Zión Moreno (born February 23, 1995) is an American actress. On television, she is known for her roles in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Control Z'' (2020) and the

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

reboot of ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' (2021–2023). Her films include ''

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. ...

'' (2019).

Early life

Moreno was born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. She grew up in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, and spoke Spanish at home. Moreno has two siblings: a sister and a brother. Her father is from Nuevo Leon, Mexico while her mother is from Chihuahua, Mexico. Moreno is a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

and transitioned at the age of 13. During her time in school, she faced bullying from her peers. Moreno briefly attended the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

with a full-ride scholarship, and studied in a creative writing and journalism program. She originally planned to become a writer and do

investigative reporting Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

Career

Moreno moved to

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 ...

at 19 to pursue a career as a model. She was scouted by

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, New York. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Miami and London. Founded in 1967 by Wilhelmina C ...

Elite Model Management Elite Model Management (MM) is a modeling agency that originated in Paris in 1972. In 2004, the agencies in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, and Toronto separated and formed Elite Model Management North America. Elite MM is a subsidiary of El ...

, and Slay Model Management. She initially found modeling challenging, but grew to appreciate the craft more after shifting her focus towards acting. She presented the Diversify TV Awards at the 2017 MIPCOM in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

. Moreno made her on screen debut as Fleur in the 2019 surrealist jukebox musical film ''

'', written and directed by singer

Melanie Martinez Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995) is an American Puerto Rican-Dominican singer and songwriter. Born in Astoria, Queens, and raised in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, Baldwin, New York, Martinez rose to fame in 2012 after appearing ...

. In 2020, she starred as Isabela de la Fuente in the Mexican

teen drama '' Control Z''. In March 2020, it was announced she had been cast as Luna La in the

series ''

'', a soft reboot of the original series that premiered on July 8, 2021.

Personal life

Moreno is divorced; she was previously married to a musician.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Zion Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Albuquerque, New Mexico Actresses from El Paso, Texas American television actresses American transgender actresses Female models from New Mexico Female models from Texas Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hispanic and Latino American female models LGBTQ Hispanic and Latino American people LGBTQ people from New Mexico LGBTQ people from Texas Transgender female models 1995 births American actresses of Mexican descent