America Ferrera was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the top entertainers in “Time 100: The Most Influential People in the World” issue. A woman, who is a firm believer that a single person can make an impact if they really put effort and try.
Ferrera was awarded the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Inspira Award which was given to her as a result of her contributions as a role model through her work as an activist and actress.
She is an ambassador for Save the Children and has received the Global Action award for Childhood Development and Education in 2011 due to her efforts of raising more the $44,000 to build an elementary school in Mali. Ferrera has also traveled to India to take part in a PBS film called “Half the Sky”
The film paints an image of the trials and obstacles of women throughout the world that struggle for equality and opportunities.
She has spoken at high schools and encouraged youth to overcome any obstacles in the way of achieving their dreams and to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. America wanted to become an actress since she was a child but was told it was nearly impossible due to the fact that not many faces like hers have been seen on screen as they are today.
In 2013, Ferrera was the keynote speaker at The Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s annual Denver luncheon. Instead of speaking about her career she spoke about inspiring stories and then shared hers.
She was raised by her single mother from Honduras with 5 older siblings. Her mother made sure she received a proper education and once America went to college she noticed how little she knew about the world and she really wanted to make a difference in the world.
She began to think that her acting career was more self serving than helping others so she decided to quit acting but consulted her professor who left his corporate job to teach. Instead of supporting her like she thought was going to happen he persuaded her otherwise and proceeded to tell her a story where her acting in “Real Women Have Curves,” helped him connect with a Latina student he’d been mentoring.
The youngest of six children, America Georgina Ferrera was born on April 18, 1984, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents, Carlos Gregorio Ferrera and América Griselda Ayes, had emigrated from Honduras in the 1970s. After her parents divorced, Ferrera was brought up by her single mother.
Early Years:
Ferrera has used her celebrity status to speak up for causes she believes in, such as immigration reform. She has also served as an ambassador for Save the Children. For the 2012 PBS documentary Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Ferrera traveled to India to meet the children of prostitutes and bring attention to the devastation caused by sex trafficking.
Ferrera attended the University of Southern California, where she met Ryan Piers Williams in 2003. The couple got engaged in 2010 and married the next year.
“This story he shared with me was a gift as valuable as any I have received in my life,” Ferrera said. “It taught me many things, the most immediate being that I had the permission to live out my passion. … That in fact, my passion had the ability to change a life. And the most important discovery I made that day was this: That living in the truth of who I am gives me the power to connect with others.”
Update to this post:
In 2011 America Ferrera made her London stage debut, playing Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago in London’s West End.
In 2012, Ferrera was featured in the four-hour documentary Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, which premiered on PBS in 2012. The series introduces women and girls living in very difficult circumstances.
Ferrera starred alongside David Cross and Julia Stiles in the dark comedy It’s a Disaster, which premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival and had a limited commercial release in 2013.
On May 17, 2013, ABC announced that Ferrera was cast in a limited-run telenovela titled Pedro & Maria, a modern-day take on Romeo and Juliet set in Washington, D.C. The series had been in development at MTV since 2010 with Ferrera serving as a director on the project, which would have interactive participation online content from viewers.
ABC later decided not to move forward with the series. On March 16, 2015, Ferrera was added to the cast of the upcoming NBC sitcom Superstore, portraying Amy, a 10-year veteran floor supervisor at a superstore named Cloud 9.
In addition to her main role, Ferrera has co-production duties as well. After NBC had initially announced a 6th season of the series, the network revealed in February, 2020, that Ferrera would be departing the series at the end of the fifth season citing new projects and spending time with family.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down Superstore‘s fifth season with one episode left to film, her departure was delayed into season 6 in order to give her character’s arc a proper closure. In March, 2021, NBC announced that Ferrera would return for the show’s one-hour series finale.
In February 2019, it was announced that Ferrera would be credited as an executive producer and director for the Netflix comedy-drama series Gentefied. The series premiered on February 21, 2020.
In February 2021, it was announced that Ferrera would make her feature length directorial debut with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, based on the young adult novel of the same name by Erika L. Sánchez. Adapted by Linda Yvette Chávez, the film will be a co-production with Netflix, Anonymous Content, Aevitas Creative Management and MACRO.
Awards:
- 2019People’s Choice Awards-Favorite Animated Movie Voice: Nominated
- 2009Golden Globe-Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Nominated
- 2008Screen Actors Guild Awards-Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Nominated
- 2008Golden Globe-Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Nominated
- 2008Emmy-Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Nominated
- 2007Screen Actors Guild Awards-Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Nominated
- 2007Emmy-Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Winner
- 2007Golden Globe-Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy: Winner
- 2006Screen Actors Guild Awards-Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Nominated
- 2006Screen Actors Guild Awards-Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Winner
- 2003Independent Spirit Awards-Best Debut Performance: Nominated
- 2002Sundance Film Festival-Special Jury Prize for Acting (Dramatic): Winner
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