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.
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.
Her mother divorced her father and raised six children on a diet of rice and beans, while stressing the importance of higher education.
[movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1807809245/bio America Ferrera's family background]
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.
[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 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.
Ferrera disliked her first name as a child and went by her middle name, "Georgina", until she began acting professionally.
Career
In July 2002, Ferrera made her first TV movie,
Gotta Kick It Up! for
The Disney Channel. That same year then her uncle died, 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.
[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.
[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 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!"
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.
In July 2007, America Ferrera also won Imagen Foundation’s Creative Achievement Award.
[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 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
Awards and nominations
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
12/9/09
Recipient of NYWIFT Muse Award,
www.nywift.org/article.aspx?id=2068 - celebrating the achievements of women who work in film and television
