Cast
Ugly Betty has a wide array of series regulars and features famous guest stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Victoria Beckham, Eliza Dushku, and many more. Below is a list of the series regulars that have starred on Ugly Betty.
America Ferrera
Betty Suarez
America Ferrera stars as the title character in the hit ABC series “Ugly Betty.” Her portrayal of Betty has earned her an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Musical or Comedy, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance for a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards.
Ferrera secured her place as one of Hollywood's most vibrant young talents with her starring role in the Patricia Cardoso film “Real Women Have Curves.” Her performance earned her a Sundance Jury Award for Best Actress, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance, and a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance for a Leading Young Actress.
Recent feature film work includes Warner Bros. “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” the sequel to the hit 2005 film in which she starred. She also starred in the bilingual independent film “Towards Darkness,” which she executive-produced. Directed by Antonio Negret, the film follows the last 90 minutes in a kidnapped hostage’s life and the frustration that his family, a man in charge of delivering the ransom money and a special ops team all feel as they rush to save him. Ferrera plays a young woman who has a complicated relationship with the young kidnapping victim.
Ferrera also appeared in Fox Searchlight’s independent film “Under the Same Moon.” Directed by Patricia Riggen, the story chronicles a nine-year-old Mexican boy’s journey to the United States to find his migrant mother after the grandmother who is taking care of him passes away. The film, slated for a March 2008 release, also stars Mexican actors Kate Del Castillo and Eugenio Derbez.
Other work includes the Brian Jun film “Steel City,” which premiered in Dramatic Competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Ferrera also appeared off-Broadway in “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,” directed by Trip Cullman, in Catherine Hardwicke’s “Lords of Dogtown” and in the 2005 Sundance Film Festival entry “How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer,” written and directed by Georgina Riedel and co-starring Elizabeth Peña. In recognition of her work, she received a 2005 Movieline “Breakthrough” Award.
Eric Mabius
Daniel Meade
Growing up throughout the East Coast, Eric Mabius moved almost constantly until graduating from the renowned arts school, Sarah Lawrence College. Immersing himself in acting, writing and film theory, college became the jumping-off point for his first roles in theatre in smaller Off-Broadway productions.
Mabius landed his first film role as the object of Heather Matarazzo's affection, the teen rock star in Todd Solondz's Sundance winner, "Welcome to the Dollhouse." Following the enormous success of this independent film, Mabius chose his roles carefully, carving out a truly unique and unpredictable niche for himself that continues to challenge and impress audiences.
Embodying dark and troubled characters in some projects and heroic leading men in others, Mabius has, in memorable fashion, built an impressive career resume that includes more than 25 films (seven of which appeared at Sundance) and over a dozen television projects. His credits on the big and small screens encompass a wide variety of genres, from action (Sony's "Resident Evil" and ABC's critically acclaimed "Eyes") to drama (opposite Mischa Barton as the bad boy Dean of Discipline on "The O.C." and the ground-breaking "The L Word") and comedy ("Cruel Intentions" and "Welcome to the Dollhouse"), as well as mystery ("Minus Man" and "Tempted"), horror (this year's "Reeker," opposite Kirsten Dunst in "The Crow: Salvation" and in the Sundance favorite, "Black Circle Boys") and romance (upcoming "A Christmas," in Gregg Araki's "Splendor" and in the CBS movie "Dancing at the Harvest Moon").
Mabius has achieved both critical and audience acclaim in the many of the varied projects he has undertaken, which he attributes to finely-crafted scripts, brilliant directors and skilled fellow cast members -- all elements that have drawn him and continue to draw him in his distinctive acting choices.
Vanessa Williams
Wilhelmina Slater
Vanessa Williams is one of the most respected and multi-faceted performers in entertainment today, having conquered the music charts, Broadway, music videos, television and motion pictures. She has sold millions of albums worldwide and has achieved critical acclaim as an actress on stage, in film and on television.
Her albums “The Right Stuff,” “The Comfort Zone” and “The Sweetest Days” earned multiple Grammy nominations and yielded such classics as “Save the Best for Last,” “Dreamin’,” “Work to Do” and “Love Is,” among others. She was also nominated for a Grammy for her single “Colors of the Wind,” from Disney’s “Pocahontas,” which went on to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and the Grammy for Best Song in a Motion Picture. Other recordings include two holiday albums, “Star Bright” and “Silver & Gold,” plus “Vanessa Williams’ Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years” and “Everlasting Love,” love songs from the 1970s.
In 1994 Williams took Broadway by storm when she replaced Chita Rivera in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” winning the hearts of critics and becoming a box-office sensation. She garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a Tony Award for the 2002 revival of “Into the Woods,” headlined a limited special engagement of the classic “Carmen Jones” at the Kennedy Center, and starred in the Encore! Series staged concert production of “St. Louis Woman.”
Williams made her film debut in 1986 in “Under the Gun,” then appeared in “The Pick-Up Artist,” “Another You” and “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.” She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Eraser,” followed by a leading role opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in “Hoodlum” and in the box office hit, “Soul Food.” She also starred in “Dance with Me,” “Light It Up,” “Shaft,” opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and in “Johnson Family Vacation,” with Cedric the Entertainer and Steve Harvey. She will be seen next in the independent feature “My Brother” and “Somebody Like You.”
On television she starred in “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” “The Boy Who Loved Christmas” and “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” for which she won an NAACP Image Award. Williams won rave reviews in ABC’s revival of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and starred in the miniseries “Nothing Lasts Forever” and the Emmy-nominated “The Odyssey.” She appeared opposite John Lithgow in TNT’s “Don Quixote,” and executive-produced and starred in “The Courage to Love” for Lifetime. She was also seen in the VH1 original movie, “A Diva’s Christmas Carol,” as well as the Showtime movie “Keep the Faith, Baby.”
Williams’ charitable contributions are many and varied, embracing and supporting such issues as education, homelessness, abuse, women’s issues and health concerns, AIDS and anything having to do with children.
Rebecca Romijn
Alexis Meade
Rebecca Romijn has quickly established herself in Hollywood with roles in a number of prominent film and television projects. She was recently seen on the WB drama “Pepper Dennis,” as well as in the film “Lies and Alibis” alongside Steve Coogan, and in the blockbuster hit “X3: The Last Stand.” Her upcoming films include “Man About Town” opposite Ben Affleck, and “Lake City” with Sissy Spacek.
Previously Romijn starred opposite Thomas Jane and John Travolta in “The Punisher,” and opposite Robert De Niro and Greg Kinnear in “Godsend.” However it was her role in “Femme Fatale” opposite Antonio Banderas that won her critical acclaim. In this film noir thriller, she plays a woman attempting to go straight while being haunted by her shady con-woman past. The Los Angeles Times said of her performance, “Not since Sissy Spacek burned up the screen in ‘Carrie’ has a De Palma woman held the screen as forcefully as Rebecca Romijn.”
These films come on the heels of her starring role in “Rollerball,” opposite Chris Klein and LL Cool J, a role opposite Al Pacino in “Simone,” and the hugely successful “X-Men” and “X2.”
Romijn began crossing over from the fashion world with memorable appearances on the hit television shows “Friends” and “Just Shoot Me,” as well as hosting MTV’s “House of Style,” and with cameos in such films as “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”
She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Michael Urie
Marc St. James
Michael Urie is a New York-trained actor whose work has taken him from his native Texas to Seattle, San Diego, Washington DC, Austin and the Berkshires. He has worked off- and off-off-Broadway, and in commercials and independent film.
The recipient of the 2002 John Houseman Prize for Excellence in Classical Theatre from the Juilliard School, from which he holds an acting degree, Urie’s classical credits include Shakespeare (“Hamlet” for the South Coast Rep; “Othello,” “Titus Andronicus” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for the Old Globe’s Shakespeare Festival; “Romeo and Juliet” for DC’s Folger Theatre; “Love’s Labors Lost” for The Judith Shakespeare Company); Jacobean drama (“The Revenger’s Tragedy” for The Red Bull Theatre and “The Roaring Girle” at The Foundry); and commedia del arte (“The King Stag” at Seattle Rep). He appeared in the world premiere of “Love and Happiness” at Barrington Stage in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.
His film work includes the star turn as Eric in “WTC View,” which premiered on LOGO in fall of 2006.
Urie was playing a bearded geologist and getting blown away nightly by Mt. St. Helens’ volcanic explosion in the off-Broadway production of “Phenomenon” when he was cast as Marc St. James in “Ugly Betty,” two characters who are worlds apart from each other in every sense.
As a producer/co-director, he is currently in post production on “Two Down,” his documentary short focusing on high school speech and debate tournaments.
During his spring 2007 hiatus, Urie starred as Horatio in “Hamlet,” directed by Daniel Sullivan at the acclaimed South Coast Repertory Theatre.
Becki Newton
Amanda Tanen-Sommers
A native of Guilford, Connecticut, Becki Newton grew up performing in plays and musical theater. After studying abroad in Europe and South America, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in European History. She then moved to New York City, where she hosted a celebrity interview show on TBS entitled "Movie Junky."
Newton has guest starred on such series as "Charmed," "Law & Order: SVU," "Cold Case," "American Dreams," "The Men's Room" and "The Commuters." She will also be seen with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the forthcoming feature film, "August Rush."
Ana Ortiz
Hilda Suarez
Newcomer Ana Ortiz earned both ALMA and Imagen Awards for Best Supporting Actress this past season for her portrayal of feisty Hilda Suarez on the hit ABC comedy “Ugly Betty.” In addition to “Ugly Betty,” she has appeared in recurring roles on ABC’s acclaimed “Boston Legal” as A.D.A. Holly Raines, and as Anna in the FX series set in wartime Iraq, ”Over There.” Ortiz also starred in the NBC series “A.U.S.A” and “Kristin.”
Born and raised in Manhattan, Ortiz discovered her passion for the performing arts at a young age. “I started ballet lessons when I was five years old and spent my childhood dreaming about becoming a ballerina… When I was in junior high school I began singing and soon realized that it was a lot less painful than being on pointes.” Ortiz was accepted into LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts as a voice major.
After graduating from high school she moved to Philadelphia, where she studied theater at the University of the Arts. In addition to earning her bachelor’s degree, she also began accumulating stage credits. She made her professional stage debut as Cecile in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” as the Philadelphia Repertory Theater before conquering major roles in regional theater productions of “Hamlet,” “House of Bernarde Albe,” “Tartuffe,” “The Effects of Gamma Rays,” “The Dog Lady & The Cuban Swimmer” and “References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot.” Additional regional theater work includes “Wrong Turn at Lungfish,” directed by Garry Marshall. A highlight in Ortiz’ early career was portraying Chrissy in a European tour of the hit musical “Hair.”
Upon graduation from university, Ortiz returned to New York and joined the Labyrinth Theater, where she delivered bravura performances in the critically acclaimed “In Arabia We’d All Be Kings,” directed by Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, and in which her portrayal of a hardened teenage mother garnered her rave reviews. She also appeared in the Labyrinth Theater production of “A Winter Party,” directed by John Patrick Shanley. Additional New York theater credits include “Game of Patience,” “The Photographer,” “Matta of Time,” “Faust Invitro” and “Mister.”
Her outstanding theater performances subsequently landed her a guest-starring role in ABC’s “NYPD Blue.” Other television credits include guest-starring roles on “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Commander In Chief,” “Freddie,” “North Shore,” “Greetings from Tucson,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “ER,” as well as a starring role in the television film “Mr. St. Nick,” opposite Kelsey Grammer. Her feature film credits include a starring role in the independent features “Tortilla Heaven” and supporting role in Miramax’s “Carolina.”
In her free time, Ortiz enjoys hiking, kickboxing and going to New York to visit her family. She also loves singing back-up in her friends’ bands and seeing as much theater as possible.
Tony Plana
Ignacio Suarez
Tony Plana was educated at Loyola-Marymount University, where he earned a bachelor's degree through the Honors Program in Literature and Theatre Arts, graduating magna cum laude. He received professional training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Plana starred as Roberto Santiago in Showtime's groundbreaking series, "Resurrection Boulevard," for which he received 2001 and 2002 ALMA Award nominations for Best Actor.
Having co-directed and co-produced the film "A Million to Juan" with Paul Rodriguez, Plana celebrated his solo directorial debut with "The Princess and the Barrio Boy," the first Latino family film to be produced by Showtime. The film received two 2001 ALMA Award nominations and won the 2001 IMAGEN Award for Best Made for Television Movie. His episodic television directorial debut was the "Resurrection Boulevard" episode "Saliendo," which received a GLAAD Award for Best Dramatic Episode of the Year. He has directed several episodes of Nickelodeon's hit series "The Brothers Garcia," receiving a Humanitas Award nomination and winning the IMAGEN Award for its third season finale.
Plana is also the co-founder and executive artistic director of the East L.A. Classic Theatre, a group comprised primarily of Hispanic American theatre professionals. The East L.A. Classic Theatre has been dedicated to serving the Latino community through educational outreach programs to primary and secondary schools and through bilingual productions of traditional and contemporary classics. Through the East L.A. Classic Theatre, Plana has developed a unique and innovative literacy program called Beyond Borders: Literacy Through Performing Arts, designed to enable students to expand their educational horizons and academic achievements by moving beyond their personal, cultural and vocational borders. His distinct talent lies in his provocative adaptations of classic Shakespearean plays, specifically conceived for minority communities with little or no theatre going experience.
As an actor Plana has starred in more than 60 feature films, including "JFK," "Nixon," "Salvador," "An Officer and a Gentleman," "Lone Star," "Three Amigos," "Born in East L.A.," "El Norte," "187," "Primal Fear," "Romero," "One Good Cop," "Havana," "The Rookie," "Silver Strand" and "Picking Up the Pieces" (with Woody Allen). Most recently he appeared in "Goal! The Dream Begins" and in "Half Past Dead." He will also be appearing in the soon to be released "El Muerto," as well as "American East" and "Towards Darkness," with "Ugly Betty" co-star America Ferrara.
On television Plana recently starred in a multi-episode arc on "Commander In Chief," on "24" as the terrorist Omar in season four, as well as on "The West Wing" and "John Doe." In addition he starred on the Showtime miniseries "Fidel," as the notorious Cuban dictator, Batista, and in Showtime's "Noriega: God's Favorite." He has portrayed leading roles in four critically acclaimed television series -- "Veronica Claire," "Bakersfield P.D.," and in Steven Bochco's "Total Security" and "City of Angels."
Plana has been very active in live theatre. On Broadway his credits include "Zoot Suit" and "The Boys of Winter." He has performed in leads at the Mark Taper Forum in "Zoot Suit," "Richard III," "Widows" and "The Reader." He has appeared in a wide variety of productions in many other venues, including "Figaro Gets a Divorce" at the La Jolla Playhouse; "Rum and Coke," "Cuba," "His Teddy Bear" and "Bang Bang Blues" at the New York Public Theatre; "Rum and Coke" and "Charlie Bacon and His Family" at the South Coast Repertory Theatre; "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (The Musical)" at the Pasadena Playhouse; "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Hamlet" at the California Shakespearean Festival; "Fugue" at Syracuse Stage Company; in Ariel Dorfmann's "Mascara" at the Arizona Theatre Company; and most recently he received high critical acclaim for his portrayal of Santiago in Nilo Cruz' "Anna in the Tropics" at South Coast Repertory, the first Latino play to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
He is the recipient of two Nosotros Golden Eagle Awards for outstanding work in film and television, as well as five Los Angeles Dramalogue Awards for Theatre.
Plana is the proud father of Alejandro and Isabel and has been happily married for 16 years to actress Ada Maris, who starred in "Nurses" on NBC and currently stars on Nickelodeon's "The Brothers Garcia."
Mark Indelicato
Justin Suarez
Thirteen-year-old Mark Indelicato started his career at the age of eight. He first performed “La Vie En Bleu” and “A Christmas Carol” on the main stage at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre. His work in these productions garnered him a role in the Walnut Street Theatre’s staged reading of “Fame Forever.” This reading was presented in New York just a few months later. Mark’s other theatre credits include “Evita” at the Academy of Music. He has guest starred in the TV shows “Hack” and ”The Dave Chappelle Show,” and has also worked commercially, booking national spots, including one for Wendy’s.
He was recently nominated for an ALMA Award for his work on “Ugly Betty.” His live appearances include singing at the NY Knicks’ halftime show, as well as performing in concert with Clay Aiken. He is in the process of recording a demo CD with his singing partner.
Trained at the The Actors Center in Philadelphia, Mark and takes vocal lessons at Dupree School of Music in Linwood, NJ. Off camera, he enjoys hanging at the mall with friends and playing video games. Mark hopes to pursue a professional career in acting and singing.
Judith Light
Claire Meade
Judith Light graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA and has worked in repertory theatre throughout the United States and Canada. She also performed in Europe with the USO. She debuted on Broadway in “ A Doll’s House” with Liv Ullman and did a season with the Eugene O’Neil Playwright’s conference. Light received two Emmys for Best Actress for her role in the ABC daytime drama “One Life to Live,” starred on the long-running hit primetime TV series, “Who’s the Boss?,” and has starred in 15 movies for television.
She returned to the New York theatre to do the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Wit” for the MCC Theatre, and won the Helen Hayes and Eliot Norton Awards for Best Actress on the National Tour. Light also performed in “Hedda Gabler” at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC, and later starred in Athol Fugard’s “Sorrows and Rejoicings” at the Second Stage Theatre in New York City and at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. She appeared in the Los Angeles Reprise! Broadway’s Best production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” and joined the Ojai Playwrights Conference for their 2004 season. More recently she appeared in MCC’s production of “Colder Than Here” with Brian Murray at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York for their 2005 season.
In addition to her role as Claire, the matriarch of the dysfunctional Meade family on ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” Light recently appeared as a guest star on the NBC hit series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” She also recently produced and starred in the film “Save Me” with Chad Allen and Robert Gant. Her first feature film was “Ira & Abby,” with Robert Klein, Fred Willard and Frances Conroy.
Light is an advocate for many organizations and charities representing AIDS-related and Human Rights issues, including Broadway Cares Equity Fight Aids, The Names Project, AIDS Memorial Quilt, Project Angel Food, The Point Foundation, The Trevor Project, The Aids Memorial Grove and Hollywood Health & Society.
Ashley Jensen
Christina McKinney
Poised with a combination of wit, charm and brilliant comedic timing, Ashley Jensen has left her mark on both audience and industry members alike. Honored with The Best Television Comedy Actress and Newcomer Awards at the 2005 British Comedy Awards for her work on “Extras,” Jensen’s commitment to comedic excellence has proven unwavering.
Jensen stars as Christina McKinney on ABC’s hugely popular “Ugly Betty.” As Christina, the seamstress for the fictional Mode magazine, she not only reigns supreme of the fashion closet at Mode, but also proves to be Betty’s one true ally in the office.
Jensen recently reprised her role as Maggie Jacobs for Season Two of HBO’s “Extras,” opposite Ricky Gervais. As film extras, Jensen and Gervais’ characters find themselves on a different film set each week trying to establish themselves in the industry, while simultaneously trying to master their personal lives.
“Extras” originally aired on BBC 2 in the United Kingdom. In 2006 Jensen won the Rose d’Or award for Best Sitcom Actress for her work on the show, as well as the Golden Nymph Award for Best Actress at the 2006 Monte Carlo Film Festival. She was also nominated for a BAFTA for Best Comedic Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series. Named comedienne of the year in 2006 by Glamour Magazine UK, Jensen was also recently nominated for a WIN Award for her performance on “Extras.”
Jensen starred in BBC America’s drama series, “Eleventh Hour,” opposite Patrick Stewart. As protection officer Rachel Young, she was able to exercise her acting range in this politically charged suspense/drama. Other projects include “Rebus,” “Clocking Off,” “City Central,” “Sweet Medicine,” “Two Thousand Acres of Sky,” “Outside the Rules” and films such as “A Cock and Bull Story” and “Topsy-Turvy.”
Jensen was born in Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles.
Christopher Gorham
Henry Grubstick
Christopher Gorham, a mainstay of the stage, screen and television, can currently be seen as the endearing Henry Grubstick on the ABC comedy hit “Ugly Betty.”
Gorham just recently completed a guest performance role in the Off-Broadway production, “Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell,” at the Minetta Lane Theater.
On TV Gorham was a series regular on the NBC comedy “Out of Practice” opposite Henry Winkler, Stockard Channing and Jennifer Tilly. He has also been seen as newbie “Dr. McCabe” opposite Neal McDonough in NBC’s “Medical Investigation.” The series chronicled a team of medical investigators who tackle life-and-death rescue mysteries throughout the world. Gorham adeptly transitioned into the role of a leading man on the acclaimed action-adventure drama series, “Jake 2.0,” where he starred as Jake Foley, a computer technician whose life is drastically changed when he’s accidentally injected with microscopic machines that invade his nervous system and endow him with superhuman abilities.
Gorham made his feature film debut in acclaimed director Danny Boyle’s “A Life Less Ordinary,” with Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz. In direct contrast, he starred opposite Anne Hathaway as a missionary who heads to the Tongan Islands in the film “The Other Side of Heaven” for producer Gerald Molen.
Other credits include Showtime’s lauded sci-fi adventure “Odyssey 5,” with Peter Weller, and The WB’s cult hit, “Popular.” He also had recurring roles on both “Felicity” and “Party of Five.” Notable guest star turns include “CSI,” “Without a Trace,” “Boomtown” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Gorham is a Fresno native who attended UCLA, where he met his actress wife, Anel, with whom he now lives with their two sons.
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