America Ferrera
America Ferrera | |
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 America Ferrera, 2006 |
America Georgina Ferrera (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild-, and Emmy Award-winning role as Betty Suarez on the ABC television comedy-drama series Ugly Betty and for her roles in the films Real Women Have Curves and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Biography
Early life
Ferrera, the youngest of six siblings, was born in Los Angeles, California, to Honduran parents. She was raised by her mother in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. She started acting at age eight in school plays and community theater. She attended George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills. In interviews, Ferrera has noted the contrast between the image of the “typical Latina” experience and her own childhood, observing that growing up in a mostly Jewish, non-Latino neighborhood, she attended 52 bar mitzvahs and not a single quinceañera."[1]
Career
In July of 2002, she made her first TV movie, Gotta Kick It Up! for The Disney Channel. That same year, she made her feature film debut in the indie sleeper hit Real Women Have Curves. Ferrera followed this with roles in both television Touched by an Angel and film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Lords of Dogtown. Ferrera received a 2005 Movieline Breakthrough Award. In December 2005, she appeared in the off-Broadway play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, directed by Trip Cullman.
She landed the lead role in Ugly Betty in 2006. Ugly Betty is an adaptation of the Colombian hit telenovela Betty La Fea, in which she portrays a girl whom her peers find extremely unattractive, thus the series title. As Betty Suarez, Ferrera wears braces, has bushy eyebrows and a disheveled wig, and make-up and clothing intended to downplay her own looks. Ferrera’s famous smile is reportedly insured by Lloyd's of London for $10 million.[2] It’s in contrast to the rest of the show, where everybody else is glammed up”, adding that it was Ferrera herself who coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process.[3]
For her role in Ugly Betty, Ferrera won the 2007 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical, beating out fellow nominees Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary-Louise Parker. As a result of the award, she was congratulated by the U.S. House of Representatives as being a role model for young Hispanics.[4] On 28 January 2007 Ferrera won the prestigious Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Female Actor in a Comedy Series. She also starred in and executive produced the poignant short film Muertas.
In 2007, Time Magazine chose Ferrera as one of the top artists and entertainers in their “Time 100: The Most Influential People In The World” issue.[5] In July 2007, America Ferrera also won Imagen Foundation’s Creative Achievement Award.[6] On September 16, 2007, Ferrera won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series for her role of Betty Suarez on ABC’s Ugly Betty. In the summer of 2007, she wrapped filming on the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Personal life
Ferrera is the youngest of six siblings which include one brother and four sisters. She is currently dating Ryan Piers Williams. They first met while working on his student film at USC. Ferrera has repeatedly denied rumors that they are engaged.[7] Although rumors that they had split up in January 2008 were not denied, America and Ryan attended the NAACP Awards together in February of 2008.
Ferrera attends the University of Southern California, where she is majoring in International Relations; as of January 2007, she lacked only one semester’s coursework to earn her degree.[1] She spent the autumn of 2004 studying in the American University Washington Semester Program[8] and also attended New York University as a part of their Spring in New York program in the spring of 2006 while she was performing in Dog Sees God.
In January 2008, Ferrera announced her endorsement of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's run for president, and joined the senator and her daughter Chelsea Clinton during several campaign events in Nevada and Pennsylvania.[9] She has been quoted as saying that the United States should take responsibility for illegal immigration and provide more help to immigrants. [10]
Filmography
Film
- 2002: American Family: “Fighting Fridays” as a member of the football team
- 2002: Real Women Have Curves as Ana Garcia
- 2002: Gotta Kick It Up! as Yolanda
- 2004: $5.15/Hr.
- 2004: Darkness Plus Twelve as Luiza
- 2004: Plainsong as Victoria Roubideaux
- 2005: How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
- 2005: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as Carmen Lowell
- 2005: Lords of Dogtown as Thunder Monkey
- 2005: 3:52 as Kate
- 2006: Steel City as Amy Barnes
- 2006: Planet H2O: “Water World” as the host[11]
- 2007: Muertas as Rebecca
- 2007: La Misma Luna (post-production) as Marta
- 2007: Hacia la oscuridad (post-production) as Luiza
- 2008: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2[12]
Television
- 2002: Touched by an Angel: “The Word” as Charlee
- 2004: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as April Lopez
- 2006-present: Ugly Betty as Betty Suarez
Producer
- 2007: Hacia la oscuridad (post-production) executive producer as Luiza
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Won |
| 2008 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical | Nominated |
| 2007 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical | Won |
| 2007 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Series - Comedy or Musical | Nominated |
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Comedy Series | Nominated |
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Comedy Series | Won |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
| 2007 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
| 2007 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Won |
| 2007 | 1st Annual Wave Awards, Academy of Wireless Arts, Video and Entertainment | 2007 Favorite Clipped (from television) Comedy Artist | Won |
References
- ^ a b Miller, Gerri. "America Ferrera: Why she's America's sweetheart!", Estylo magazine, February/March 2007, pp. 35-37
- ^ "Lloyd's insures Ugly Betty star's smile for $10 million". Lloyd's News Centre. 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ It's a 'Bettification' project, USA Today, October 4, 2006
- ^ IMDB Press Release, January 19, 2007
- ^ White, Kate. "The Time 100: America Ferrera". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ America Ferrera wins an Imagen
- ^ "Ugly Betty star slams marriage reports". The West Australian newspaper. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ AU Alumni Newsletter Retrieved on 2007-06-19
- ^ Katharine Q. Seelye, The Caucus: Clamoring to Vote, The New York Times, March 23, 2008.
- ^ FOXNews.com - Pop Tarts: Brooke Hogan 'The Victim' in Hulk’s Alleged Adultery With Her Best Friend? - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
- ^ "Planet H20 | Thirteen/WNET". Thirteen.org. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
- ^ "2nd 'Pants' for Ferrera, grudgingly". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Broadband video interview with America Ferrera, discussing Ugly Betty.