America Ferrera
| America Ferrera | |
|---|---|
 Ferrera in April 2010 |
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| Born | America Georgine Ferrera[1] April 18, 1984 , U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001 – present |
America Georgine Ferrera[1] (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress who is known for playing the lead role in the television series Ugly Betty. She also starred in the movies Real Women Have Curves, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, its sequel Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and The Dry Land.
Ferrera, the youngest of six children, was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents who immigrated to the United States from Honduras in the mid-1970s. Her mother worked as a housecleaning staff director for a hotel.[2] Her mother raised Ferrera and her siblings, always stressing the importance of higher education.[3]
Ferrera was raised in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, where she attended George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School.[4] From the time she was seven years old, when she landed a small role in a school production of Hamlet and then at age 10 a much bigger role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, Ferrera knew that she wanted to be a performer. She acted in school plays and community theater in Los Angeles throughout her youth, though with little help from her mother, who insisted that she pursue other interests because she was concerned her daughter would not get a fair shake. Ferrera was forced to take the bus to auditions, though eventually her mother saw her daughter’s dedication and began to drive her.[3] Ferrera disliked her first name as a child and went by her middle name, "Georgine", until she began acting professionally.[5]
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Career
In July 2002, Ferrera made her first TV movie, Gotta Kick It Up! for The Disney Channel. That same year, her uncle died, 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 of Betty in Ugly Betty in 2006. Ugly Betty is an adaptation of the Colombian hit telenovela Yo soy 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, in contrast to most of the "glammed up" characters; Ferrera herself coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process of creating her onscreen persona.[6] The first run of Ugly Betty was completed with the series finale on ABC-TV on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.
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.[7] 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 was the executive producer for the poignant short film Muertas.
In 2007, Time chose Ferrera as one of the top artists and entertainers in their "Time 100: The Most Influential People In The World" issue.[8] In July 2007, America Ferrera also won Imagen Foundation's Creative Achievement Award.[9]
On September 16, 2007, Ferrera won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series for her Ugly Betty role, the first Latina to win in that category. She was only 23 at the time, making her the youngest winner in Emmy history in that category. In the summer of 2007, she wrapped filming on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, the sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, as Carmen. She also supplied the voice of one of the nature fairies in Tinkerbell (2008). She appears in The Dry Land which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival[10] and ran at the Dallas International Film Festival where it won the top prize in the Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature.[11]
Personal life
Ferrera first met director Ryan Piers Williams when he cast her in a student film at the University of Southern California. The couple became engaged in June 2010.[12] He presented her with an engagement ring estimated to be valued at $70,000. [13]
Filmography
Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Real Women Have Curves | Ana Garcia | |
| Gotta Kick It Up! | Yolanda "Yoli" | ||
| 2004 | Darkness Minus Twelve | Luiza | |
| 2005 | How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer | Blanca | |
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Carmen Lowell | ||
| Lords of Dogtown | Thunder Monkey | ||
| 3:52 | Kate | ||
| 2006 | Steel City | Amy Barnes | |
| 2007 | Muertas | Rebecca | Also executive producer |
| Towards Darkness (Hacia la oscuridad) | Luiza | Also executive producer | |
| Under the Same Moon | Marta | ||
| 2008 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | Carmen Lowell | |
| Tinker Bell | Fawn | Voice Direct-to-video |
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| 2010 | The Dry Land | Sarah | Released at Sundance Film Festival 2010 Also executive producer |
| How to Train Your Dragon | Astrid | Voice | |
| Our Family Wedding | Lucia Ramirez |
Television
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Touched by an Angel | Charlee | Episode: "The Word" |
| 2004 | $5.15/Hr. | TV film | |
| Plainsong | Victoria Roubideaux | TV film | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | April Perez | Episode: "Harvest" | |
| 2006-2010[14] | Ugly Betty | Betty Suarez | Lead Role |
Awards and nominations
America became the first ever TV Actress to have won all 3 major Lead Actress Awards in a single year,including the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. On December 9th, 2009, Ferrera became one of recipients of NYWIFT Muse Awards 09[1], along with 3 other women, Julianna Margulies, Allison Silverman, and Andrea Wong[2].
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Real Women Have Curves | Sundance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize: Dramatic for acting | Won |
| 2003 | Real Women Have Curves | Independent Spirit Awards - Best Debut Performance | Nominated |
| Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress |
Nominated | ||
| 2005 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Satellite Awards: Best Supporting Actress - Musical or Comedy | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards - Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards - Choice Movie Hissy Fit - Female | Nominated | ||
| 2006 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | ALMA Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
| Imagen Awards - Best Actress | Won | ||
| Ugly Betty | Satellite Awards - Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Ugly Betty | Image Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV: Breakout | Won | ||
| Television Critics Association Awards - Individual Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | ||
| ALMA Awards - Outstanding Actress - Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie | Won | ||
| Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Won | ||
| Golden Globes - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy | Won | ||
| Imagen Awards - Creative Achievement Award | Won | ||
| Imagen Awards - Best Actress - Television | Won | ||
| Satellite Awards - Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Won | ||
| 2008 | Ugly Betty | Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated |
| Golden Globes - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Nominated | ||
| Image Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Imagen Awards - Best Actress - Television | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Ugly Betty | Peoples Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress Comedy | Nominated |
| Golden Globes - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy | Nominated | ||
| Image Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Imagen Awards - Best Actress - Television | Won | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards - Favorite Television Actress | Nominated | ||
| Muse Awards - Outstanding Achievement | Won | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Ugly Betty | Image Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series | Won |
| Peoples Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Nominated |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cindy Pearlman (2008-08-03). "Actress America Ferrera sticks to the message". Reading Eagle. http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=101295. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ↑ Comita, Jenny (May, 2007). "America Ferrera, Hot Betty". W Magazine. http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2007/05/america_ferrera?currentPage=1. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1807809245/bio America Ferrera's family background
- ↑ . http://movies.nytimes.com/person/302580/America-Ferrera/biography.
- ↑ Davis, Peter (August 2009). "Miss America". Gotham. http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:NVB5o2A47QkJ:www.gotham-magazine.com/GOT_MA09_102_MIS.html+america+ferrera+%22middle+name%22+gotham&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us. Retrieved 19 September 2009. "Named after her mother, Ferrera says she detested the name America as a child. ... 'So I used my middle name, Georgina.' ... When she started acting professionally, she decided to go with her real first name again.".
- ↑ It's a 'Bettification' project, USA Today, October 4, 2006
- ↑ IMDB Press Release, January 19, 2007
- ↑ White, Kate (May 3, 2007). "The Time 100: America Ferrera". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595332_1616652,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
- ↑ America Ferrera wins an Imagen
- ↑ http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/thedryland_sundance2010
- ↑ http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/04/17/america-ferrera-wilmer-valderrama-in-dallas-film-fest-winner/
- ↑ America Ferrera Is Engaged!, People, June 17, 2010
- ↑ "America Ferrera's Engagement Ring!". UsMagazine.com. http://www.usmagazine.com/stylebeauty/news/america-ferreras-70000-engagement-ring-all-the-details-2010186.
- ↑ Exclusive: ABC Cancels "Ugly Betty", Entertainment Weekly, January 27, 2010
External links
- America Ferrera at the Internet Movie Database
- America Ferrera Online.
- 10 Questions for America Ferrera - Time.com Video
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