In 1983, founder Helen Hernandez met with prolific television writer and producer Norman Lear. "Lear was acutely aware of the near absence of positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry and understood the importance of positive images. The two met with leaders of the National Conference for Community and Justice, a respected non-sectarian human relations organization committed to fighting prejudice and racial tensions".

The result was the Imagen Foundation Awards competition (or Imagen Awards), established in 1985, "now an annual Hollywood tradition recognizing and encouraging the television, film and advertising industries to portray Latino actors and production storylines in a positive and accurate manner. The Imagen tradition is one that recognizes those important producers, directors and writers who contribute from behind the scenes, as well as the Latin actors portraying these positive roles ... the Imagen awards have become one of the most prestigious awards in the entertainment industry." Past honorees include such entertainment industry professionals as Andy García, Antonio Banderas, Phil Roman, Edward James Olmos, Bill Meléndez, Rita Moreno, Jennifer Lopez and Héctor Elizondo.

References

External links

Category:1985 establishments Category:American film awards Category:American television awards

Constance Marie Lopez (born September 9, 1965) is an American actress. Known professionally as Constance Marie, she is known for her role as Angie Lopez on ''George Lopez'' (2002–2007) and for her role as Marcella Quintanilla (mother of Selena) in the 1997 film ''Selena''. She currently portrays Regina Vasquez on the ABC family drama Switched at Birth.

Early life

Career

Constance Marie was chosen for the role of Angie Lopez on the TV comedy series George Lopez. She played the ever faithful wife of the titular character, who had to deal with her exigent marriage, her husband's happy go lucky approach to parenthood, her mother-in-law's wisecracks and other complications. Marie then took on the part of Yolanda in the 2001 film Tortilla Soup. She also gained fame for her performance in the critically acclaimed series American Family.

In the summer of 2011, Marie has a starring role on ABC Family's new drama Switched at Birth (TV series), playing the birth mother one of the girls and de facto mother of the other.

Personal life

In October 2007, she launched her own clothing line called The Constance Marie Collection. The line is stated to be "affordable for women with real budgets and flattering to women with real bodies".

Filmography

Movies

Television

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links

Category:1965 births Category:American dancers Category:American film actors Category:American soap opera actors Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American vegetarians Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Actors from California

Francia Raisa Almendárez (born July 26, 1988) is an American actress. She is sometimes credited as Francia Almendárez. Raisa is most notable for her roles in ''Bring It On: All or Nothing'', where she plays a tough Latina cheerleader named Leti, ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' as Adrian Lee, or ''The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream'' as Alejandra "Alex" Delgado and reprising her role in ''The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice''.

Early life

At the early age of five, Raisa began taking dance lessons excelling in tap, jazz, acrobatics, hip hop, and Polynesian dance. She also explored karate and ice skating.

Career

Raisa appeared in Lil' Romeo's music video "My Girlfriend" in 2004.

In 2009, Raisa guest-starred on the USA network's TV series "In Plain Sight" and she reprised her role as the lead for the sequel to MGM's The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice in spring 2010.

She has also co-starred in a short film directed by David Henrie called ''Boo'', which aired recently on YouTube.

Francia recently appeared in a music video for pop duo Savvy & Mandy, and also appeared in Iyaz's music video "So Big".

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American actors Category:American people of Honduran descent Category:Living people Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:Hispanic and Latino American women

Early life

Career

In 2008, Thorne starred alongside Christian Slater and Taylor Lautner in the short-lived drama series ''My Own Worst Enemy'', for which she won a Young Artist's Award for her portrayal of the character Ruthy Spivey; Thorne described her ''Enemy'' casting as a major breakthrough as this was the first recurring role in her career. She then appeared in the ten-episode web series ''Little Monk'', which depicted characters from the series ''Monk'' as children. In 2009, she filled the role of the vengeful antagonist in the horror film ''Forget Me Not''.

In 2010, Thorne joined the cast of HBO's ''Big Love'' in its fourth season, replacing Jolean Wejbe in the role of Bill Henrickson's daughter Tancy 'Teeny' Henrickson (though she had actually auditioned for a different role). She also guest starred on ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', as Max's girlfriend Nancy Lukey. In addition, Thorne took on a supporting role in the family drama ''Raspberry Magic''.

Thorne enjoyed an extensive career as a child model. Since appearing in her first pictorial for a parenting magazine at the age of 6 weeks, Thorne has starred in television ad campaigns for Digital Light Processing, Publix, and KFC, and appearing in print ads for brands including Barbie, ALDO K!DS, JLO by Jennifer Lopez, Kaiya Eve Couture, LaSenza Girl, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Guess?, Target, Justice and Mudd for Kohls. She also modelled for Sears back to school. In an interview with Seventeen magazine, Thorne described her appointment as the spokesperson for Texas Instruments as her big break, but candidly admitted that she has lost much more projects than she has booked and credited the support of her family for helping her get over disappointments.

Thorne currently co-stars on the Disney Channel sitcom ''Shake It Up!'', (originally titled ''Dance, Dance Chicago''). Thorne plays Cecelia "CeCe" Jones, a dancer with heavy ambitions for a career in the spotlight. The show is a buddy comedy centered around a teen dance show (in a show-within-a-show format) co-starring Thorne and 14-year-old Zendaya. The multi-camera series began production in Hollywood, California, in July 2010 and premiered on November 7, 2010 on Disney Channel. While she had a substantial portfolio of work in television and film, Thorne had no experience in professional dancing before being cast. After signing onto the show in October 2009, she began taking three dance classes every night.

}}

External links

Category:1997 births Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Florida Category:American child actors Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American video game actors Category:Living people Category:American child models Category:American people of Cuban descent Category:Hispanic and Latino American actors

Early life

Career

Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Family Matters'', ''Live Shot'', ''Baywatch'', ''Smart Guy'', ''The Jersey'', ''House Blend'', ''Even Stevens'' and ''The Master of Disguise''. In 2002 she also appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You". She was hired for a single-episode guest appearance on ''The Bernie Mac Show'' in 2002, but was brought back to work on a further five episodes. She was later featured in single episodes of ''8 Simple Rules'' and ''CSI: Miami''. In between auditions and roles, Rivera worked odd jobs as a telemarketer, a nanny and an greeter at an Abercrombie & Fitch store.

In 2006 and 2007 Rivera took part in a production of Mark E. Swinton's award-winning play "U Don't Know Me: The Musical", both in Los Angeles and when the production was taken on national tour.

In 2009, Rivera was cast as Cheerios cheerleading squad member Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series ''Glee'', about a high school glee club. Rivera's character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader Brittany (played by Heather Morris). Rivera auditioned for the opportunity "to sing, dance and act all in the same show," and because she was a fan of co-creator Ryan Murphy's previous work on ''Nip/Tuck''.

Rivera drew on her own high school experience of unpopularity to prepare for the role, as well as watching films such as ''Mean Girls'' to "really get in the zone and feel like a bitchy Sophomore". She has described Santana as "your typical high school cheerleader, for the most part," explaining: "She's really mean and loves boys. She's really witty so I love playing her." She has characterized Santana as "a bit of a bad girl" who is "really snarky and always has these really witty one-liners she throws out there." Rivera enjoys the fact Santana is competitive and headstrong as she herself shares those traits, but dislikes Santana's mean streak. She finds the show's pacing challenging, especially the dancing, and commented in June 2009 that her most memorable moment on ''Glee'' was performing the Cheerios' glee club audition piece, "I Say a Little Prayer". Santana played a more prominent part in the last nine episodes of ''Glee'' first season. Rivera commented: "Santana's been wreaking havoc with people's boyfriends and people's babies and teachers—she's the high school terror, and she's going to continue to be the villain."

After having her screen time and musical involvement increased throughout Season 1, Rivera was promoted to official series regular status for season two due to positive fan response. She was given her first solo in the fifth episode of season two, The Rocky Horror Glee Show, and performed several others as the season progressed. During Season 2 Rivera's role in the show was radically changed when it was revealed that her character was a lesbian. Rivera portrayed Santana struggling to come to terms with her sexuality, with her love for her best friend, and with her inability to come out of the closet. She received favorable reviews for her performance.

In 2010, Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61. The following year, she was ranked number 43. On the 2011 AfterEllen Hot 100 list she was ranked #1.

In January 2011 Rivera appeared in a parody of Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang, called "Nuthin' But a Glee Thang", co-written by her friend Heather Morris.

In May of 2011, it was announced that Rivera had signed a deal with Columbia Records to produce a solo album. Also in May, Rivera hosted the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards.

During the 2011 Glee Tour, Rivera teamed up with Amber Riley for the duet "River Deep, Mountain High" and performed solo on "Valerie" as well as lending back-up vocals to several other songs.

In July of 2011, Rivera was nominated for two ALMA awards, in the categories of "Favorite Female Music Artist" and "Favorite TV Actress - Leading Role in a Comedy".

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Category:1987 births Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:American child actors Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Los Angeles, California