America Ferrera: the Actress & Filmmaker Creating Stories we Desperately Need
From Ugly Betty and Real Women Have Curves to Superstore and Gentefied, Ferrera had led a fierce change-making career.
America Ferrera in ‘Gentefied’ Season 2 celebration.
In today’s Hollywood films, Latino characters only make up a shockingly low 4.5% of all characters. Despite the significant Latino population in the United States, much of the films and TV shows made today fail to include an enough number of Latinos to represent the audience watching.
Even though this is a big problem in society that needs to be addressed, there are some incredible Latino actors who have worked for many years in the industry and continue to tell stories that uplift the Latino culture and people. Some of them include Diego Luna, Salma Hayek, Gael García Bernal, Pedro Pascal, Gina Rodriquez, and many more. Thanks to these artists, the Latino population has some representation and people to tell their stories.
One actress in particular has been around for a while and has persisted in telling stories even more centered around the Latino community: America Ferrera.
Born in Los Angles on April 18th, 1984, Ferrera was the youngest of six kids. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Honduras in the mid 1970’s, though her dad was not present for most of her life.
She began acting at age eight, by performing in school plays and community productions. She got an appearance role in Disney Channel’s Gotta Kick It Up and starred in her first feature film Real Women Have Curves. In 2007 she was the first Latina to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal as Betty Suarez in the ABC hit, Ugly Betty.
After taking a break from school as her career began to take off, Ferrera returned to finish her education a decade after she started and earned a degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California.
Ferrara’s roles in her early films and Ugly Betty helped her to become a strong role model for Hispanic women and also allowed for her culture to be seen on the screen.
She has also been very politically and socially involved in recent years, from working to get Latinos in the United States to vote, to advocating for women’s rights. Ferrera is also an ambassador for ‘Save the Children’ to spread awareness on sex trafficking.
“No one else holds the vision for my life but me.”
-America Ferrera
One of her most recent projects include the Netflix series Gentefied, which tells the story of a primarily Hispanic neighborhood in Los Angeles working for a better future despite the obstacles they face. Ferrera directed a handful of episodes and worked behind the scenes in pre-production as well.
Over the years, America Ferrera has been a vital person in the entertainment industry to strive for representation, and authentic stories, especially in the Hispanic community. Thanks to her, many opportunities have risen for more Latinos to follow in her footsteps.
Unlike many actors or filmmakers working the industry, almost all of Ferrara’s projects have been tools for representation, social awareness, advocation and more. It’s clear through all the projects she involves herself in, Ferrera has a passion for communicating powerful and change-making stories.
America Ferrera shares her struggles with her identity and overcoming insecurities.