America Ferrera

America Georgina Ferrera is an American actress born on April 18, 1984, in Los Angeles, California. She is known for her feature film roles in Real Women Have Curves and Barbie, as well as starring roles in the television series Ugly Betty and Superstore. Over her career, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, along with a nomination for an Academy Award.

Ferrera was raised in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles as the youngest of six children. Her parents immigrated to the United States from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in the mid-1970s, and she has Lenca ancestry. Raised primarily by her mother following her parents' divorce when she was seven, Ferrera acted in school stage productions from a young age and attended El Camino Real High School. She enrolled at the University of Southern California on a presidential scholarship to double-major in theatre and international relations, eventually completing her bachelor's degree in May 2013.

In 2002, Ferrera made her television movie debut in Gotta Kick It Up! and her feature film debut in Real Women Have Curves. She appeared in television shows and films including Plainsong, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, and the 2005 drama The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, later reprising her role in its 2008 sequel. In December 2005, she also performed Off-Broadway in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.

Ferrera achieved widespread critical acclaim starring as Betty Suarez in the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty from 2006 to 2010. Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, making her the first Latina woman to win in that category, alongside a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007 and again in 2024.

Following Ugly Betty, Ferrera voiced Astrid Hofferson in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise from 2010 to 2019 and appeared in films such as The Dry Land, Our Family Wedding, and End of Watch. She made her West End stage debut in Chicago in 2011. From 2015 to 2021, she co-produced and starred as Amy in the NBC sitcom Superstore. She also directed and executive produced the Netflix series Gentefied and signed on to make her feature directorial debut with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

In 2023, Ferrera portrayed Gloria in the fantasy comedy film Barbie, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. That year, she was included in the BBC 100 Women list. She later voiced Ranger Morales in Marvel's What If...? and was announced to star in and executive produce an Amazon Prime Video series about artist Ana Mendieta.

Ferrera is also involved in civic engagement and activism, working with organizations including Voto Latino, She Se Puede, and Time's Up, and becoming an IOM Global Goodwill Ambassador in May 2024. She published the anthology American Like Me in 2018, delivered a TEDTalk in 2019, and invested in the soccer team Angel City FC. She married actor and filmmaker Ryan Piers Williams in 2011, and the couple has two children.