Ana Ortiz

Ana Ortiz (born January 25, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Having pursued a career in performing arts–ballet and singing– from a young age, she eventually attended University of the Arts. Ortiz began her acting career in theatre, in early 2000s starred in the short-lived NBC sitcoms Kristin (2001) and A.U.S.A. (2003), and had recurring roles on Over There and Boston Legal. Ortiz garnered widespread attention for her role as Hilda Suarez in the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty from 2006 to 2010. She also appeared such films like Labor Pains (2009) and Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011), and starred in Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story (2008). In 2013, Ortiz began starring as Marisol Suarez in the Lifetime television comedy-drama series Devious Maids, for which she received the Imagen Award for Best Actress - Television. 2Life and career 3Early life and career in theatre 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. Ortiz graduated from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. 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 Liaison