Biography
Who is Dania Ramirez?
Early life and education
Dania Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on November 8, 1979. As a young child, she enjoyed reenacting telenovelas for her family and decided early on that she wanted to pursue acting. While working in a convenience store at the age of 15, she was discovered by a modeling scout and secured a small part in a soda commercial.
She later moved to New York City to study at the Actor's Workshop under Flo Greenberg. At age 16, Dania enrolled at Montclair State University. Her athletic skills on the volleyball team placed her among the top five in career digs, digs per game, solo blocks, and total blocks. She graduated from the university in 2000 and subsequently relocated to Los Angeles to advance her acting career.
Career highlights
Dania Ramirez appeared in several well-known music videos during her career, including Jay-Z's Streets is Watching in 1998, Enrique Iglesias's Could I Have This Kiss Forever in 2000, and Santana's Into the Night in 2007. She also starred in Wisin & Yandel's music video for Dime Qué Te Pasó as the wife and mother of a military man.
In the film industry, Dania met filmmaker Spike Lee while working as an extra in the HBO project Subway Stories in 1997. Lee later cast her in the 2004 film She Hate Me. Her other film credits include Fat Albert in 2004, the comic book adaptation X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006 as Callisto, American Reunion in 2012, and Premium Rush in 2012.
Television success
Dania Ramirez built a robust television career with appearances in major network shows. She played Caridad in the final episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and appeared as Blanca Selgado in the sixth season of The Sopranos on HBO. She portrayed Maya Herrera on the NBC series Heroes and Alex in the HBO series Entourage.
From 2013 to 2016, Dania starred as Rosie Falta in the Lifetime television series Devious Maids. In 2017, she joined the cast of ABC's Once Upon a Time for its seventh season as Cinderella. She later joined the cast of the Fox crime drama Alert: Missing Persons Unit as Captain Nikki Batista in 2023.
Personal life
Dania Ramirez became engaged to director John Beverly Land in September 2011. The couple married on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on February 16, 2013. Through this marriage, she became the stepmother to her husband's son from a previous relationship.
In July 2013, Dania announced that she was expecting twins. She gave birth to boy-girl twins in December of that same year. Outside of acting and modeling, she worked with CoverGirl Cosmetics, launching the Clean Makeup for Clean Water Campaign alongside Queen Latifah in January 2010.
Birthday and age
Dania Ramirez was born on November 8, 1979, which makes Dania 47 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Dania shares the date with 46 other famous people.
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