| Dania Ramirez | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Gender: | Female |
|---|---|
| Birthday: | November 8, 1979 |
| Age: | 41 |
| Birthplace: | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Social Networks: | Twitter |
| Other Information | |
| Height: | 5'4½" |
| Occupation(s): | Actress |
| Education: | Actor's Workshop in New York City Montclair (New Jersey) State University |
| Talents: | Acting |
| Family & Friends | |
| Family: | John Aether Ramirez Land (son) Gaia Jissel Ramirez Land (daughter) Kai Miles Land (stepson) |
| Relationships: | Bev Land (husband) |
| Series Information | |
| Character: | Jacinda / Cinderella |
| First appearance: | Hyperion Heights |
| Last appearance: | Leaving Storybrooke |
Dania Jissel Ramirez is a Dominican-American television and film actress. Her credits include the roles of Maya Herrera in Heroes, Alex in Entourage, and Blanca during the last season of The Sopranos on television. Her film roles include Alex Guerrero in She Hate Me and Callisto in the feature film X-Men: The Last Stand. She portrayed Rosie Falta on Lifetime's Devious Maids from June 2013 till its cancellation in 2016. In July 2017, Ramirez joined the hit ABC series Once Upon a Time for its softly-rebooted seventh season in a starring role.
Contents
View the Dania Ramirez Gallery.
Early life
Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. At an early age, she decided to become an actress. As a young child, she would reenact telenovelas for her family. She was discovered by a modeling scout while working in a convenience store at the age of 15, and was cast in a small part in a soda commercial. Later, she decided to pursue acting seriously and studied at the Actor's Workshop in New York City under Flo Greenberg.
She graduated from Montclair State University in 2001, where her volleyball talents led her to be placed among the top five in career digs, digs/game, solo blocks and total blocks. She then moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career.
Career
Music videos
Ramirez has appeared in several music videos, including Jay-Z's Streets is Watching (1998), De La Soul's All Good? feat. Chaka Khan (2000), LL Cool J's "Hush" (2005; directed by her then fiancè, Jessy Terrero), Santana's "Into the Night" (2007), as well as "Cry Baby Cry" (a Santana and Sean Paul collaboration). Ramirez has also appeared in Wisin & Yandel's music video "Dime Que Te Paso", in which she played the main character, the wife and mother of a military man at war in Iraq who finds out her husband died at war. She was also featured in hip-hop group Sporty Thievz video "Cheapskate" back in 1998.
Films
Ramirez appeared as an extra in the HBO film Subway Stories (1997), where she met filmmaker Spike Lee who later cast her in his film, She Hate Me (2004). She played older sister "Laurie" in the movie Fat Albert (2004). She was Callisto, one of The Omegas, in the comic book film X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). She went on to star in The 5th Commandment in 2008, a film written by and starring Rick Yune. In 2012, Ramirez appeared in two films, playing Selena in American Reunion, and a bicycle messenger in Premium Rush.
Television
Ramirez appeared as the minor character Caridad in the final episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and as Blanca Selgado, a recurring role during the sixth season of The Sopranos.
Ramirez portrayed the character of Maya on the TV series Heroes. She was a guest judge on episode 5 of Cycle 14 of America's Next Top Model. She also guest starred as Alex, an employee of Turtle's and begins a relationship with Turtle in season 7 on the TV series Entourage.
From 2013 to 2016, she had been part of the main cast of Devious Maids, which aired on the Lifetime network up until its cancellation following the finale of the fourth season.
In July 2017 Ramirez was cast as a series regular in the softly-rebooted seventh and final season of Once Upon A Time. This was following the exit of six key cast members at the conclusion of its sixth season which included series leads Ginnifer Goodwin and Jennifer Morrison, as well as Josh Dallas, Emilie De Ravin, Rebecca Mader, and Jared Gilmore.
Other media
Ramirez has appeared in several magazine spreads. She has also been listed in several of the world's top publications' "Sexiest Ladies of the Year" lists. She has recently been added to the roster of models for CoverGirl Cosmetics. In March 2010, Ramirez and Queen Latifah launched the company's "Clean Makeup for Clean Water Campaign".
Personal life
Dania dated Soul Plane director, Jessy Terrero until 2008. She became engaged in September 2011 to director John Beverly "Bev" Land. The couple married on the beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on February 16, 2013. Land has a son, Kai (born 2001), with ex-wife Sharon Leal. On July 15, 2013, Ramirez announced that she was pregnant with twins. That December, she gave birth to fraternal twins, a son John and a daughter Gaia.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Type | Role |
| 1998 | Streets Is Watching | Video | Jay-Z's Girl |
| 2002 | 25th Hour | Daphne (as Dania) | |
| 2003 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | TV Series | Caridad |
| 2003 | Run of the House | TV Series | Lucy |
| 2004 | Little Black Boot | Short | Laurie Rodriguez |
| 2004 | 10-8: Officers on Duty | TV Series | Inez |
| 2004 | The Ecology of Love | Short | Alila |
| 2004 | Cross Bronx | Mia | |
| 2004 | She Hate Me | Alex Guerrero | |
| 2004 | Fat Albert | Lauri | |
| 2005 | Romy and Michele: In the Beginning | Elena | |
| 2006 | Santana Feat. Sean Paul, Joss Stone: Cry Baby Cry | ||
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Callisto | |
| 2006 - 2007 | The Sopranos | TV Series | Blanca Selgado |
| 2007 | Illegal Tender | Ana | |
| 2007 | Fort Pit | TV Movie | Angela Hardwick |
| 2007 - 2008 | Heroes | TV Series | Maya Herrera |
| 2008 | Ball Don't Lie | Carmen | |
| 2008 | The Fifth Commandment | Angel | |
| 2008 | Quarantine | Sadie | |
| 2009 | Solving Charlie | TV Movie | Veronica King |
| 2010 | Next Big Thing | Video | The Girl |
| 2010 | Entourage | TV Series | Alex |
| 2012 | American Reunion | Selena | |
| 2012 | Premium Rush | Vanessa | |
| 2013 | N.Y.C. Underground | Video | Jessica |
| 2013 - 2016 | Devious Maids | TV Series | Rosie Falta |
| 2015 | Mojave | Detective Beaumont | |
| 2015 | First Response | TV Movie | Camilla |
| 2017 | Lycan | Isabella Cruz | |
| 2017 - 2018 | Once Upon a Time | TV Series | Jacinda Vidrio / Cinderella |
| 2018 | Off the Menu | Javiera Torres | |
| 2018 | Justice League Action | TV Series | Red Velvet |
| 2018 | Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay | Video | Scandal Savage (voice) |
| 2018 - 2019 | Tell Me a Story | TV Series | Hannah Perez |
| 2019 | Jumanji: The Next Level | Lady in Red |
Accolades
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ALMA Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Television Series | Heroes | Nominated |
| 2014 | Imagen Awards | Best Actress –Television | Devious Maids | Nominated |
| 2015 | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | NAMIC Vision Awards | Best Performance–Comedy | Devious Maids | Win |
Trivia
- Was in the first ABC Actors Showcase in New York City. (2002).
- (February 16, 2013) Married her longtime boyfriend Bev Land following a 17-month-long engagement.
- At age fifteen, she was discovered by a modeling scout while working at a local convenience store.
- She played Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand.
- She was raised by her grandmother until she was ten years old. In 2013, she married John Beverly Land becoming a step-mother to his son. In December of 2013, the couple welcomed twins.
- She acted alongside Hayden Panettiere in Heroes.
