- Lauren Vélez
Infobox Actor
name = Lauren Vélez
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1964|11|2
location =Brooklyn, New York , U.S.
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Actress
yearsactive =
salary =
networth =
spouse =
website =
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children =Lauren Vélez (born
November 2 ,1964 ) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actressLoraine Vélez .Early years
The twins' parents moved from
Puerto Rico in the early 1950s and lived in theBrooklyn section ofNew York City where the twins were born. Their father was a New York City police officer who eventually bought a house in the middle class neighborhood of Rockaway Queens and moved there with his wife and eight children. The sisters enjoyed setting up improvised plays and acting for the family ever since childhood. Lauren once played the part of agroundhog in a second grade school play, after which she decided to be an actor.After graduating from
high school , the twins both receivedscholarship s to attend TheAlvin Ailey Dancing School. They also studied acting at The Acting Studio with James Price and Lauren studiedShakespeare with Michael Howard. Lauren landed her first job performing in the national touring company of the musical "Dreamgirls". Loraine would often step in for her sister in "Dreamgirls".On Broadway, besides doing "Dreamgirls", Lauren played understudy for actress
Phylicia Rashad inStephen Sondheim 's "Into the Woods ". She also performedOff-Broadway in the productions of "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Fasade"Career
In 1995, Vélez landed her first major
television role. She was cast as Nina Moreno, a policewoman in the TV series "New York Undercover ". That same year, she also made her film debut as Lisette Linares in the movie "I Like It Like That " alongsideRita Moreno andJon Seda . She was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award and The Desi Award for "Best Lead Actress". The movie was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards and won an NYFCCA award. Another TV series in which she performed wasHBO 's jail drama, "Oz". She also acted in the feature film "City Hall ", withAl Pacino .In 1997, Vélez starred in "Buscando un Sueño" (In Search of a Dream), the first Spanish speaking film sanctioned by SAG.
On
June 24 ,2006 , she won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2006 Long Island International Film Expo for her performance as Roseanne Crystal in the independent feature film, "Serial".Currently, Vélez plays a supporting role on
Showtime 's series "Dexter", again playing a police officer.Filmography
*"
I Like It Like That " (1994) - Lisette Linares
*"The Cosby Mysteries " (1995) TV Series - Claudine Palmeri
*"New York Undercover " (1995-1998) TV Series - Det. Nina Moreno
*"City Hall " (1996) - Elaine Santos
*"Buscando un Sueño" (1997) (In Search of a Dream)
*"Oz" (1997-2003) TV Series - Dr.Gloria Nathan
*"I Think I Do " (1997) - Carol
*"Thicker Than Blood" (1998) (TV) - Camilla López
*"The LaMastas" (1998)
*"St. Michael's Crossing" (1999) TV Series - Vicki Solera
*"Taino " (1999) - Laura
*"Prince of Central Park" (2000) - Rosa Sánchez
*"Prison Song " (2001) - Prison Counselor
*"Love and Treason " (2001) (TV) - Agent Susan Mestre
*"Strong Medicine " (2005) TV Series - Dr. Vanessa Burke
*"Barely Buzzed" (2005) - Maria Vásquez
*"Medium" (2006) TV Series - Elena Cabrera
*"Numb3rs " (2006) TV Series - Claudia Gomez
*"Dexter" (2006-2008) TV Series - Lt. Maria LaGuerta
*"Serial" (2007) - Roseanne Crystalee also
*
List of famous Puerto Ricans External links
*
* [http://www.actingstudio.com Acting studio]
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