Francia Raisa Almendarez (born July 26, 1988) is an American actress. Raisa is known for her roles in '' Bring It On: All or Nothing'', ''

The Secret Life of the American Teenager ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013. The series received mixed to som ...

'', and '' Grown-ish''.

Early life and education

Raisa was born and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California, to a Mexican mother, Virginia Almendárez (née Pelayo) and

Renán Almendárez Coello Renán Almendárez Coello (born November 18, 1953), also known as El Cucuy De La Mañana, is a Honduran-American radio personality heard from 8.00 P.m. to 9:00 p.m. on KLYY Jose 97.5 FM, Los Angeles, California. Career His program is car ...

, a Honduran-born radio personality. A few years after Raisa was born, her father started using his new Latin radio personality, "El Cucuy". Raisa attended Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California, where she was a cheerleader.

Career

Raisa began to take acting jobs in her junior year of high school, modeling for print ads and appearing in commercials. She guest-starred in the sitcoms ''American Family: Journey of Dreams'' and ''

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the " Hun". The son ...

''. Raisa appeared in Lil' Romeo's music video "My Girlfriend" as Tamy in 2004 and in Iyaz's music video "So Big". A month into her senior year, she booked one of her first lead roles, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere in '' Bring It On: All or Nothing''. She co-starred in the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

movie '' Shredderman Rules'', where she portrayed Isabel, and in '' The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream'' and '' The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice'' as Alexandra Delgado. She played the role of Adrian Lee in the hit ABC Family drama, ''

'', from its beginning in July 2008, until the series finale in early June 2013. In 2009, Raisa guest-starred on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madi ...

's TV series ''In Plain Sight'' and co-starred in a short film directed by David Henrie called ''Boo'', which aired on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. In 2013, Raisa starred in the Christmas-themed movie ''Christmas Bounty'' alongside

Mike "The Miz" Mizanin Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame ...

From 2018 to 2022, Raisa starred in the Freeform show, '' Grown-ish,'' executive produced by ''

Black-ish ''Black-ish'' (stylized as black·''ish'', `black·''ish'', and black''ish'') is an American sitcom television series created by Kenya Barris. It aired on ABC from September 24, 2014, to April 19, 2022, running for eight seasons. ''Black-ish'' ...

'' creator

Kenya Barris Kenya Barris (born August 9, 1973) is an American film and television writer, producer, director, and actor. He is best known as the creator of the ABC sitcom ''black-ish'' (2014–2022). Early life Barris was born in Inglewood, California, t ...

. She starred in the show's first four seasons, exiting upon the character's graduation at the end of the fourth season. She also starred in Freeform's 2018 television film, '' Life-Size 2'', opposite

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...

. In May 2021, Raisa was cast in ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main c ...

'' spinoff series '' How I Met Your Father'', which premiered on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

on January 18, 2022. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a 20-episode second season.

Personal life

Raisa was born in

. In the summer of 2017, Raisa donated one of her

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

s to her friend, singer and actress

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

, who has

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raisa, Francia 1988 births 21st-century American actresses American actresses of Mexican descent American people of Honduran descent American film actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American television actresses Living people Organ transplant donors Hispanic and Latino American actresses