Bianca Alexa Santos (born July 26, 1990) is an American actress known for her roles as Lexi Rivera in the Freeform drama series '' The Fosters'' and as Lucy Velez in the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

comedy series '' Happyland''. She also starred in the films ''

Ouija The ouija ( , ), also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the Latin alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along with various symbols and grap ...

'' (2014), ''

The DUFF ''The DUFF'' (teen slang for "Designated Ugly Fat Friend") is a 2015 American high school teen comedy film directed by Ari Sandel. The screenplay by Josh Cagan was based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Kody Keplinger. The film stars Mae ...

'' (2015), and '' Priceless'' (2016).

Early life and education

Santos was born on July 26, 1990, in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. Her father, Carlos Santos, is a Brazilian from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and her mother, Carmen Carnot, is a Cuban from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. Santos is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. She attended

California Lutheran University California Lutheran University (CLU, Cal Lutheran, or Cal Lu) is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 ...

, majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology.

Career

In May 2013, it was announced that Santos would join the cast of the Freeform drama series '' The Fosters'', portraying the recurring role of Lexi Rivera. Santos subsequently co-starred as Isabelle in the 2014 horror film ''

'' (2014). Santos was also cast in the lead role of Lucy Velez in

's comedy series '' Happyland''. In 2015, she portrayed the best friend of

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

's character in the teen comedy film ''

''. She has also appeared in films '' Priceless'' (2016), '' SPF-18'' (2017) and ''Avenge the Crows'' (2017).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1990 births Living people Actresses from Santa Monica, California American people of Brazilian descent American people of Cuban descent American television actresses American film actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses California Lutheran University alumni Actresses of Brazilian descent 21st-century American actresses Brazilian actors Brazilian actresses Brazilian American {{US-actor-stub