America Ferrera

Infobox actor
caption = America Ferrera


imagesize = 200px
birthname = America Georgine Ferrera
birthdate = birth date and age|1984|4|18
birthplace = Los Angeles, California, USA
occupation = actress
yearsactive = 2001 - Present
emmyawards = Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series
2007 "Ugly Betty"
goldenglobeawards = Best Actress - Musical or Comedy Series
2007 "Ugly Betty"
naacpimageawards = Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
2008 "Ugly Betty"
sagawards = Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
2006 "Ugly Betty"

America Georgine Ferrera (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress.

Biography

America Ferrera, the youngest of six siblings, was born in Los Angeles, California, to parents who immigrated to the United States from Honduras in the mid-1970s. Her mother is a hotel executive in charge of housecleaning staff. Later, her mother divorced her father and raised six children – five girls, one boy – while stressing the importance of higher education.http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1807809245/bio America Ferrara's family background] Five have graduated from college and America is working on earning her degree. [ [http://www.biggeststars.com/a/america-ferrera-biography.html America Ferrera - Biography ] ]

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. [http://movies.nytimes.com/person/302580/America-Ferrera/biography] From the time she was seven years old, when she landed a small role in a school production of "Hamlet", Ferrera knew that she wanted to be a performer. She acted in school plays and community theater in Los Angeles throughout her youth, but with little help from her mother, who insisted that she pursue other interests because she was concerned whether or not her daughter would 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.

In interviews Ferrera has observed the contrast between the image of the “typical Latina” experience and her own childhood, noting that growing up in a mostly Jewish, non-Latino neighborhood, she attended 52 bar mitzvahs and not a single "quinceañera".Miller, Gerri. "America Ferrera: Why she's America's sweetheart!", "Estylo" magazine, February/March 2007, pp. 35-37] She was raised speaking English and is now learning to speak Spanish.

Ferrera’s famous smile is insured by Aquafresh [ [http://www.frivolouspeople.com/2007/05/america-ferraras-smile-now-worth-10m.html Frivolous People: America Ferrara's smile now worth $10M ] ] through Lloyd's of London for US$10 million/GB£5million [ [http://www.lloyds.com/News_Centre/Features_from_Lloyds/Lloyds_insures_Ugly_Bettys_smile.htm Lloyd's insures Ugly Betty's smile ] ] to generate sales/donations for their "Smile For Success" campaign. The campaign is a program plans to cover part of the cost for dental care for women trying to get off welfare. Aquafresh claims they will donate $1 to Smiles for Success for each box of Aquafresh White Trays that was purchased through August 31, 2007.

Personal

Ferrera is the youngest of six siblings which include one brother and four sisters. Her long-term boyfriend since college is Ryan Piers Williams. Williams is from Texas and is an aspiring film director. In 2007 he was an assistant to director Steven Soderbergh. They first met while working on his student film at USC. Ferrera has repeatedly denied rumors that they are engaged. [cite web|url=http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=24&ContentID=21647|title=Ugly Betty star slams marriage reports|accessdate=2007-03-06|date=2007-02-18|publisher=The West Australian newspaper] Rumors that they had split up in January 2008 were notFact|date=July 2008 denied but Ferrera and Williams attended the NAACP Awards together in February 2008. The two have been seen together throughout Spring 2008 in California. [ [http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/03/21/america-ferrera-boyfriend-ryan-piers-williams/ America Ferrara Takes Flight | America Ferrera, Ryan Piers Williams : Just Jared ] ] In April 2008 they purchased a home together. [ [http://realestalker.blogspot.com/2008/04/america-ferrera-bargain-betty.html the Real Estalker: America Ferrera: Bargain Betty ] ] They have two dogs — Buddy the Golden Retriever and a lady Great Dane.

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. She spent the autumn of 2004 studying in the American University Washington Semester Program [ [http://www.american.edu/newsletter/development/2007/feb/wsp_0207.htm "AU Alumni Newsletter] Retrieved on 2007-06-19 ] 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.Katharine Q. Seelye, [http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/clamoring-to-vote/ The Caucus: Clamoring to Vote] , "The New York Times", March 23, 2008.] She has been quoted as saying that the United States should take responsibility for illegal immigration and provide more help to immigrants. [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,337334,00.html FOXNews.com - Pop Tarts: - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment] ]

At the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards, Ferrera said that America won't be free until 2009 when George W. Bush leaves office. [ [http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/03/09/america-ferrera%E2%80%99s-america/] Retrieved on 2008-06-06]

Career

In July 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 "", 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. It’s in contrast to the rest of the show, where everybody else is "glammed up"; Ferrera herself coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process of creating her onscreen persona. [http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-10-04-betty-transform-main_x.htm It's a 'Bettification' project] , "USA Today", October 4, 2006]

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. [http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2007-01-19/#2 IMDB Press Release] , January 19, 2007] 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.cite news | last =White | first =Kate | coauthors = | title =The Time 100: America Ferrera | work = | pages = | language = | publisher ="Time Magazine" | date = | url =http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595332_1616652,00.html | accessdate =2007-10-26 ] In July 2007, America Ferrera also won Imagen Foundation’s Creative Achievement Award. [ [http://poponthepop.com/2007/07/30/america-ferrera-cant-stop-picking-up-awards/ America Ferrera wins an Imagen] ] 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 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2", the sequel to the 2005 film "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants".

Filmography

Films

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*imdb|1065229
* [http://media.fairfax.com.au/?rid=25431 Broadband video interview with America Ferrera, discussing "Ugly Betty".]

###@@@KEY@@@### s-ach|awsuccession box
title = Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress - Comedy Series
years = 2006
for "Ugly Betty"
before= Felicity Huffman
for "Desperate Housewives"
after = Tina Fey
for "30 Rock"succession box
title =
years = 2007
for "Ugly Betty"
before= Mary-Louise Parker
for "Weeds"
after = Tina Fey
for "30 Rock"

Persondata
NAME = Ferrera, America
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION =
DATE OF BIRTH = April 18, 1984
PLACE OF BIRTH = Los Angeles, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =