Dania Ramirez

Dania Ramirez was born on November 8, 1979, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She moved to New York at age 10 to join her parents. From a young age, she demonstrated an interest in acting, reenacting telenovelas for her family. Her path into the entertainment industry began at 15 when she was discovered by a model scout and featured in a soda commercial. She pursued formal acting training at the Actor’s Workshop in New York City before relocating to Los Angeles to advance her acting career. Her early career highlights include an appearance in Jay-Z’s music video “Streets Is Watching” in 1998.

Ramirez’s film and television career developed steadily. She gained early exposure in Spike Lee’s film “25th Hour” in 2002 and later appeared in his film “She Hate Me” in 2004. In 2006, she took on the role of Callisto in the blockbuster film “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Her television roles include appearances in high-profile series such as “The Sopranos” (2006–2007) as Blanca Selgado, and a significant role as Maya Herrera in “Heroes” (2007–2008). She also joined the cast of “Entourage” as Alex in 2010. Continuing her work in film, she featured in “American Reunion” and “Premium Rush,” both in 2012.

A pivotal role came in 2013 when Ramirez was cast as Rosie Falta in Lifetime’s series “Devious Maids,” a role she continued until 2016. In 2017, she took on the starring role of Cinderella/Jacinda Vidrio in the seventh season of ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.” Beyond acting, Ramirez has expanded her contributions to the industry as a producer for projects like “Lycan” (2017) and as an executive producer and writer for the podcast series “Sisters of the Underground” (2022). Most recently, she began a starring role as Nikki Batista in Fox’s crime drama “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” in 2023, which has been renewed for a third season.