Sol Miranda is a Puerto Rican actress. She played "mole woman" Donna Maria Nuñez on ''

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25, 2019. An interactiv ...

'' (2015–2019). She is an adjunct assistant professor at

Hostos Community College Eugenio María de Hostos Community College of The City University of New York is a public community college in the South Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and was created by an act of the Board ...

and the founder of Embark Peekskill, a nonprofit which supports the arts in

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, north of New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

Life and career

Miranda was born in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. She received a BA in drama from the

University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus (; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the University of Puer ...

, and an MFA in acting from the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

. She later moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City, and worked in English-language Latino theater productions and briefly with the

Puerto Rican Traveling Theater The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater is a theater company based at the 47th Street Theater in New York City. It was founded as El Nuevo Círculo Dramatico (The New Drama Circuit) by Míriam Colón and Roberto Rodríguez. It was one of the first Pu ...

. In 1995, she began teaching as an adjunct assistant professor of visual and performing arts at

and in 2004, reintroduced the Hostos Repertory Company. Around 2000, Miranda and her husband moved to

, as they had heard about the town's burgeoning arts scene, and it was close enough to New York City for Miranda to continue auditioning for roles. Miranda founded Embark Peekskill, a

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

which supports the development of a performing and literary arts center in the town.

Performance

After finishing graduate school in the 1990s, Miranda moved to Seattle, where her first professional performance was ''Real Women Have Curves''. Subsequently, Miranda, who regularly performs Spanish voice-overs, made her first screen appearance on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. She later made two more ''Law & Order'' appearances, playing various characters, made a cameo appearance on the television series ''

Blue Bloods ''Blue Bloods'' is an American police procedural drama (film and television), drama television series that aired on CBS from September 24, 2010, to December 13, 2024, across 14 seasons and 293 episodes. Its main characters were members of the fi ...

'', and acted in ''

A Gifted Man ''A Gifted Man'' is an American fantasy medical drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 23, 2011. The series is about a talented but self-absorbed surgeon (Patrick Wilson) who starts questioning his purpose in life when he is v ...

''. Miranda had film roles in '' Arthur Newman'' (2012) and ''

Jack, Jules, Esther and Me ''Jack, Jules, Esther and Me'' is a 2013 coming of age independent film directed by Daniel Poliner. This comedy centers on four young high schoolers on their last weekend before heading off to college and the scheme to win a girl's heart. The f ...

'' (2013). In May 2014, Miranda was cast in

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...

and

Robert Carlock Robert Morgan Carlock (born September 21, 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He has worked as a writer for several NBC television comedies, and as a showrunner for ''30 Rock'', which was created by his recurring collaborator, comedia ...

's sitcom ''

''. Miranda plays Donna Maria Nuñez, a "no-nonsense" maid who was trapped in a bunker with the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

(played by

Ellie Kemper Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress, best known for her roles of Erin Hannon in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2009–2013) and Kimmy Schmidt in the sitcom '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (2015–2019). She has also app ...

) and two other women. Once part of a

doomsday cult A doomsday cult is a cult that believes in apocalypticism and millenarianism, including both those that predict disaster and those that attempt to destroy the entire universe. Sociologist John Lofland coined the term ''doomsday cult'' in his 19 ...

, the women were called "mole women" after being freed. On the role, Miranda said, "It's not easy – it's a balancing act. Latinos are very underrepresented. You make it happen and you justify it. There are Latinos who are maids, just like there are Latinos who are doctors. You give the role integrity and do it."

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 ...

, which bought the series from

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 ...

, eventually ordered four seasons. Miranda created the

one-woman show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

''I Am Here. I Belong. This is Peekskill a Friendly Town'', which she performed on October 14 and 15, 2017. It is based on stories of Miranda's experience as an immigrant woman in Peekskill.

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

*
Interview with Sol Miranda
on Talk with TQ (YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Miranda, Sol Puerto Rican film actresses Puerto Rican television actresses 21st-century Puerto Rican actresses People from Peekskill, New York University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus alumni University of California, San Diego alumni Hostos Community College faculty