Ana Ortiz Biography

Ana Ortiz (born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Hilda Suarez in the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty (2006-2010). She in currently starring as Marisol Suarez in the Lifetime comedy-drama series Devious Maids.

Early life

Ortiz was born in Manhattan, and is the daughter of Angel L. Ortiz, a former Philadelphia City Council member of Puerto Rican descent, and an Irish American mother. As a child, Ortiz originally dreamed of becoming a ballerina, and she studied ballet for eight years, until the pain of dancing en pointe forced her to pursue a different artistic discipline. Switching to singing, Ortiz attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City and later the University of the Arts in Philadelphia before making her professional stage debut in a regional theater production of Dangerous Liaisons. Her additional stage credits include portraying Chrissy in a European touring production of Hair, regional theater productions such as Dog Lady and the Cuban Swimmer and in the South Coast Repertory Theater's production of References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot.

After joining LAByrinth Theatre Company, she appeared off-Broadway in In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings, which also co-starred Puerto Rican actress Liza Colón-Zayas and was directed by Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and named one of the 10-best plays of 1999 by the magazine Time Out New York.

Career

On television, Ortiz's appeared in several shows including NYPD Blue, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Commander In Chief, Boston Legal, ER, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Over There, her first full-time series role, Kristin and Everybody Loves Raymond. Ortiz also had a guest-starring role on Army Wives during its second season as a waitress named Sandi.

She is well known for her role as Hilda Suarez in the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty. Originally, Ortiz had auditioned for the Betty Suarez role, but it went to America Ferrera instead. Ortiz said in 2008, "I was super plain. I just put on some glasses and kept my hair kind of flat and layered on the clothing", describing what she wore when auditioning for the role of Betty. "I just wanted them to remember me, so that I could be involved in the future". Ortiz was one of two Philadelphians who were regulars on Ugly Betty, the other being Mark Indelicato, who played her son Justin. Another connection to the city is co-star Becki Newton (who played Amanda Tanen), who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

In addition to her role on Ugly Betty, Ortiz was active in films, which include starring roles King of L.A., Tortilla Heaven and the 2009 TV movie Labor Pains co-starring her former Ugly Betty co-star, Lindsay Lohan.

Ortiz also appeared in the 2010 music video for Enrique Iglesias and Juan Luis Guerra's "Cuando me enamoro".

Ortiz plays the lead role of Marisol Duarte (the alias of Professor Marisol Suarez) in the Marc Cherry comedy-drama series Devious Maids in 2013. Interestingly, this will be the second series in which her character shares the last name of her previous character from another series.

Personal life

Ortiz graduated from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Ortiz currently lives in New York City. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, horseback riding, softball, and water sports, and writes poetry. She married musician Noah Lebenzon on June 9, 2007 in Rincón, Puerto Rico. The couple were expecting their first child on June 25, 2009. On Saturday, June 27, 2009, Ana and Noah welcomed a daughter, named Paloma Louise Lebenzon. Paloma was born at 4:25 p.m. and weighed in at 7 pounds 10 ounces. The second child, a son named Rafael, was born on September 24, 2011.

Ortiz is active in raising awareness against domestic abuse, citing her own experiences when she was in her 20s and involved in a romantic relationship that turned physically abusive. In an article for USA Today, Ortiz notes that the final scene from the Ugly Betty episode "How Betty Got Her Grieve Back", in which Hilda sat on her bed staring at the bathroom after realizing that Santos had died, was drawn from that experience: "I used some of that subconsciously ... It's something that is always with me".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Condition Red	C Block Inmate	First feature film
2002	Lehi's Wife	Kelly (as Anna Ortiz)
2003	Carolina	Perfect Date Assistant Christen
2007	Tortilla Heaven	Chicana #1
2008	Meet the Browns
	The Winged Man	Wanda	Independent film
	Batman: Gotham Knight	Anna Ramirez	Segments "Crossfire" and "In Darkness Dwells" Direct-to-DVD
2009	Labor Pains	Donna
	Noah's Ark: The New Beginning	Tier	Voice Only
2011	Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son	Gail

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The Movie	Pregnant Woman	Television movie
2000	King of the Korner	Isabel
2001	Kristin	Santa Clemente	Main role
	Everybody Loves Raymond	Natasha Leonetti	1 episode: "Raybert" (6.10)
2002	Greetings from Tucson	Angela	1 episode: "Eegee's vs. Hardee's" (1.22)
	NYPD Blue	Luisa Lopez	1 episode: "Dead Meat in New Deli" (9.21)
	Strong Medicine	Elena Delgado	1 episode: "Family History" (3.09)
	Do Over	Mrs. Rice	1 episode: "Rock 'n' Roll Parking Lot" (1.06)
	Mr. St. Nick	Lorena	TV Movie
	ER	Laura	1 episode: "Hindsight" (9.10)
2003	Life on Parole	Loretta	TV Movie
	A.U.S.A.	Ana Riveria	Main Role
2004	Foster Hall		TV Movie
	North Shore	Ana Green	1 episode: "Secret Service" (1.06)
2005	Blind Justice	Letitia Barreras	1 episode: "Past Imperfect" (1.08)
	Freddie	Gina	1 episode: "Rich Man, Poor Girl" (1.01)
	Over There	Anna	7 episodes
2006	Commander in Chief	Isabelle Rios	1 episode: "Wind Beneath My Wings" (1.12)
	Boston Legal	A.D.A. Holly Raines	4 episodes
	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Belinda	1 episode: "Some of My Best Friends Are Portuguese" (1.12)
2006"2010	Ugly Betty	Hilda Suarez	Main role
2008	Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story	Valerie Valleja	Television Movie
2011	Hung	Lydia	recurring role, season 3
2013"present	Devious Maids	Marisol Duarte(Suarez)	Main role