Gina Rodriguez facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gina Rodriguez
Rodriguez in 2014
Born	Gina Alexis Rodriguez (1984-07-30) July 30, 1984 (age 40) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education	New York University (BFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003–present
Spouse(s)	Joe LoCicero ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	1

Gina Alexis Rodriguez (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her main role as Jane Villanueva in the TV show Jane the Virgin (2014–2019). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award in 2015.

Gina was born and grew up in Chicago. She started acting in plays in 2003. Her first TV appearance was in an episode of Law & Order. She became well-known in 2012 after starring in the movie Filly Brown.

Since then, she has acted in many films like Deepwater Horizon (2016), Ferdinand (2017), and Annihilation (2018). She also voiced the main character in the Netflix cartoon series Carmen Sandiego (2019–21). Gina also starred in and helped produce the Disney+ show Diary of a Future President (2020–21). In 2023, she began starring in and producing the ABC comedy series, Not Dead Yet.

Early Life and Education

Gina Rodriguez was born on July 30, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the youngest daughter of parents from Puerto Rico. Her father, Gino Rodriguez, was a boxing referee. She has an older brother and two sisters. Gina grew up in the Belmont Cragin area of Chicago.

When she was seven, Gina performed with a salsa dance group called Fantasia Juvenil. She was raised Catholic and attended St. Ignatius College Prep for high school. She focused on salsa dancing until she was 17, when she started acting more.

At 16, she was one of thirteen teenagers chosen for Columbia University's Theatrical Collaboration program. She later went to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She studied acting for four years at the Atlantic Theater Company and Experimental Theatre Wing. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2005.

She also played the famous artist Frida Kahlo in a play called The Last Moments in the Life of Frida Kahlo in the UK.

Acting Career Highlights

Rodriguez at the 2014 ALMA Awards

Gina Rodriguez first appeared on screen in an episode of Law & Order in 2004. She also had roles in shows like Eleventh Hour, Army Wives, and The Mentalist. In 2011, she got a recurring role as Beverly in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. She was also nominated for an Imagen Awards for her role in the musical film Go for It!.

In 2012, Gina played a young hip-hop artist named Majo Tenorio in the movie Filly Brown. She received great reviews for her acting and won an Imagen Award for this role. She also won the Best Actor Award at the First Run Film Festival in New York.

In 2014, Entertainment Weekly announced that Gina would play the main character, Jane Villanueva, in Jane the Virgin. This role brought her widespread fame and a Golden Globe Award. In 2015, she co-hosted the 2015 Teen Choice Awards with Ludacris and Josh Peck.

She lent her voice to several animated films. She was Mary in The Star (2017) and Una in Ferdinand (2017). She also played Anya in the science fiction movie Annihilation, alongside Natalie Portman. From 2019 to 2021, she voiced Carmen Sandiego in the Netflix animated series Carmen Sandiego. Netflix later announced that Gina would also star as Carmen Sandiego in a live-action movie.

Gina owns a production company called I Can & I Will Productions. She has worked on projects that focus on the Latino community. She was a producer and starred in the 2019 Netflix romantic comedy Someone Great. In this film, her character sang and danced to Lizzo's song "Truth Hurts", which helped make the song even more popular.

In 2019, Gina starred as the main character in the action movie Miss Bala. She also voiced Velma Dinkley in the animated adventure film Scoob!. In 2021, she starred in and was an executive producer for the Netflix science fiction thriller Awake.

Gina was also an executive producer for the Disney+ show Diary of a Future President, where she played the adult version of the main character. In 2024, she was announced as a co-host for the upcoming ABC game show Lucky 13.

Personal Life

Gina Rodriguez has shared that she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease when she was 19. This is a condition that affects the thyroid gland.

In a 2014 interview, she mentioned that she grew up Catholic and has Jewish family members. She also attends a Christian church.

In 2016, Gina started dating actor and mixed martial arts fighter Joe LoCicero. They met on the set of Jane the Virgin. They got engaged in August 2018 and were married on May 4, 2019. Their son was born in March 2023.

Helping Others

Gina Rodriguez at the Miami premiere of Filly Brown

As Gina became more famous, she got involved with many charities and good causes. She has a special connection to the organizations she supports.

In 2015, she joined the Board of Directors for the HSF (Hispanic Scholarship Fund). This is the largest non-profit organization in the United States that helps Hispanic American students go to college. Gina herself received an HSF scholarship, so she wanted to help other students achieve their dreams of higher education.

Also in 2015, Gina worked with PACER's (The Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights) National Bullying Prevention Center and CustomInk. They created a "Be Good to Each Other Campaign" to raise money for bullying prevention. Gina designed a T-shirt with the message "Kindness Is Always In Style". She hopes this message will encourage younger generations to be kind and respectful to others.

In October 2015, Gina also became a partner with Naja, a lingerie company. Naja aims to help women and protect the environment. The company supports single mothers by allowing them to work from home and provides for their children's school needs. Naja also uses recycled plastic bottles to make some of its products and uses environmentally friendly printing methods. Gina wanted to support a company that helps single mothers and cares for the planet.

In 2016, Gina was named to Oprah's SuperSoul 100 list, which recognizes influential leaders. In 2017, Gina and other artists sang on the song "Almost Like Praying". All the money from this song went to help people affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Filmography

Film

Television

Directing

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Gina Rodriguez para niños

• Puerto Ricans in Chicago