Maria-Elena Laas (born November 28, 1983) is a Puerto Rican–born American actress. She is best known for her role as Cruz in the comedy-drama television series '' Vida''.

Early life

Maria-Elena Laas was born in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

and raised in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

.''Maria-Elena Laas - Appearing in Several Feature Films in 2012.''
Lawrence Davis. Splash Magazines. Retrieved 22 February 2013.

Career

Laas started her modeling career at the age of 13. She has appeared in over 90 international commercials and advertising campaigns, including

Garnier Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand owned by the French company L'Oréal. Garnier produces hair care and skin care products. Launch ''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first pr ...

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV reduced calorie light American lager beer produced by Molson Coors. It was introduced in 1973 in limited markets by the Miller Brewing Company (then owned by Philip Morris, Inc.) and began being distributed nationa ...

Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...

, Coors Lite,

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

, Ford, and

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

. In 2006, she appeared in an advertising campaign for coffee brand

Nespresso Nestlé Nespresso S.A., trading as Nespresso, is an operating unit of the Nestlé Group, based in Vevey, Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules (or ''pods'' in machines for home or professional use), a ...

, opposite actor

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

. Her first on-screen appearance was a role as Marisa Rios in the episode "Silicone Valley of the Dolls" of the crime drama television series '' Pacific Blue''. In 2002, she portrayed Svetlana in sitcom ''

Grounded for Life ''Grounded for Life'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on Fox until being canceled only two episodes into its th ...

.'' Laas' film credits include the comedy film ''

The Hot Chick ''The Hot Chick'' is a 2002 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Brady (in his directorial debut), from a screenplay by Brady and Rob Schneider, and starring Schneider, Anna Faris, Matthew Lawrence, Eric Christian Olsen, and Rachel ...

'' (2002) and independent films '' Suffering Man's Charity'' (2007), ''Airplane Disasters'' (2007), ''Lunatics, Lovers and Poets'' (2009) and ''Kill the Habit'' (2010). In 2018, Laas landed the role of Cruz in the drama television series '' Vida''. The series centers around the

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

community in

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, ...

. In 2020, she had a main role as Rosalita Vega on

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its sister premium network, HBO (Home Box ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

television series ''

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

''. In the second season of ''Warrior'', Rosalita Vega appeared in five episodes.

Personal life

She currently resides in Southern California.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laas, Maria-Elena Living people American film actresses American television actresses Puerto Rican female models American actors of Puerto Rican descent Actresses from Ponce, Puerto Rico 1983 births