Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress, dancer, singer, and philanthropist.
First appearing on 2004's season of the original Law & Order, she's had a widespread career on television since. She's best known there for being the titular star of Jane the Virgin. Her role as the ambitious hotel worker Jane Gloriana Villanueva has won her awards such as a Golden Globe for "Best Actress β Television Series Musical or Comedy" and an Imagen Award for "Best Actress β Television".
In terms of feature films, she's appeared in movies such as 2012's Filly Brown and 2016's Deepwater Horizon among others.
As a singer, she was one of the many artists on the song "Almost Like Praying", written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, performing under the collective name 'Artists for Puerto Rico'. Released on October 6, 2017 by Atlantic Records, the track was created to support relief efforts in Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria.
Selected filmography:
- Army Wives (2010) as Marisol Evans
- The Bold and the Beautiful (2011 — 2012) as Beverly
- Filly Brown (2012) as Filly Brown
- Jane the Virgin (2014 — 2019) as Jane Villanueva
- Deepwater Horizon (2016) as Andrea Fleytas
- The Star (2017) as Mary (voice)
- Ferdinand (2017) as Una (voice)
- Elena of Avalor (2018) as Princess Marisa (voice)
- Annihilation (2018) as Anya Thorensen
- Miss Bala (2019) as Gloria Fuentes
- Carmen Sandiego as Carmen Sandiego:
- Carmen Sandiego (2019) animated series (voice)
- Untitled live-action film
- Someone Great (2019) as Jenny Young
- SCOOB! (2020) as Velma Dinkley
- Kajillionaire (2020) as Melanie
- Lost Ollie (2022) as Momma
- Diary of a Future President: Adult Elena
- I Want You Back (2022) as Anne Rivera
- Batwheels (2022) as Catwoman (voice)
- Not Dead Yet (2023) as Nell Serrano
- Spy Kids: Armageddon (2023)
Some of the tropes associated with the actor's works:
- Amazonian Beauty: Has a strong, muscular, and beautiful body, and often stars in Ms. Fanservice roles.
- Reality Subtext: Rodriguez grew up in Chicago immersed in hip-hop culture, interacting with local rappers and eventually trying song-writing when she moved to New York, New York for college. Not too long afterward, the creators of the movie Filly Brown cast her as the young hip-hop artist that's its titular character.