America Ferrera
Birthdate: Apr 18, 1984
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
America Ferrera (birthname: America Georgina Ferrera) is one of the most successful Latina actors in recent television and film, making a major first impression in her big-screen debut in Josefina Lopez’s screen version of her play, Real Women Have Curves (2002), which premiered at the Sundance film festival, where she won a Special Jury Prize for acting, and co-starred Lupe Ontiveros and George Lopez.
The first hit movie ($42 million gross) for Ferrera was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), co-written by Delia Ephron and Elizabeth Chandler, based on Ann Brashares’ novel, with Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, and Bradley Whitford; the movie spawned a sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008), with Ferrera once again co-starring with Tamblyn, Lively, and Bledel, and earning $44 million for Warner Bros. Director Catherine Hardwicke cast Ferrera in a supporting role in Lords of Dogtown (2005), based on screenwriter Stacy Peralta’s life as a skateboarder, co-starring Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, John Robinson, Michael Angarano, Nikki Reed, Heath Ledger, Rebecca De Mornay, and Johnny Knoxville.
Ferrera next starred in the indie drama by writer-director Shawna Baca, 3:52 (2005), followed by Ferrera co-starring opposite John Heard, Tom Guiry, Laurie Metcalf, and Raymond J. Barry in the Sundance-premiering indie drama, Steel City (2006). Ferrera played support in Mexican director Patricia Riggen’s U.S.-Mexico co-production, Under the Same Moon/La misma luna (2007), with Kate del Castillo, Adrian Alonso, and Eugenio Derbez, and released by Fox Searchlight/The Weinstein Company.
Ferrera then co-starred and executive-produced in (her future husband) writer-director Ryan Piers Williams’ drama, The Dry Land (2010), with Ryan O’Nan, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Ritter and Melissa Leo, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. America Ferrera co-starred with Forest Whitaker in writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s rom-com, Our Family Wedding (2010), with Regina King, earning over $21 million for Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Ferrera landed one of her most successful roles—her first voice role—as Astrid Hofferson in DreamWorks Animation/Paramount Pictures’ How to Train Your Dragon (2010), which was followed by several related short films as well as sequels How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019), earning a total global box office exceeding $1.65 billion.
America Ferrera returned to her indie film roots in a co-starring role in writer-director Todd Berger’s black comedy, It’s a Disaster (2012), with David Cross and Julia Stiles, followed by Ferrera playing a supporting role in writer-director David Ayer’s cop drama, End of Watch (2012), starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, and premiering at the Toronto film festival, and grossing a robust $57.6 million global box-office.
Ferrara reunited with Peña (as Helen and Cesar Chavez) in the Diego Luna-directed biopic, Cesar Chavez (2014), with Rosario Dawson, John Malkovich, Yancey Arias, Wes Bentley, and Julian Sands, premiering at the Berlin Film Festival. Ferrera was a lead producer and co-starred with husband Ryan Piers Williams (also writer-director) in X/Y (2014), with Common, Amber Tamblyn, and David Harbour, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Ferrera had one of her biggest supporting roles in Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster hit, Barbie (2023), co-written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, and co-starring Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Simu Liu, Helen Mirren, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell, and dominating the summer 2023 box office with global number far exceeding $1 billion.
Ferrera had another significant supporting role in Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures’ Dumb Money (2023), director Craig Gillespie’s and co-writers Lauren Schuker Blum’s and Rebecca Angelo’s screen version of Ben Mezrich’s 2021 book on the short squeeze of the GameStop stock, The Antisocial Network, with a cast including Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Nick Offerman, Anthony Ramos, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, and Seth Rogen, and premiering at the Toronto film festival. Ferrera co-starred in a lead voice role in writer-director Adrian Molina’s animated sci-fi comedy for Disney-Pixar, Elio (2024), with Yonas Kibreab, Jameela Jamil, and Brad Garrett.
Personal Details
America Ferrera was born and raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills by mother America Griselda Ayes (housekeeper) and Carlos Gregorio Ferrera, who both immigrated to the U.S. from Tegucigalpa, Honduras in the 1970s. Her parents divorced when Ferrera was seven; her father Carlos then returned to Honduras, and Ferrera was estranged from him until his death in 2010.
Ferrera revealed in 2017 during the #MeToo campaign that she had been sexually harassed at age nine but hasn’t named the person who committed the act. Ferrera is the youngest of six siblings. Ferrera schooled at Calabash Street Elementary School (where she played The Artful Dodger in her school’s production of Oliver!), George Eller Hale Middle School, and El Camino Real High School, where she performed in school productions and studied acting. Ferrera started working in community theater and school plays when she was eight.
After graduating from El Camino, Ferrera earned a Presidential scholarship carrying a double major in theater and international relations at the University of Southern California but dropped out to pursue an acting career. Ferrera completed her higher education and earned a Bachelor’s degree from USC in 2013. Ferrera has been married to actor-director-writer Ryan Piers Williams since 2011; the couple has two children, a boy named Sebastian and a girl named Lucia. Ferrera’s height is 5’ 1”. Ferrera’s estimated net worth is $16 million.
Filmography
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- 2023 | Dumb MoneyasJenny
Dumb Money
David vs. Goliath tale about everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (the video game store) into the world's hottest company.
- 2021 | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for ItasSelf
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It
A look at the life and work of Rita Moreno from her humble beginnings in Puerto Rico to her success on Broadway and in Hollywood.
- 2019 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden WorldasAstrid
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
When Hiccup discovers Toothless isn't the only Night Fury, he must seek the Hidden World, a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel finds it first.
- 2012 | End of WatchasOrozco
End of Watch
Shot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
Some Facts About America Ferrera
Stage Life: America Ferrera has performed in Off-Broadway theater, including the Century Center for the Performing Arts production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead.
Expensive Smile: Ferrera has insured her smile through Lloyd’s of London for $10 million.
Sports Investor: America Ferrera is an investor with a group comprised mostly of women in the National Women’s Soccer League franchise, Angel City FC, launched in 2022.
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