Olga Merediz
Olga Merediz is an American Broadway, TV, and film actress. Merediz originated the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights, for which she received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. She played the role for the show's entire Broadway run. Her television credits include NBC's 2016 series "Shades of Blue" and Netflix's Orange Is the New Black.
Career
Film and television
Merediz’s motion picture credits include Top Five, The Place beyond the Pines, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Remember Me, K-Pax, Apartment 5-C, Trouble in the Heights, Like Sunday, Like Rain, Fugly!, Requiem for a Dream, Angie, Evita, and Changing Lanes. She worked with Meryl Streep in both Marvin's Room and Music of the Heart, and with Sidney Lumet in Q&A. Robert Redford directed her in The Milagro Beanfield War.
Her television credits include NBC's 2016 series "Shades of Blue" and Netflix's big hit Orange Is the New Black. In 2014, Merediz joined the cast of the George Lopez-starring FX series, Saint George, playing Alma, Lopez's mother. Her other television credits are Royal Pains, Blue Bloods, Pan Am, Law & Order SVU, The Sopranos, The Job, The George Lopez Show, Third Watch, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. She had recurring roles in both The Jury and Hope & Faith. Merediz also appeared on the pilot episode of the FOX TV series Past Life, as well as an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay as a judge.