Selenis Leyva
Leyva at the 2014 Peabody Awards.
Born (1972-05-26) May 26, 1972
OccupationActress
Years active1999–present
Children1

Selenis Leyva (born May 26, 1972)[1] is an American actress. She is known for her role as Gloria Mendoza in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–19), and also starred on the Disney+ comedy-drama series Diary of a Future President (2020–21).

Life and career

Leyva was raised in The Bronx.[2] She is of Cuban and Dominican descent.[3] She has appeared in a number of Off-Broadway productions.[4] On television, Leyva had a recurring role of Detective Mariluz Rivera in Law & Order, and also appeared in different roles on the show and on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has guest-starred on Third Watch, The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Girls, and Elementary.

In 2013, Leyva began starring as Gloria Mendoza, a Latina leader in the jail, in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black. Her character was recurring for the first two seasons and she was promoted to series regular in Season 3.[5][6] Along with cast, she received three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also received ALMA Award for Outstanding Special Achievement in Television in 2014.[7] The series ended in 2019, after seven seasons. During her time in Orange Is the New Black, Leyva co-starred opposite Viola Davis and Catalina Sandino Moreno in the 2016 courtroom drama film Custody directed and written by James Lapine,[8] and played Monica Warren in the 2017 superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming.[9] In 2018, she had a supporting role in the Netflix miniseries Maniac.

In 2019, Leyva was cast in the Disney+ comedy-drama series Diary of a Future President produced by Gina Rodriguez.[10] The series premiered on January 17, 2020 and was cancelled in December 2021.

Books

Leyva is the co-author, with her sister Marizol, of the book My Sister: How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both, which was published by Bold Type Books in March 2020.[11]

Personal life

Leyva has one daughter, Alina.[12] She is a supporter of the LGBT community and revealed in June 2015 that her sister Marizol is transgender.[12][13][14][15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Debutante Daisy Dominguez
2002 Apartment #5C Luisa
2004 Maria Full of Grace Customs Inspector
2007 Illegal Tender Wanda
2007 Ben's Plan Maria
2009 Don't Let Me Drown Sonia
2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Additional Voices Voice
2010 Sex and the City 2 Teacher
2010 Trouble Child Trouble Child Short film
2011 Man in the Mirror Sonia Short film
2012 Ice Age: Continental Drift Additional Voices Voice
2013 Epic Additional Voices Voice
2014 Living with the Dead Dr. Quenda
2015 Chapter & Verse Yolanda
2016 Custody Jackie
2016 I Can I Will I Did Maria
2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming Monica Warren
2020 Shadows Pamela Short film
2022 Breaking Rosa Diaz
2023 Creed III Laura Chavez

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Law & Order Louisa Episode: "Refuge: Part 2"
1999 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lorinda Gutierrez Episode: "Hysteria"
2001 The $treet Kate Episode: "Junk Bonds"
2001 Law & Order DeeDee Salazar Episode: "Sunday in the Park with Jorge"
2001 Taina Titi Rose Recurring role, 6 episodes
2001 100 Centre Street Delfina Romero Episodes: "Kids: Part 1" and "Kids: Part 2"
2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Isabella Costas Episode: "Homo Homini Lupis"
2003 Third Watch Phyllis Episode: "Goodbye to All That"
2004 Third Watch Gonzalez Episode: "Leap of Faith"
2004 Law & Order Nita Cabrera Episode: "Veteran's Day"
2005 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Warden's Secretary Episode: "Prisoner"
2004–2006 Law & Order Detective Mariluz Rivera Recurring role, 18 episodes
2006 The Sopranos Jill Dibiaso Episode: "Live Free or Die"
2007 Dirty Sexy Money Detective Angelina Adams Episode: "Pilot"
2008 New Amsterdam Susan Boyle Episode: "Pilot"
2010 Law & Order Rona Henderson Episode: "Boy on Fire"
2010 The Good Wife Marisol Episode: "Doubt"
2010 The Whole Truth Claudia Episode: "Liars"
2011 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Detective Rivera Episode: "Icarus"
2011 Person of Interest Hosking Episode: "Number Crunch"
2011–2012 Blue Bloods Assistant M.E. Craig Recurring role, 4 episodes
2012 Girls Chastity Episode: "Hannah's Diary"
2012 Elementary Sara Castillo Episode: "Child Predator"
2013 The Following Detective Morales Episode: "Chapter Two"
2013–2019 Orange Is the New Black Gloria Mendoza Recurring role (seasons 1-2), series regular (seasons 3-7), 88 episodes
ALMA Award for Outstanding Special Achievement in Television (2014)
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2015–2016)
Nomination — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2018)
2015 Madam Secretary Bolivian Ambassador Mariana Dominguez Episode: "The Time Is at Hand"
2015 Veep Governor Ramos Episode: "B/ill"
2018–2021 DuckTales Detective Cabrera Voice role; recurring
2018 Dietland Belle 2 episodes
2018 Maniac Patricia Lugo 3 episodes
2018 Murphy Brown Maria Gonzales Episode: "Thanksgiving and Taking"
2019 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Samantha Morgan Episode: "Facing Demons"
2020–2021 Diary of a Future President Gabi Cañero-Reed 20 episodes
2020–2021 Saved by the Bell Ms. Jimenez 3 episodes
2022 Our Flag Means Death Nana Episode: "This Is Happening"
2022–present Lopez vs Lopez Rosie Main role

References

  1. ↑ "Your Horoscope, Thursday, May 26, 2022; Birthday Star". Montreal Gazette. May 26, 2022. p. C7. ProQuest 2674934039. Actor Selenis Levya was born on this day in 1972.
  2. ↑ Kaufman, Joanne (February 18, 2020). "Selenis Leyva's Clean Slate". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Selenis Leyva Explains Why 'Orange Is The New Black' Is A Huge Step For Latinas". Huffingtonpost.com. 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  4. ↑ "Lortel Archives-The Internet Off-Broadway Database". Lortel.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  5. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (6 May 2014). "Nick Sandow & Selenis Leyva Upped To Regulars On 'Orange Is The New Black'; Damon Wayans Jr. On 'New Girl'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  6. ↑ "TV Casting News For Selenis Leyva, Jocko Sims, Damon Wayans Jr, RZA|Shadow and Act". Blogs.indiewire.com. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  7. ↑ "Selenis Leyva". IMDb.
  8. ↑ "'OITNB' Star Selenis Leyva Says Gloria Will 'Come Undone' In Season 3". The Huffington Post. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Cassidy, Mark (June 21, 2016). "OITNB Star Selenis Leyva Joins Spider-Man: Homecoming".
  10. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (July 11, 2019). "'Diary Of A Future President': EP Gina Rodriguez To Recur As POTUS In Disney+ Series; Main Cast Set".
  11. ↑ "Exclusive: Selenis Leyva Talks About Her Memoir Written With Her Transgender Sister Marizol". People en Español. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  12. 1 2 Serico, Chris (May 11, 2015). "'Orange is the New Black' star attends prom for ill teens - TODAY.com". Today. NBC. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  13. ↑ Leyva, Selenis (June 3, 2015). "What Caitlyn Jenner's Vanity Fair Cover Sparked For Me As Sister of Trans Woman | Selenis Leyva". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ Nunez, Alanna (June 15, 2015). "Orange Is the New Black Star Selenis Leyva on Gloria, Motherhood, and Talking About Sex with Her Daughter". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  15. ↑ Erazo, Vanessa (June 3, 2015). "'Orange is the New Black' Actress Reveals Her Sister Is a Transgender Woman?". Remezcla. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
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