Raquel Castro (born November 17, 1994) is an American actress and singer. She is known for starring in the 2004 film '' Jersey Girl'' as Gertie Trinké, the daughter of Ollie Trinké (

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

) and Gertrude Steiney (

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

), for which Castro won the

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for the Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger.Nayyar, Naimta (March 8, 2017)
"Raquel Castro: Actress, Singer-Songwriter Shares Her Incredible Journey!"
Women Fitness. She was a contestant in the American version of '' The Voice''.Johns, Gibson (October 28, 2015)
"Raquel Castro dishes on 'Empire,' being on Team Christina on 'The Voice,' and her new single"
AOL.

Background

Castro's father is Puerto Rican, and her mother is of Italian and Jewish descent.

Career

Acting

Castro made her acting debut in an episode of the television series, ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

''. She then played the daughter of

and

's characters in the 2004 film '' Jersey Girl'', directed by

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

. She appeared in a 2005 episode of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' entitled " Alien" and in the

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

'' Little Fugitive''. Castro appeared in two second-season episodes of '' Liv & Maddie'' ("BFF-A-Rooney" and "SPARF-A-Rooney") as Liv's friend South Salamanca. In 2006, she was cast as Nicole in the music video for the

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

song " Runaway Love" with

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

, where she plays an abused self-conscious girl who runs away. She later was featured in the 2007

, ''Tracks of Color''. She has a role in '' The Ministers'' (2009), starring

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

. Raquel also spent quite a few years at a dance studio with her younger brother on Long Island.

Singing

Castro was a contestant on the first season of the reality television singing competition program '' The Voice'', She was selected in the Blind Audition round and was coached by

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

. She progressed to the first round of the Live shows before being eliminated with Lily Elise in favor of Frenchie Davis and Beverly McClellan. Castro recorded a cover of Aguilera's " Ain't No Other Man" and posted it on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Castro has also listed

and

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

as her idols and major influences. Castro released her first single titled "Diary". According to her

page, the song was written by Alyssa Bonagura and Ted Bruner. It was produced by J Chris Griffin. It was released on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and CDBaby on February 1, 2012. She has uploaded the music video for "Diary" on

and recorded a dance remix of the song, released on March 11, 2012. The remix was released under the title "Diary (J Chris Griffin Remix)". She is also working on her debut album. A single called "Game Over" was released on January 29, 2013. Castro wrote it with the help of the IDA Program. In 2019, Castro provided vocals for the theme song to the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Original Series ''

Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a Carmen Sandiego (video game series), series of computer video games created by the American software company Broderbund. Whi ...

''. Castro was also on season 2 of NBC's '' Songland'', where she presented her song "Wrong Places" to H.E.R., where she picked her song to put on her album.

Filmography

Discography

Albums as part of ''Empire'' cast

Singles

Music videos

Songwriting credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
JoBlo interview
(March 25, 2004) {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Raquel 1994 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters People from Long Island American people of Italian descent American people of Jewish descent American people of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses The Voice (franchise) contestants 21st-century American singer-songwriters