Liza Colón-Zayas (born 1972) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for playing Tina Marrero on the

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

series '' The Bear'', for which she won the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life and education

Liza Colón-Zayas was born as Liza Colón in 1972 in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She is of Puerto Rican descent. She earned her bachelor's degree in theater from

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany (University at Albany, UAlbany, or SUNY Albany) is a public research university in Albany, New York, United States. Founded in 1844, it is one of four "university centers" of the State University of N ...

Career

Colón-Zayas began her career

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

. She broke into mainstream theatre when she wrote, produced, and starred in a one-woman show titled ''Sistah Supreme'', a semi-autobiographical play in which she chronicles growing up as a Latina woman in New York during the 1970s and 1980s. Colón-Zayas has been a member of the LAByrinth Theatre Company, a New York-based traveling actors' group, since its founding in 1992. On stage, she originated the role of Norca in the

productions of ''Our Lady of 121st Street'' and the role of Haiku Mom in Quiara Alegría Hudes Pulitzer winner, '' Water by the Spoonful.'' In 1999, she appeared in the

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character actor, character roles—eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical productio ...

directed play, '' In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings.'' One of Colón-Zayas' most memorable roles to theatergoers was the "Church Lady" in Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama '' Between Riverside and Crazy'' which played the

Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...

in 2014 and then Second Stage Theater in 2015. Colón-Zayas earned a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress for her portrayal. She went on to play the role once more in 2022 on Broadway at Second Stage's

Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theatre is a 111-seat theatre specialising in music theatre and cabaret in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. It is named after the Australian performer Nancye Hayes. Hayes Theatre Co was established at the former ''Darlinghurst Theatre' ...

. In 2021, she was honored at the Dramatists Guild Foundation with the Madge Evans and Sidnet Kingsley Award. DGF’s longest-running award honors a mid-career dramatist and stage actresses for excellence in the theatre. On the big screen, she's appeared in '' United 93'' (2006), '' Righteous Kill'' (2008), and the 2016 action horror film '' The Purge: Election Year''. Colón-Zayas has also appeared in television series such as ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', ''Blue Bloods'', ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

,'' and many more. In 2019, she got her first recurring role on the short-lived OWN drama, ''

David Makes Man ''David Makes Man'' is an American coming-of-age drama television series that premiered on August 14, 2019, on OWN. In December 2019, OWN renewed the series for a second season which premiered on June 22, 2021. Premise ''David Makes Man'' follo ...

'', and in 2021, she joined the cast of the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

-winning drama, ''

In Treatment ''In Treatment'' is an American drama television series for HBO, produced and developed by Rodrigo García (director), Rodrigo Garcia, based on the Israeli series ''BeTipul'' (), created by Hagai Levi, Ori Sivan and Nir Bergman. The series fol ...

'', as Rita. In 2022, Colón-Zayas rose to significant fame after starring in

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

's critically acclaimed drama comedy series '' The Bear'' as Tina Marrero. She has received critical praise for her portrayal, including a

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

and an

Imagen Award The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or person ...

. She starred in

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

's live action animated

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on, and parodies of, other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre ro ...

feature '' IF'' released in 2024. Her win of the

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in

made her the first Latina to win a Primetime Emmy in that category. In May 2025, Colón-Zayas was announced to have joined the cast of '' Spider-Man: Brand New Day'' (2026).

Personal life

Colón-Zayas is married to actor David Zayas, known for his role as

Angel Batista Angelo "Angel" Juan Marcos Batista (; Spanish ) is a fictional character in the Showtime (TV network), Showtime television series ''Dexter (TV series), Dexter'' and the novels by Jeff Lindsay (writer), Jeff Lindsay upon which it is based. He is ...

on Showtime's ''

''.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Film and television

Theatre

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colon-Zayas, Liza 1972 births Actresses from the Bronx American actresses of Puerto Rican descent American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Drama Desk Award winners Living people Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Film and television

Theatre

See also

References

External links