Gina Rodriguez

The actress has two older sisters, Ivelisse Rodriguez Simon and Rebecca. Ivelisse is an investment banker. During her speech at the Golden Globe, Rodriguez had referred to her siblings as her “biggest role models”.

Gina Rodriguez was born on 30th July, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents, Magali and Genaro Rodriguez, are Puerto Rican by origin. Her father was a boxing referee by profession. Rodriguez is the youngest of the three sisters in the family.

Seven year old Gina started performing as a dancer with the local salsa group ‘Fantasia Juvenil’. She worked for other companies too, like the ‘Los Soneros Del Swing’ and performed in Chicago, California, New York and Puerto Rico during the Salsa Congress events.

When Gina was sixteen, she became one of the thirteen teens who were accepted at the Columbia University NY- Theatrical Collaboration taught by Richard Niles, giving her the opportunity to write, direct and perform original work with twelve other teenagers from across the globe.

She gained acceptance into the Tisch School of the Arts, thereby deciding to channelize all her energy into honing her acting skills through theatre.

For the next four years, Gina underwent rigorous training in theatre at the ‘Atlantic Theatre Company’ and ‘Experimental Theatre Wing’ where she learnt under the expert guidance of professors like Rosemary Quinn and worked with David Mamet and William H. Macy.

Soon after graduating, Gina Rodriguez got her first role in ‘Tiny Dancer’. At the American Stage Theatre world premiere of ‘Casa Blue: The Last Moments in the Life of Frida Kahlo’, Rodriguez played the role of Frida Kahlo.

Rodriguez’s career started taking stride when she was cast in the shows ‘Jonny Zero’, ‘Army Wives’ and ‘Law and Order’. Her performance in the short film ‘Osvaldos’ gained her immense recognition at several film festivals.

She began working as Beverly for the in the soap opera series ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ in 2011.

Gina played the lead role in the feature film ‘Go for It’ the same year where she portrayed a dancer battling between career and family. Soon came her first ever co-star television role in CBS, ‘Eleventh Hour’.

She became a regular face on the web series ‘Eden's Court’ and ‘No Names’ but her first studio film was ‘Our Family Wedding’ with America Ferrera.

‘Filly Brown’, illustrating the ups and downs in the life of the young rap artist played by Rodriguez remains her most admired film so far. Her work in ‘Go for It’ is also worth a mention.

The series ‘Jane the Virgin’ is also running successfully and has received appreciation from people and critics.