Dania Ramirez

“I'm an entertainer, not a politician.”

“Being an immigrant gives you so much courage.”

“I ended up getting kicked out of my house when I was 16, and I went off to college. When they actually saw that I was getting some kind of stability as far as having a career in this business is when they started coming around.”

“When I was young, people would say I was ugly, but I never saw that. I would look in the mirror and say, 'They're idiots. You are so cute!'”

“I think, a lot of times, when you're a first-time mom, you just want to be so careful, and you overanalyze things sometimes. But I think your first instinct as a mother is always right.”

“I feel I have a responsibility to carry out the immigrant story, since it's one that I hold very dear to my heart, since my story is similar in a lot of ways.”

“You want to give your children better than what you had and make them feel like they have everything. But I think there is also a lot of value in making them work for things and allowing them to see other places.”

“America was built by immigrants. Immigrants come here for work - to contribute and get to a better place. That's my story. It's a story of hope.”

“When I was growing up, I was running around; I was a little tomboy. So I was just running around trying to be an athlete and trying to reenact things from TV, but I wasn't really into reading comic books or anything like that.”

“I think if you have a good attitude and go in with no pressure or expectations, just for a chance to play with all these talented people and do your thing, then it's always a blast!”

“Honestly, it's the most amazing feeling in the world to be able to work on something that you're really proud of.”

“My parents moved to the states when I was 6, so I was raised by my grandma in the Dominican Republic and didn't see them again until I was 10.”

“I will always be the first Latina Cinderella, so I always have that to take with me, and I'm very proud of that. I believe that it was a life-changing experience for me.”

“Cinderella is a little edgy and a little rough around the edges.”

“I grew up with very little. I remember vividly using buckets of water to shower.”

“For me, when my agents and reps send me a script, I read it through, just for the story purpose of it, and then I read it again to think of my character and see if it's something that I'm interested in bringing to life.”

“I always say a lot of fake friends are the ones I can't get into a fight with, because if I get into a fight with them, it's over.”

“I think very few shows have come into our industry and changed the tempo and the narrative of stories, and 'Once Upon a Time' did that.”

“Here I am: I'm a girl from the Dominican Republic. I wanted to be a star, but I really didn't know what that was or how I was going to be able to accomplish it.”

“When I was filming 'Premium Rush' in N.Y.C., I flew to L.A. to have a few general meetings. I sat down with Peter Cramer at Universal Studios and spoke about my life and career, and being that I'm such a goof, we spoke about how I really wanted to do a comedy next.”