Diane Guerrero is a Colombian-American actress best known for the role of Maritza Ramos on the Netflix web series Orange is the New Black. Guerrero grew up in Boston and remained there after the rest of her family was deported to Colombia.
Biography
Guerrero was born in New Jersey to Colombian parents and raised in Boston. As the only American-born child in her family, she remained in America when the rest of her family was deported back to Colombia. Both of her parents and her older brother were deported to Colombia when she was 14. She was raised in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods in Boston after being taken in by other Colombian families. She has had an interest in acting since a young age and took advantage of free opportunities in the neighborhood or at school.
Guerrero attended Boston Arts Academy, which is a performing arts high school, where she was in the music department. Among her high school activities was singing with a jazz group, but she anticipated pursuing political science and communications in college. In 2010, she appeared in the Faces; she is also in the single music video that was shot in Norwood, Massachusetts for Louie Bello.Her first job after college was in a law office.At age 24, she decided to pursue a career in acting. In 2011, she moved to New York city and studied acting at the Susan Batson Studios where she met her manager Josh Taylor.Guerrero's life experience compels her to advocate for immigration reform and is an influence that she draws upon in her acting. On 2016, Guerrero wrote her book entitled In the Country We Love: My Family Divided. It is about her experience of being a citizen child of undocumented immigrants. She released her second book and also her memoir but dedicated to young adult readers entitled, My Family Divided: One Girl's Journey of Loss, Hope and Home last July 17, 2018.
Career
She auditioned for a role on Devious Maids, but ended up with a role on Orange is the New Black, where she plays a Bronx-bred character that is likely Puerto Rican. She has had a recurring role on Are We There Yet?.In 2014, she appeared in Emoticon ;), a comedy about a May–December romance in which her father is involved with a doctoral candidate. Her performance as Amanda ("Mandy") Nevins, an adopted teenage child, elicited positive criticism such as a description of a "well-drawn smaller moment" that was "beautifully rendered" according to Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter and a performance that "command sympathy" according to Inkoo Kang of the Los Angeles Times.One of her upcoming roles is as an 1800s Cuban confederate spy, loosely based on the life of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, for Peter and John. She has been cast in The CW's upcoming series Jane the Virgin in a recurring role. Guerrero was a cast in a regular role on season 2 of CBS' Superior Donuts. Last May 14,2018, she was honored at 2018 Regis College Massachusetts Commencement Speech and got an Honorary Doctorate of Laws.
Photos
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ashley/Amber | Ashley | short |
| 2011 | Festival | Ivan Model 2 | |
| 2012 | Open Vacancy | Tatiana | |
| 2012 | Saved by the Pole | Princess | short |
| 2014 | Emoticon ;) | Amanda Nevins | |
| 2014 | My Man Is a Loser | Malea | |
| 2014 | Beyond Control | Tasha | |
| 2014 | Peter and John | Lucia | |
| 2016 | Happy Yummy Chicken | Cheryl Davis |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pushing Dreams | Lynette Melendez | ||
| 2011 | Body of Proof (season 1) | Sara Gonzales | Episode: "Buried Secrets" |
| 2012 | Are We There Yet?(season 3) | Stacey | 4 episodes: The Cooking Episode; The Life Insurance Episode;
The Thanksgiving Episode; The Wrong Way Episode |
| 2013 | Orange Is the New Black | Maritza Ramos | 17 episodes |
| 2013 | Blue Bloods(season 3) | Carmen | Episode: "This Way Out" |
| 2013 | Person of Interest(season 3) | Ashley | Episode: "Liberty" |
| 2014 | Taxi Brooklyn(season 1) | Carmen Lopez | Episode: 1.2 |
| 2014 | Jane the Virgin | Lina Santillan | |
| 2017 | Superior Donuts | Sofia |