Gloria Garayua (born October 18, 1978) is an American actress. Garayua made her major film debut in the 2005 comedy film '' Fun With Dick and Jane'', and is now commonly cast in guest roles on long-running series such as '' Six Feet Under'', ''Weeds'' and ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...

''. After being cast in an ongoing role in ''Grey's Anatomy'', Garayua has played recurring roles in other popular TV shows such as ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. ABC ...

'' and ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios. Th ...

''.

Early life and education

Gloria Garayua was born and raised in the Fordham section of the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Garayua is of Puerto Rican heritage and her parents are from Ponce, Puerto Rico. She attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine Elementary School and St. Catharine Academy High School, both in the Bronx. Garayua graduated from Long Island University, Post with a

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

, graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. Her portrayal of Ariel in '' The Tempest'' earned her an

Irene Ryan Irene Ryan (born Irene Noblitt, Noblett, or Noblette; October 17, 1902 – April 26, 1973) was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her por ...

Nomination, where she placed as the 1st National Alternate. She joined Hermandad de

Sigma Iota Alpha Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Incorporada (), known as SIA, is a Latina-oriented Greek letter intercollegiate sorority. It was founded in 1990 at SUNY Albany, Stony Brook University, SUNY New Paltz, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The sor ...

, Inc. at the Xi chapter.

Acting career

Garayua moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 2004 after being cast in the leading role in

Nilo Cruz Nilo Cruz is a Cuban-American playwright and pedagogue. With his award of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Anna in the Tropics'', he became the second Latino so honored, after Nicholas Dante. Biography Early years Cruz was bor ...

's ''Two Sisters and A Piano'' at the

Old Globe Theater The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Afterwards, she moved to the greater

Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...

and was cast for a minor role in '' Fun With Dick and Jane'' after only 2 weeks. During this time she also appeared in an episode of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' as a guest star. In 2007, Garayua guest starred in an episode of ''Grey's Anatomy'' as an

Intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

named Graciella. She would ultimately become a recurring guest star in the show, appearing in a total of 24 episodes from 2007 to 2010. In 2008 she played the part of Reyna in two episodes of

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ''Weeds'' titled ''No Man is Pudding'' and ''The Three Coolers''. Other notable roles include Nurse Chapel in ''

American Housewife ''American Housewife'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 11, 2016, to March 31, 2021. It is created and written by Sarah Dunn and co-executive produced with Aaron Kaplan, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, and for the p ...

'', Madison Young in ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'', Vita Chacon in ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'', and Gloria Ortiz in '' ER''. As of 2020, Garayua has worked in over 35 different television shows. Garayua is also a prolific

stage actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

that has been featured in productions such as ''La Posada Magica'' (The Magic Journey) at South Coast Repertory, ''

Real Women Have Curves ''Real Women Have Curves'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Patricia Cardoso, based on the Real Women Have Curves (play), play of the same name by Josefina López, who co-authored the screenplay for the film with George LaVoo. Th ...

'' at CASA 0101, ''

The Skriker ''The Skriker'' is a 1994 play by Caryl Churchill that tells the story of an ancient fairy who, during the course of the play, transforms into a plethora of objects and people as it pursues Lily and Josie, two teenage mothers whom it befriends, ma ...

'' at the Kennedy Center Stage and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble.

Awards

Garayua was nominated for Best Female Principal Performer by the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle in 2009. Fixing Paco, in which Garayua played the lead role of Margie Fuentes, was nominated for 2013 Best Webseries in the "Drama" Category. The show was also nominated in 2014 to the Best WebSeries in 3 categories, "Drama", "Comedy", and "Reality or Informational.

Other endeavors

Garayua has worked as a private

acting coach An acting coach or drama coach is a teacher who trains performers – typically film, television, theatre, and musical theatre actors – and gives them advice and mentoring to enable them to improve their acting and dramatic performances, prepar ...

in the Los Angeles area since 2005. She has also taught “Beginning and Intermediate Drama” at the

Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...

's “Gifted and Talented Fine Arts Conservatory", “Adult Beginner’s Scene Study” at “ The Mauricio Ochmann Studio” in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

, “Advanced On-Camera Technique” at “Actor Training in LA” in North Hollywood, and “Teen Scene Study” at the “John D’Aquino’s Acting Studio” in

Toluca Lake Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

. Garayua plays beginner piano, sings

Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

, and is an intermediate dancer in Jazz and various Latin styles.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garayua, Gloria 1978 births Living people Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from New York City American actresses of Puerto Rican descent American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Long Island University alumni People from the Bronx