Valery Ortiz

Valery Milagros Ortiz is a Puerto Rican actress and model. She is best known for her television roles in series such as South of Nowhere, Diary of a Single Mom, Hit the Floor, and Gabby Duran & the Unsittables, as well as her appearances in feature films.

Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and raised in Orlando, Florida. Initially passionate about becoming a ballerina, she explored dancing after receiving a scholarship to The Southern Ballet Theater Performing Art Centre in Orlando. She eased out of dancing in middle school as her interest shifted toward theater and acting. She worked as an extra on the Universal Studios backlot in Orlando and was accepted into the Dr. Phillips High School performing arts magnet program. Following four years of study, she performed in productions such as Latins Anonymous at the Orlando Fringe Festival, West Side Story, A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Orlando premiere of The Vagina Monologues, and the Edinburgh, Scotland Fringe Festival.

While studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Central Florida, Ortiz hosted the television show Splat!. Following its first season, she took a two-week trip to Los Angeles, which led to a permanent relocation there. She soon began working as a VJ for the local television program LATV Live.

While working as a hostess at the Hard Rock Cafe, Ortiz was cast in the comedy film Date Movie as Jell-O, a Jennifer Lopez impersonation. During filming, she secured a role in the television series South of Nowhere, which ran from 2005 to 2008. Shortly after, she joined the pilot for Emily's Reasons Why Not, which aired in 2006. Her subsequent film credits include Dumbbells in 2014 and Thriller in 2018.

Ortiz appeared in Diary of a Single Mom from 2009 to 2011 and featured in an episode of Two and a Half Men in 2010. She also portrayed Raquel Saldana for three seasons on the scripted VH1 series Hit the Floor, which premiered in May 2013. Additionally, she has worked as an anchor for Si TV and E! News. In August 2019, Disney Channel announced she would star as Dina Duran in the live-action comedy series Gabby Duran & the Unsittables, which premiered in October 2019 after receiving an early second-season renewal.

In recognition of her work, Ortiz was named one of the Top 25 Latinas of 2006 by Maxim en Español. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where her personal interests include reading, hiking, decorating, and writing.