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America Ferrera
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| America Ferrera | |
|---|---|
| Born | America Georgine Ferrera April 18, 1984 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001 – present |
America Georgine Ferrera (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. She plays the lead role in the television series Ugly Betty. She also starred in the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
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Early life
Ferrera, the youngest of six children, was born in Los Angeles, California, as America Georgina Ferrera, to parents who immigrated to the United States from Honduras in the mid-1970s. Her mother worked as a housecleaning staff director for a Hilton hotel.1 Her mother divorced her father and raised six children on a diet of rice and beans, while stressing the importance of higher education.2
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.3 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.2 Ferrera disliked her first name as a child and went by her middle name, "Georgina", until she began acting professionally.4
Career
In July 2002, Ferrera 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, in contrast to most of the "glammed up" characters; Ferrera herself coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process of creating her onscreen persona.5
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.6 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. Her co-star, Eric Mabius, has regularly said of her, "She's only 24 and will take over the planet in a few years time!"cite this quote
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.7 In July 2007, America Ferrera also won Imagen Foundation’s Creative Achievement Award.8
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 as Carmen. She also is the voice of one of the nature fairies in Tinkerbell (2008). As of May 2009, she is filming a movie in Albuquerque, New Mexico and west Texas called American Tragic or The Dry Land.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Real Women Have Curves | Ana Garcia | Lead Role |
| Gotta Kick It Up! | Laura Anglin | made for television (Disney Channel) | |
| 2004 | $5.15/Hr. | Bailey Fohr | made for television (HBO) |
| Darkness Minus Twelve | Garrett Merville | Lead Role | |
| Plainsong | Victoria Roubideaux | made for television (CBS) | |
| 2005 | How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer | Bianca | Lead Role |
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Carmen Lowell | ||
| Lords of Dogtown | McKenna Meldrum | Appearance | |
| La Misma Luna | Dasha Riesse | Appearance | |
| 3:52 | Kate | Lead Role | |
| 2006 | Steel City | Amy Barnes | |
| 2007 | Muertas | Rebecca | |
| The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 | Carmen Lowell | ||
| Towards Darkness | Luiza | ||
| 2008 | Tinker Bell | Fawn | Voice |
| 2010 | How to Train Your Dragon | Astrid | Lead role |
| The Dry Land | Sarah | ||
| Our Family Wedding | |||
| Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue | Fawn |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006—present | Ugly Betty | Beatriz "Betty" U. Suarez | Lead/Title Role |
Guest appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Touched by an Angel | Charlee | "The Word" (episode 4, season 9) |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | April Perez | "Harvest" (episode 3, season 5) |
Awards and nominations
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America became the first ever TV Actress to have won all 3 major Lead Actress Awards in a single year,at the Emmy Awards.the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actor's Guild Awards.
2002 Won Sundance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize: Dramatic for ‘Real Women Have Curves’ for acting.
2003 Nominated Independent Spirit Awards - Best Debut Performance for ‘Real Women Have Curves’.
Young Artist Awards - Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress for ‘Real Women Have Curves’.
2005 Nominated Satellite Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical for ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’.
Teen Choice Awards - Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female for ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’. Choice Movie Hissy Fit for ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’.
2006 Nominated ALMA Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’.
Satellite Award - Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical for ‘Ugly Betty’. Won
Imagen Award - Won Best Actress for ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’.
2007 Nominated Image Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress: Comedy for ‘Ugly Betty’. Television Critics Association Awards - Individual Achievement in Comedy for ‘Ugly Betty’. Won
ALMA Awards - Outstanding Actress - Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Golden Globes - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Imagen Foundation Awards - Creative Achievement Award and Best Actress - Television for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Satellite Awards - Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV: Breakout for ‘Ugly Betty’.
2008 Nominated Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Golden Globes - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’. Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’.
Teen Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress: Comedy for ‘Ugly Betty’. Won
Image Awards - Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for ‘Ugly Betty’
2009 Nominated Peoples Choice Awards - Choice TV Actress Comedy
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b 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. "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
External links
- America Ferrera at the Internet Movie Database
- Broadband video interview with America Ferrera, discussing Ugly Betty.
- America Ferrera Online.
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