Lina Esco is an American actress, producer, director and activist. She gained recognition in 2007 for portraying Jimmy Smits' character's daughter in the

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 ...

television drama ''

Cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are ...

''. Esco has also performed in films, including ''

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' (2005), ''Kingshighway'' (2010), ''

LOL LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to ...

'' (2012), and '' Free the Nipple''. She is also known for portraying SWAT officer Christina "Chris" Alonso in ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

''.

Career

Esco was cast in her first television guest star role in 2006, as Angie Watson in series ''

CSI: NY ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine season ...

''. In March, 2007 Esco joined the cast of the CBS drama ''Cane''. In 2009, she guest starred in an episode of the ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

'' series with

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

. Esco played a lingerie model who had been fired for going public about her breast cancer survival story. In February 2011, Esco was slated to join the cast of Fox's pilot ''Exit Strategy''. Described as a high octane procedural set in the world of CIA agents who are sent in to "fix" operations gone bad. The cast included

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

, Megan Dodds and with

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (born May 30, 1965) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with ''The Replacement Killers''. His critica ...

directing. Esco was to play Mia, an MIT graduate and computer expert from South Boston. In 2014, Esco was cast in Ryan Murphy's pilot for HBO alongside

Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), '' Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), '' Made of Honor'' (2008), '' Eagle Eye'' (2008), '' Trucker'' (2008), ''Sou ...

, Wes Bentley,

Scott Speedman Robert Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a British-Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series '' Felicity'', Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–actio ...

, and

Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). Sh ...

. Esco's film debut was in 2005 with ''London''. She is a supporting character in the 2012 comedy ''LOL''. Esco acted on " ''S.W.A.T.''" since its first season in 2017. She played Officer Christina "Chris" Alonso. Following the show's season five finale, Esco confirmed she was leaving the series to pursue other projects.

Producing and directing

In April 2010, Esco produced "My Friend is...", a

public service announcement A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. In the UK, they are generally called a public information film (PIF); in Hong Kong, ...

for the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning documentary '' The Cove'' alongside Oscar-winning producer

Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...

joined forces with a number celebrities to bring awareness on the annual killing of dolphins in

Taiji Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. She directed "Kids Speak Out Against Dolphin Captivity", a 2012 public service announcement for ''The Cove''. She directed ''Free the Nipple'' in a bid to circumvent female nipple censorship. She directed and starred in ''Free the Nipple'', which was released in select theaters,

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

and on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

on December 12, 2014.

Other work

Esco has been showcased in various commercial, music videos, magazines and publications. In 2001, she was featured in the

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...

music video "Jealous". She appears briefly in

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

's music video for "

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...

" featuring

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...

. She was also an extra for a series of ''

Axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

'' commercials one including with

Nick Lachey Nicholas Scott Lachey ( ; born November 9, 1973) is an American singer, actor, television personality, and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees, and later starred in the reality series '' Newl ...

for the "Clix" campaign in 2007. Esco also features in Halos's music video for "Amalgam" in 2010. On January 12, 2011, it was reported that Lina would be showcased on the

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...

's jewelry collection for the Spring/Summer 2011. The campaign featured sixteen "It" girls from around the globe that included

Alexandra Richards Alexandra Nicole Richards (born July 28, 1986) is an American model, artist, and DJ in New York City. She is the daughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and model and actress Patti Hansen, and the sister of Theodora Richards. Her ...

, Annabelle Dexter Jones, Mary Charteris, Alka Balbir, Mohini Geisweiller, DJette Clara 3000, Charlotte Lebon,

Hailey Gates Hailey Gates is an American model, actress, director, and journalist. She hosted the Viceland series ''States of Undress''. Early life Gates grew up in the Los Angeles area, where her family has resided for seven generations. Career ''The Paris Re ...

, Nathalie Love and Rinko Kikuchi. On May 16, 2011, Esco was featured in

Ketel One Ketel (Dutch for: ''Pot still'') One is a liquor brand of the Nolet Distillery in Schiedam, Netherlands. Ketel One Vodka is distilled from 100% wheat in copper pot stills, filtered over loose charcoal, and rests in tile-lined tanks until ready. ...

ad campaign "Gentlemen, This is Vodka." directed by Academy Award Nominee,

David O. Russell David Owen Russell (born August 20, 1958) is an American filmmaker. His early directing career includes the comedy films ''Spanking the Monkey'' (1994), '' Flirting with Disaster'' (1996), ''Three Kings'' (1999), and ''I Heart Huckabees'' (200 ...

. Esco is in a 2013 NFL Women's Apparel Collection TV advertisement. In 2017, Esco was featured on the Audience network's ''Midnight Snack on Fullscreen'' (What's Underneath), where the guests remove their clothing on camera while talking about their life.

Activism and philanthropy

Esco has supported many foundations and organizations throughout her career. Esco has been very involved in two organizations. Dolphin Project, which has gained much support from many celebrities, is an organization led by Richard O'Barry and aims to prevent dolphin slaughter and exploitation from occurring. On September 9, 2009, Esco held a private screening of ''The Cove'' in New York, alongside Russell Simmons and Fisher Stevens hosting the event to bring awareness on the film. Esco may be best known for how involved she is in

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and the Free the Nipple campaign. The organization, as Esco states, is to promote sexual equality. ''Free the Nipple'' has attracted attention from numerous celebrities including Courtney Love and Miley Cyrus, who also has a song on the soundtrack of the Free the Nipple movie and continues to strongly support the organization. In December 2018, Esco began campaigning for overturning Cyntoia Brown's murder conviction. Esco has been outspoken in advocating against sexual harassment (including recounting her own by

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...

) and publicly calls on US states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment that would enshrine

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

in the US's Constitution.

Personal life

Esco is of Colombian descent. In 2017 she stated

had sexually harassed her, and that this had not been her only experience of sexual harassment. She has also spoken of being raped twice, while discussing the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

.
The Playhouse Presents: The Sex Amendment
', around the 34:05 mark. Retrieved May 12, 2021

Filmography

Actress

Producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esco, Lina 21st-century American actresses Actresses from California American child actresses American film actresses American people of Colombian descent American television actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses Latina and Hispanic feminists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) mr:जेनिफर ऍनिस्टन ta:ஜெனிபர் அனிஸ்டன் te:జెన్నిఫర్ అనిస్టన్