America Ferrera facts for kids

Quick facts for kids America Ferrera
Ferrera in 2024
Born	America Georgina Ferrera (1984-04-18) April 18, 1984 (age 41) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California (B.A.)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2002–present
Spouse(s)	Ryan Piers Williams ​ (m. 2011)​
Children	2
Awards	Full list

America Georgina Ferrera (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress, director, and television producer. She has won many important awards for her acting. These include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.

In 2007 and 2024, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2023, the BBC included her in their 100 Women list.

America Ferrera became interested in acting when she was young. She performed in many school plays. Her first movie was the comedy-drama Real Women Have Curves in 2002. People praised her acting in this film. She also had roles in movies like Gotta Kick It Up! (2002) and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005).

She became very famous for playing Betty Suarez in the TV show Ugly Betty (2006–2010). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She was the first Latina woman to win the Emmy in that category.

Ferrera has also been in films like End of Watch (2012) and Barbie (2023). Her role in Barbie earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. She also voiced Astrid Hofferson in the How to Train Your Dragon movies (2010–2019). From 2015 to 2021, she starred in and helped produce the TV show Superstore.

Early Life and Education

America Ferrera was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the youngest of six children. Her parents, América Griselda Ayes and Carlos Gregorio Ferrera, came from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They moved to the United States in the mid-1970s. Ferrera has said that her family has Lenca ancestry. Her mother worked hard and always told her children that getting a good education was very important.

When America was seven, her parents divorced. Her father moved back to Honduras. She did not see much of her father before he passed away in 2010.

Ferrera grew up in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She went to Calabash Street Elementary School, George Ellery Hale Middle School, and El Camino Real High School. When she was seven, she had a small part in a school play of Hamlet. At age 10, she played the Artful Dodger in Oliver!.

While in high school, she took acting classes. She later went to the University of Southern California (USC) on a special scholarship. She studied both theater and international relations. She took a break from college to focus on her acting career. But she finished her bachelor's degree in May 2013.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting Out in Film and TV (2002–2005)

In July 2002, America Ferrera was in her first TV movie, Gotta Kick It Up! for The Disney Channel. That same year, she made her first big movie, Real Women Have Curves. She also appeared in TV shows like Touched by an Angel.

Ferrera was in the movie Plainsong. She played Victoria Roubideaux, a pregnant teenager who finds help from two kind brothers. In the 2005 film How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, she played Bianca. She also appeared in the short film 3:52 and the movie Steel City in 2006.

Becoming a Star with Ugly Betty (2006–2010)

Ferrera at the 2010 Voice Awards

In 2006, Ferrera got the main role of Betty Suarez in the ABC show Ugly Betty. This show was based on a popular Colombian TV series. In Ugly Betty, Ferrera played a character who was not seen as traditionally beautiful. She wore braces, bushy eyebrows, and special clothes to make her look different from the other glamorous characters. Ferrera even made up the word "Bettification" to describe how they changed her look for the show.

In 2007, Ferrera won many awards for her role in Ugly Betty. She won a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She was the first Latina woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

After her Golden Globe win, a member of the U.S. Congress praised Ferrera. She was recognized for "helping to break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas." Time magazine also put Ferrera on their list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007.

Ferrera also played Carmen in the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She played Carmen again in the 2008 sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. She also voiced Astrid in the animated movie How to Train Your Dragon (2010).

New Projects and Superstore (2011–2022)

In 2011, Ferrera performed on stage in London. She played Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. In 2012, Ferrera was part of a documentary called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. This series showed stories of women and girls facing tough challenges around the world.

Ferrera in 2014

In 2015, Ferrera joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Superstore. She played Amy, a manager at a big store called Cloud 9. Ferrera also helped produce the show. She left the show at the end of its fifth season to work on new projects and spend time with her family. However, she returned for the show's final episode in 2021.

In 2019, Ferrera became an executive producer and director for the Netflix show Gentefied. The series started in 2020.

Recent Work and Barbie (2023–Present)

In 2021, it was announced that Ferrera would direct her first full-length movie. It is called I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. It is based on a popular young adult novel.

In 2023, Ferrera played Gloria in the movie Barbie. Her performance earned her nominations for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice Movie Awards.

In 2024, it was announced that Ferrera would star in and produce a new series for Amazon Prime Video. She will also voice a new character, Ranger Morales, in the third season of Marvel Studios' What If...?.

Activism and Community Work

Ferrera with Hillary Clinton in 2008

America Ferrera is very active in politics and community work. During the 2008 presidential elections, she supported Hillary Clinton.

Ferrera attended the 2012 Democratic National Convention and the 2016 Democratic National Convention. At the 2016 event, she spoke to the delegates.

Ferrera works with the organization Voto Latino. She appears on news programs to encourage Latinos in the United States to vote. She also works with Eva Longoria on "She Se Puede," a platform that helps Latina women vote.

Ferrera was the first speaker at the Women's March on Washington in January 2017. She also spoke at the Families Belong Together protest in June 2018. In January 2018, Ferrera helped start the Time's Up legal defense fund. This fund helps people who have faced unfair treatment.

In May 2024, Ferrera became a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Personal Life and Other Ventures

Ferrera with Ryan Piers Williams in October 2010

America Ferrera met actor, director, and writer Ryan Piers Williams in 2005. He cast her in a student film at USC. They got engaged in June 2010 and married on June 27, 2011.

On January 1, 2018, Ferrera and Williams announced they were expecting their first child. Their son, Sebastian, was born in May 2018. On May 4, 2020, Ferrera gave birth to their daughter, Lucia. On June 27, 2020, Ferrera celebrated her fifteenth anniversary with Ryan Piers Williams.

In 2015, Ferrera was a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World.

In 2018, she published a book called American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures. It is a collection of stories she edited. In April 2019, Ferrera gave a TEDTalk titled "My Identity is a Superpower." In July 2020, Ferrera became an investor in a women-led group that started a soccer team in Los Angeles. This team, called Angel City FC, began playing in 2022.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

America Ferrera in 2021

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Real Women Have Curves	Ana García
2004	Darkness Minus Twelve	Luiza	Short film
2005	How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer	Blanca Garcia
	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants	Carmen Lowell
	Lords of Dogtown	Thunder Monkey
	3:52	Kate
2006	Steel City	Amy Barnes
2007	Muertas	Rebecca	Short film; also executive producer
	Towards Darkness (Hacia la oscuridad)	Luiza	Also executive producer
	Under the Same Moon	Martha
2008	The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2	Carmen Lowell
	Tinker Bell	Fawn	Direct-to-video; voice role
2010	The Dry Land	Sarah	Also executive producer
	Our Family Wedding	Lucia Ramirez
	How to Train Your Dragon	Astrid Hofferson	Voice role
	Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon		Short film; voice role
2011	Book of Dragons
	Gift of the Night Fury
2012	It's a Disaster	Hedy Galili
	End of Watch	Officer Orozco
	Half the Sky	Herself	Documentary film
2014	Cesar Chavez	Helen Chávez
	X/Y	Silvia	Also producer
	How to Train Your Dragon 2	Astrid Hofferson	Voice role
	Dawn of the Dragon Racers		Short film; voice role
2016	Special Correspondents	Brigida
2019	How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World	Astrid Hofferson	Voice role
	How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming		Short film; voice role
2023	Barbie	Gloria
	Dumb Money	Jennifer Campbell
TBA	The Lost Bus	Mary Ludwig	Post-production

Television

Web

Awards and Nominations

See Also

In Spanish: America Ferrera para niños

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations
• List of Hispanic Academy Award winners and nominees