ABC

Spotlight On: Ana Ortiz

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Seemingly coming out of nowhere in the early 2000’s, Ana Ortiz was soon outshining her bigger name co-stars, Kristin Chenoweth (“Pushing Daisies”) and Jon Tenny (“The Closer”) in the television series “Kristin.” It was quickly apparent that the theatrically trained starlet was bound and determined to make a name for herself in television, particularly after her initial attempts to make an entrance only landed a few nameless roles in shows such as “Condition Red” and “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.” So when the opportunity arose to demonstrate her comedic chops and screen presence, Ana rose to the occasion. While the role on “Kristin” was short-lived because the series lasted only 11 episodes, Ana was off and running, and quickly moved on to a series of guest appearances on shows like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Greetings from Tucson,” “NYPD Blue” “Strong Medicine,” “ER,” “A.U.S.A.,” “North Shore,” “Blind Justice,” and “Freddie.” Along the way she also took the time to appear in the films “Mr. St. Nick” with Kelsey Grammer and “Carolina” with Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine.

Ana Ortiz stars opposite America Ferrara in ABC's UGLY BETTY.

Ana Ortiz stars opposite America Ferrara in ABC's UGLY BETTY.

Finally after four years of persistence, Ana’s unique ability to bring a light comedic touch to dramatic roles landed her a seven episode arc on the Iraq war drama “Over There” alongside Sprague Grayden (known for her roles in cult favorites “John Doe” and “Jericho”) and Luke MacFarlane (who now plays Scotty on “Brothers & Sisters”). Once her story arc concluded, Ana quickly snagged a plum guest appearance role
as a tenacious ADA on the David E. Kelley legal drama, “Boston Legal.”

But these were but stepping stones to the role of a lifetime as immediately afterward Ana landed the role of Hilda Suarez, Betty’s sister in the ABC fashion sensation “Ugly Betty.” Playing a young mother struggling to provide for her precocious son, Ana’s natural grace and razor-sharp delivery of side-splitting one-liners was
captivating. She managed to bring warmth and poignancy to a role that could have easily been a caricature. Instead she brought to life a character that many young women could identify with and even aspire to.

During “Ugly Betty’s” four year run, Ana also found the time to work on a few film projects as well, such as “Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story” with A. Martinez and “Labor Pains” with Lindsay Lohan. Clearly, Ana is not one to sit still and moves with apparent effortless ease between comedy and drama.

It has been a privilege to watch Ana blossom into the captivating actress she is today and we can only hope to see her in other such unique and inspiring roles in the future.

“Ugly Betty” airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. on ABC.

Tiffany is a contributing writer for NiceGirlsTV who hails from sunny Los Angeles, California. She is a compulsive television watcher who loves discovering great television shows. Some of her favorite TV shows from this past season have been The Good Wife, Castle, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Life Unexpected, The Vampire Diaries, Merlin, Caprica, Lie to Me, White Collar, Psych, Justified and many, many more. She is anxiously awaiting the return of several beloved summer shows and discovering all the new shows that the upcoming summer and fall seasons will bring.