Diane Guerrero was born on July 21, 1986, in Garden State of New Jersey. The now 35-year old actress was actually raised in Boston, Massachusetts by her Colombian parents. As Diane was the only one in her family with U.S. citizenship, her parents and brother were tragically deported back to Colombia, leaving Diane alone to finish her studies and live with her friend's family.
Diane Guerrero: Her career beginnings
After finishing high school, Diane attended a private all-girls college with a degree in political science and communications. In fact, she worked in a law office before she began dipping her feet in the acting field!
By age 25, Guerrero packed her things and moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting, where she ended up meeting her manager. Through her manager, she appeared in a few short films and small TV roles, including in an episode of Are We There Yet?
By 2013, Diane landed the role of the Bronx-born "Maritza" in Orange Is the New Black, where she and the rest of the cast received three Screen Actors Guild Awards from 2015-2017 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
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During this time, she also got a role as "Lina" on the comedy series Jane the Virgin as "Jane"'s (Gina Rodriguez) best friend and co-worker.
Diane Guerrero today
The award-winning actress today has been in the DC Comics series, Doom Patrol, as well as appearing in Legends of Tomorrow, where she portrays ""Crazy" Jane".
In 2019, Guerrero appeared in the crime thriller Killerman, where she starred as "Lola" alongside Liam Hemsworth and Emory Cohen!
Diane's next film role was in the drama Blast Beat, opposite Wilmer Valderrama and Daniel Dae Kim. It was released in January 2020 and is centered around the life of two Colombian brothers who find their way in suburban America.
For now, Diane is a major advocate on immigration rights and was even named one of the Presidential Ambassadors for Citizenship and Naturalization by Barack Obama in 2015.
She's spoken very openly about her family divide when she was just 14 and has even written two books on the matter. She spoke out to the Washington Post about it in 2018, stating:
"You go through a lot to recover and live a normal life. You have to have a lot of therapy and have a great imagination to imagine your life better than what the cards have dealt you. Not everyone figures that out."
Diane Guerrero has dealt with many cards in her life already, and she seems to have persevered through many of the traumas she was forced to deal with at a young age. We can't wait to see what powerful and emotive roles she'll be in next!
From Netflix to 'Batwoman'!
