Gina Rodriguez is a known American actress who made herself a career in rapping too, as well s directing. She is a very versatile woman with interests in many fields.
She is known as a huge philanthropist and a receiver of the Golden Globe Award. This was one of the most emotional moments of her career.
She is highly loved by the Hispanic American Community for her philanthropic work and the time she spares for it.
Early years
She was born as Virginia Ernestine Rodriguez on July 30, 1984, in the city of Chicago to her loving mother named Magali Martinez and her father Gino.
Her father Gino is a boxing referee so Gina was often at boxing matches and has learned to box herself.
She said that her parents inspire her and that she wanted to become famous and wealthier in order to provide them with a life that they deserve to live.
Her parents come from Puerto Rico so she fluently speaks Spanish.
She was raised in the same city and was always interested in theater and acting. She said that she had a very hard time understanding what she really wanted to do in life because she was talented in many areas.
She grew up in a happy family, playing with her two elder sisters. Their names are Ivelisse and Rebecca and they are both very successful in their line of work.
Since her parents were Catholic she was also raised as Catholic and was implemented with high moral values and empathy.
Gina liked to dance and she was a great salsa dancer. She was involved in it until she was 17 years old.
She continued her high school education at St. Ignatius College, due to family religion.
Gina was 16 years old when she got herself admitted into Columbia University Theatrical Collaboration, and later into the Tisch School of the Arts which was located at the New York University.
The Tisch School was paid by her older sister Ivelisse who supported her in every way she could after discovering her sister’s passion.
It was in 2005 that she received her degree as a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She was very proud of herself for doing that and she says that she worked very hard and will now be able to reach her full potential.
Career development
Her first bigger theater role as Frida Kahlo in “The Last Moments in the Life”.
Her career in the world of show business began in 2004 when she got involved in theater production.
She later gained a role in one episode of one of the most popular police drama series in the US called “Law & Order”.
She appeared in an episode titled “Enemy” where she played the role of Yolanda.
After appearing in “Law & Order” she made appearances on other TV series like “Army Wives” and “The Mentalist”. She also appeared in an episode of “Rizzoli & Isles”.
In 2011 she gained a permanent job in “The Bold and Beautiful” soap opera with the role of Beverly. “The Bold and Beautiful” is one of the longest-running series in the US, which started airing in 1987. and is still running on CBS. Over 8000 episodes were filmed until today.
She was also hired for a role in a musical titled “Go for It!”. It was in 2011 and she received a nomination for the Imagen Awards for her performance in it.
The role which was eventually her breakthrough role came ten years later after her entrance in acting. It was in 2012, with her role in “Filly Brown”.
This musical drama directed by Michael D.Olmos and Youssef Delara was made as an independent project and became a huge hit, getting a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize. Gina herself received the Imagen Award for her work.
The movie was released on the Sundance Movie Festival and Gina was praised for her role as Majo Tenorio.
She was awarded the Inaugural Lupe Award in 2013. National Association of Latino Independent Producers, commonly known as Nalip, rewarded her with it as a recognition of her work. The award is named after Lupe Ontiveros, a Latino actress which was not only famous but also made a huge contribution to the Latino community.
In 2014 she gained the role of Jane Villanueva in Jane the Virgin drama series. It aired in 5 seasons and has brought her a Golden Globe Award.
She also appeared in a drama movie called “Sticky Notes” where she starred alongside Ray Liotta and Rose Leslie. Rose Leslie later gained popularity as Ygritte in Game of Thrones, which made this drama movie much more famous later on.
In 2015, she was invited to co-host Teen Choice Awards. She hosted it together with Ludacris and Josh Peck and she enjoyed it very much.
Her next important role was in “Deepwater Horizon” which came out in 2016. this biographical disaster movie was directed by Peter Berg and its main story was based on the blowout of oil in the Mexican Gulf which lasted over two months.
She starred in it alongside Hollywood stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell and John Malkovich, which was a huge privilege for her. She is a huge fan of John Malkovich and considers him to be a very unique actor.
The movie eventually won two Academy Awards: an Oscar for Best Sounds and Best Visual Effects. She was very proud of this and said that she will be interested in working her way through this further.
In 2017 she gave her role to a character in an animated comedy movie titled “Ferdinand”. She gave her voice to a hedgehog named Una.
In 2018 she appeared in a sci-fi movie called “Annihilation”, based on the story written by Jeff VanderMeer. Gina appeared in it together with Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Although the movie was not a blockbuster and had earned approximately the same amount the budget was, it was praised for its plot, acting, and direction.
Other than acting, Gina is involved in other business projects. She has her own production company named “I Can & I Will Productions”. Her company is often involved in projects regarding the Latino community.
Personal life
As for her personal life, she is very candid and open about a lot of things. She suffers from Hashimoto’s disease from her teenage age and that is why she is always involved in campaigns connected to this disease. She knows how it can affect the quality of life.
She did not have many boyfriends because she was not into flings. She was raised to be sincere so she carefully entered relationships. She said that she didn’t want to be hurt.
She dated Henri Esteve from 2014 until 2015. He is a handsome Cuban American actor who got famous for his role in “Revenge”.
She dated Ben Schwartz a little over a year and were first spotted together on a boxing match. Ben is a successful comedian and a very good dating company but their relationship never grew to anything serious.
In 2016, Gina started a relationship with Joe LoCicero, a popular actor and model. Joe is also an MMA fighter which is something they have in common since she likes boxing and visits matches often.
She likes to box herself and boxing is a part of her fitness program.
Gina and her husband met while filming “Jane the Virgin” in which he had the role of a stripper. It always makes her laugh because she saw him naked much earlier than he became her boyfriend.
They got engaged two years later and married in 2019. It seems that they have a very stable relationship and support each other any way they can.
Gina is very known for her efforts in helping her community and people in need in any way she can.
She is on the Board of Directors of Hispanic Scholarship Fund Organization which is helping to educate young Hispanic American students.
She was one of the celebrities which rose funds for the “Be Good to Each Other” annual campaign.
She partnered “Naja” in 2015 because she wanted to help women, especially single mothers who work from home. Gina wanted to show that people care and that they do awesome work.
Oprah Winfrey included her on her SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influencers in 2016, which was a huge honor for her.
In 2017 she joined many artists to sing on the single “Almost Like Praying” which was made to draw attention and help people in Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria.
She tries to lead a healthy life so she trains a lot and eats healthy food. In 2015 she ran a half-marathon on an event which was held in Los Angeles.
She loves animals very much and has a dog whom she named Casper. She would like to have more but she realizes that she can not take good care of a lot of pets since she is not at home much and she travels a lot. It means that she should have other people to take care of them and she sees no point in that.
Gina has been involved in several controversies and, interestingly enough, they are all connected to the Black community.
In 2017, after the release of a Superhero, with a completely black cast, she spoke how bad it is for Marvel to discriminate the Latin community, due to the lack of Latino actors in most of their projects. But she was backlashed by the African-American community because they recognized her comment as an attack on the Black community.
Later on, in one of her interviews, she made together with a young actress Yara Shahidi she interrupted the journalist to change his phrase from “Black women” to “Women”.
At “Women in Television” she spoke about the pay equity of actors in Hollywood, diminishing the Black community over the Latino community.
After being seriously backlashed over social media she issued an apology which was taken with a lot of skepticism, with most people thinking that her apology was staged.
The problems with the Black community became so severe that she cried on air trying to explain that she did not mean it the way it was said and that she grew up as a part of that community and would never do or say anything against it.
She claims that people mistook her care about the Latino community to be hate against African Americans. She even shared information that her father is part black.
In 2019, she admitted that she has halted the shooting of her “Jane the Virgin” series to get her mental health in order because the big pressure and a busy schedule developed panic attacks and anxiety.
Quick summary
Full name: Virginia Ernestine Rodriguez
Date of birth: July 30, 1984
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Age: 36
Profession: actress, singer, philanthropist
Height: 161 cm
Weight: 58 kg
Net Worth: $5 million