...

. In 2009, she appeared on '' Nip/Tuck'' as Liz Cruz's mother, Mariela. In 2016, she returned to Los Angeles and appeared in ''The Comeback'' and '' Fear the Walking Dead''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurst, Lillian 1943 births Living people People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican television actresses Puerto Rican comedians Actresses from San Juan, Puerto Rico