Ana Villafañe
Born
Ana Teresa Villafañe

Miami, Florida, United States
NationalityAmerican
EducationOur Lady of Lourdes Academy Catholic School
Occupation(s)Actress, singer

Ana Teresa Villafañe (/ˌviːjəˈfɑːnjeɪ/ VEE-yə-FAHN-yay) is an American actress and singer from Miami, Florida, best known for her portrayal of pop icon Gloria Estefan in the Broadway musical On Your Feet!.

Life and career

She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. She is of Cuban and Salvadoran descent.

Villafañe's film and television credits include: the award-winning Magic City Memoirs (executive producer Andy Garcia) "Los Americans" created by Dennis Leoni ("Resurrection Boulevard") Hiding (Anchor Bay) the Hulu Original Series South Beach set in her native Miami, and the female lead in the superhero feature film Max Steel (Mattel).

In the fall of 2014, Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan—alongside the producers and creative team of their biographical musical On Your Feet!—launched an international casting search,[1] dubbed "Reach Gloria" (#ReachGloria) which offered performers around the world a chance to audition for the cast of the musical. Thousands of Broadway hopefuls—from Los Angeles, to Australia, to Colombia, to Singapore—auditioned for roles by submitting videos online, or attending one of two open casting calls held in New York City and the Estefans’ home-city of Miami, Florida.[2] A lifelong fan of Gloria Estefan – who even attended the same Miami high school as the pop star – Villafañe learned of the Miami open casting call and, although she was unable to attend, sent the casting office a video audition. Within three days, she was called to audition for the show's director, Jerry Mitchell, and the Estefans. On April 13, 2015, Villafañe and Josh Segarra were announced on NBC's "Today Show" as the stars of the Broadway-bound musical.

"I feel a very big responsibility to portray her in a real way", Villafañe said in an exclusive interview[3] with InStyle Magazine.[4] "I don't think you can actually replicate Gloria Estefan—you can only do your best to tell her story and be true to the music. I grew up performing her music at talent shows, "Reach" was the first song i ever sang in public when i was 9 years old. That's what we would jam to on our way to school".

Villafañe made her Broadway debut in the role on October 5, 2015, ahead of the show's official opening night at the Marquis Theatre on November 5, 2015. Both she and the show received rave reviews, and Villafañe was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s top "Broadway Breakout Stars of the Year" She won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award and Astaire Awards.

Villafañe joined multiple Latin artists on Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Almost Like Praying" in 2017. All proceeds from the song went to help Puerto Rico after being devastated by Hurricane Maria.[5]

In June 2021, Villafañe was cast as a lead in the NBC series Night Court, the sequel to the classic sitcom, but she was replaced by India de Beaufort when the pilot was given a series order.[6][7]

From September 2021 until January 2022, she starred as Roxie Hart in the reopening of Chicago on Broadway.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Dostana Runway model Hindi Movie (Indian)
2009 I Love You Phillip Morris Bikini Girl Uncredited
2010 America's Most Wanted Felicia Ruiz Episode: "Jesus Salazaar"
2011 Los Americans Jennifer Series regular; 7 episodes
2011 Magic City Memoirs Catalina
2012 Hiding Jo Russo / Alicia Torres
2012 Adam & Abby Abby Apfelbaum
2013 Rizzoli & Isles Isabella Valdez Episode: "But I Am a Good Girl"
2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population (voice) Video Game
2015 South Beach Carmen Suarez Series regular; 6 episodes
2016 Max Steel Sofia Martinez
2016 Mozart in the Jungle Rodrigo's Dance Partner Episode: "You're the Best or You F'ing Suck"
2018 History of Them Luna Reyes
2019–2020 New Amsterdam Dr. Valentina Castro Recurring role
2019 Sunnyside Diana Barea Recurring role
2021 Younger KT 3 episodes
TBA Bad Monkey Rosa Main role, upcoming series[8]

References

  1. ↑ Lee, Ashley (18 August 2014). "Gloria Estefan Musical 'On Your Feet!' to Hit Broadway in Fall 2015". The Hollywood Reporter.
  2. ↑ "Gloria Estefan on Casting Actress to Play Her in Broadway Show". Entertainment Tonight. 24 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Ana Villafañe to Star as Gloria Estefan in On Your Feet | InStyle.com". 2018-03-10. Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  4. ↑ Simon, Samantha. "What Ana Villafañe Really Thinks of Playing Gloria Estefan in New Broadway Musical On Your Feet". InStyle. Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2015-08-07.
  5. ↑ "Lin-Manuel Miranda releases "Almost Like Praying", a star-studded new single for Puerto Rico relief". Vox. Retrieved 2017-10-12.
  6. ↑ "Ana Villafañe to Star in Night Court Sequel Series on NBC". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
  7. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2022-03-10). "'Night Court': India de Beaufort Joins NBC Sequel In Recasting". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
  8. ↑ Petski, Denise (December 2, 2021). "Bad Monkey: Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith & Meredith Hagner Join Vince Vaughn In Bill Lawrence's Apple TV+ Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
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