Saundra Santiago (born April 13, 1957) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Gina Calabrese in the NBC original crime drama series ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' (1984–1990). She also played Carmen Santos on the CBS soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' and the second

Carlotta Vega This is a list of characters from the ABC Daytime soap opera, ''One Life to Live'', that began their run between the beginning of 1990 and the end of 1999. Nigel Bartholomew-Smythe Nigel Bartholomew-Smythe is a fictional character on the Ame ...

on the ABC soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

''.

Early life

Santiago is the daughter of a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n father and a Puerto Rican mother. Raised in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

, New York City, she attended Our Lady of Victory Grammar School. When she was 13 years old, her family moved to

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami sub ...

. Santiago graduated from

South Dade Senior High School South Dade Senior High School is a secondary school in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, just north of Homestead. It is located on at the southernmost end of Miami-Dade County. It is the older of the two public high schools that serv ...

and attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

, majoring in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. As a University of Miami student, she became interested in acting. After graduation, she went on to post-graduate study in theater and arts at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, eventually earning a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

degree. Santiago joined the company of regional summer stock theater, Timber Lake Playhouse,

Mount Carroll, Illinois Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. It is the Carroll County seat. The population was 1479 at the 2020 census. Due to its elevation and northwesterly location, Mount Carroll is subject to unusually cold winter wea ...

, performing many roles including Maria in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' in the 1980 season.

Career

In 1984, Santiago made her big screen debut appearing in the dance drama film ''

Beat Street ''Beat Street'' is a 1984 American drama dance film featuring New York City hip hop culture of the early 1980s. Set in the South Bronx, the film follows the lives of a pair of brothers and their group of friends, all of whom are devoted to var ...

'', and later that year began starring in the NBC crime drama series ''

'' playing the role of Detective

Gina Calabrese ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two Metr ...

opposite

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...

. The series ran for five seasons to 1989. In 1990s, Santiago appeared in a number of made for television movies, including ''

The Cosby Mysteries ''The Cosby Mysteries'' is an American mystery drama television series starring Bill Cosby that aired on NBC from September 21, 1994, to April 12, 1995. 19 episodes were made. It was the first television series to star Cosby since ''The Cosby Sh ...

'' (1994) and ''

To Sir, with Love II ''To Sir, with Love II'' is a 1996 American television film directed by Peter Bogdanovich (his first made-for-TV film). A sequel to the 1967 British film ''To Sir, with Love'', it stars Sidney Poitier reprising the role of Mark Thackeray. Like t ...

'' (1996) opposite

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

. In 1999, Santiago joined the cast of long-running

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

soap opera ''

'' playing crime boss Carmen Santos. She received

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nomination for America's Favorite Villain in 2002. She left the soap after three years. She appeared simultaneously in a recurring role on ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'' as

Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the antihero protagonist in the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the American Mafia, Italian-American Mafia and, ...

's next door neighbor,

Jeannie Cusamano This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Sopran ...

, and as her twin sister, Joan from 1999 to 2007. Additionally, on television, Santiago guest-starred on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' in the 1992 episode " Prince of Darkness" (episode 3.8) and in the 2004 episode " Veteran's Day" (episode 14.15). In 2004, Santiago joined the cast

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

soap opera ''

'' in the role of Isabella Santi/Angelina Parades after leaving ''Guiding Light''. In 2007, she had a recurring role in the first season of FX legal thriller ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

''. In 2009, she returned to ''One Life to Live'' again, this time taking over the role of

from

Patricia Mauceri Patricia Mauceri (born April 7, 1950) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Carlotta Vega on the ABC soap opera, '' One Life to Live''. Early life and career Mauceri was born in Brooklyn, New York. She played Angie P ...

. She remained with the show until 2011. In 2014, she returned to prime time television playing the role of Marciela Acosta, the wife of gang leader Javier Acosta, in the short-lived Fox drama series ''

Gang Related ''Gang Related'', alternatively known as Criminal Intent, is a 1997 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Jim Kouf starring James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Quaid, Lela Rochon, David Paymer and James Earl Jones. The film ...

''. Santiago also guest-starred on ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'', ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

'', '' Gotham'', '' Blue Bloods'', and '' Madam Secretary''.

Personal life

Santiago met jazz musician Roger Squitero in 1994 whom she married in 1999.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Saundra Santiago
on Huffington Post {{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Saundra 1957 births American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American people of Cuban descent American people of Puerto Rican descent American television actresses Living people Actresses from New York City Actresses from Miami Southern Methodist University alumni University of Miami alumni People from the Bronx