Early life and career in theatre Ortiz was born in
New York City, As a child, Ortiz studied ballet for eight years, until the pain of dancing
en pointe forced her to pursue a different artistic discipline. Ortiz graduated from
University of the Arts in
Philadelphia. she appeared
Off-Broadway in ''
In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, directed by Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and named one of the 10-best plays of 1999 by the magazine Time Out New York''. Ortiz appeared in several television shows including
NYPD Blue,
Everybody Loves Raymond,
Commander In Chief,
ER, and
The New Adventures of Old Christine. She had her first series regular role in short-lived NBC comedy series
Kristin (2001). She later starred in another short-lived sitcom, called
A.U.S.A. in 2003, and later had recurring roles in the FX drama
Over There, and ABC series
Boston Legal. In addition to her role on
Ugly Betty, Ortiz was active in films, which include starring roles in
Tortilla Heaven and
Labor Pains. She also had a voice role in
Batman: Gotham Knight, and starred in the made-for-television movie
Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story in 2008. Ortiz also had a guest-starring role on
Army Wives during its second season, playing a waitress named Sandi. She also appeared in the 2010 music video for
Enrique Iglesias and
Juan Luis Guerra's "
Cuando me enamoro".
2010–present: Devious Maids and later After
Ugly Betty ended in 2010, Ortiz was cast as the lead character in the ABC drama pilot
True Blue about San Francisco homicide detectives reunited to solve the murder of one of their own. The pilot was not picked up to series. The following year she appeared in the comedy film
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, and starred in another pilot, called
Outnumbered for Fox, her second pilot not picked up to series. She later had a recurring role on the HBO comedy series
Hung. Ortiz also starred in the independent films
Sleeping with the Fishes, and
Such Good People. In 2012, Ortiz was cast as a lead character on the ABC comedy drama pilot
Devious Maids. While ABC chose not to pick it up to series, Lifetime picked up the pilot with a thirteen-episode order. The series premiered June 23, 2013, on Lifetime with positive reviews from critics. In the show, she plays the lead role of Marisol Duarte (the alias of Professor Marisol Suarez). Also in 2013, Ortiz was special guest star in the ABC primetime soap opera,
Revenge, as Bizzy Preston. In 2014, Ortiz guest-starred in episodes of two ABC shows:
How to Get Away with Murder and
Black-ish. In 2014 Ortiz was cast in the gay-drama film
Love is All You Need? (2016), based on the 2011 short film with the same name.
Devious Maids was canceled after four seasons, in 2016. The following year, Ortiz starred in her third unsold pilot, a comedy called
Charlie Foxtrot. She did voice over work in the 2018 film
Ralph Breaks the Internet. In 2019, Ortiz appeared in the main cast of the comedy drama
Whiskey Cavalier, playing FBI
profiler Susan Sampson. In 2020, Ortiz starred in the acclaimed Hulu series
Love, Victor as Isabel Salazar, mother of the title character Victor Salazar. Her role is acclaimed by critics. ==Personal life==