A biography for Gina Rodriguezhasn’t been written yet.
“I think when you work really hard and you help others, God helps you get what you want.”
“I felt very vulnerable after 'Sleeping with the Fishes'; I gained weight for the role. I felt a bit out of my skin in the movie, and it was hard to watch.”
“I've been very lucky; God has done amazing things for me.”
“I don't want the Latino community to think I think the reason Latino films are not doing well is because of us. It is not fully our responsibility.”
“I will play the characters with last names like Sanchez and Gonzalez until the day I die, but I also want to play the 'Michelle Smiths.'”
“I think all Latino actors want to be storytellers first. I want to be an actor first, and then I want to be Latina.”
“What I will not do is continue to perpetuate stereotypes. I'm the daughter of a maid; why do I have to also play a maid? My mom was a maid so I didn't have to be a maid.”
“Latinos don't go out and support their own films, but at the same time, it's not their responsibility.”
“Every morning, my dad would have me looking in the mirror and repeat, 'Today is going to be a great day; I can, and I will.'”
“I've specifically decided to say no to projects that weren't advancing Latinos, that weren't showing us in a positive light, roles that were gratuitous and spreading untruths.”
“'Filly Brown' gave me the wings to fly, but red carpets are still very uncomfortable.”
“With each dream accomplished, bigger ones are put in their place.”
“I'm not messing with skiing. You can't get this Puerto Rican on the slope. Uh-uh.”
“I do not devalue the role of a maid or nanny, or the stereotypical roles that some members of our family have actually done to feed our families in real life.”
“I was a salsa dancer for the majority of my life, from, like, 7 to 17, and did the World Salsa Congresses. I realized that I wanted to continue obviously to be a performer. But in my household, being an actor and jumping into acting is not really accepted.”
“When I got out of college, I booked a movie called 'Go for It!' with Lionsgate, came out here, and I've been acting ever since - or trying, constantly trying.”
“I went to college at NYU for acting, since acting was my dream from very young. I did a lot of hip-hop courses while I was there. I helped co-write a hip-hop production for the main stage of NYU, but I never touched rap.”
“I started performing very young as a salsa dancer, and every time I was on that stage dancing, all I knew was that I wanted to speak. I wanted the music to stop, and I wanted to speak.”
“What makes characters real are details, and if you're crafting a person from scratch, you're probably not going to pay as much attention to a question like, 'Does this person bite their nails?'”
“I try to keep in mind that it's a long journey. It's not a race. It's about staying focused, continuing to do good work, make my family and community proud; that's all I really want to do... and pay my bills.”