Valerie Cruz (born July 18, 1976) is an American actress. Cruz was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey of Cuban ancestry.[1] She attended Florida State University and received a BFA theatre degree. [citation needed]

Valerie Cruz
Cruz in 2008
Born (1976-07-18) July 18, 1976 (age 48)
Years active2002–present

Career

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She has appeared in films such as Cellular and played Grace Santiago, a main character in Nip/Tuck, but she left the show just after the first season.[2] She has made guest appearances in series such as Grey's Anatomy and Las Vegas. In 2007, she appeared as Connie Murphy, a tough Chicago police detective, in SciFi Channel's adaptation of The Dresden Files. The show lasted for one season.

Cruz played Maria Nolan on the CW's Hidden Palms. In 2008, she appeared in the third season of Dexter, playing Syl Prado, the wife of Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits).

In 2009, she appeared in the horror film The Devil's Tomb and the HBO series True Blood, in which she played the part of Isabel. That same year, Cruz played Olivia in the film La Linea. In 2010 she became part of the cast of the ABC drama Off the Map, which was canceled by ABC On May 13, 2011. In 2011 she had a recurring role as a Homeland Security agent in the Syfy series Alphas. In 2012, she played an evil doctor in the "Organ Grinder" episode of Grimm; the wife of a dictator in the "Enemy of the State" episode of Scandal; and an investigator for the football league in the episode "Spell It Out" of Necessary Roughness. She also starred on The Following as Agent Gina Mendez.

Awards

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  • 2008 ALMA Awards Nomination; Best lead actress in a drama series for The Dresden Files on SciFi Channel
  • 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination; Best ensemble cast in a drama series for Dexter on Showtime Networks

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Cellular Detective Dana Bayback
2008 No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker Allison
2009 The Line Olivia
2009 The Devil's Tomb Dr. Elissa Cardell Direct-to-Video
2014 The Loft Barbara Stevens
2016 Custody Claudia Sanjuro
2016 My First Miracle Heidi
2018 Locating Silver Lake Luisa

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Strong Medicine Almira "Precautions"
2002 American Family Officer #1 "La Llorona: Part 1"
2002 The Agency Ms. Constanza Diaz "Heartless"
2003 Nip/Tuck Grace Santiago Main role (Season 1)
2004 Missing Karen Moore "Delusional"
2004 Crossing Jordan Madeline Pillsbury "What Happens in Vegas Dies in Boston"
2004 Las Vegas Madeline Pillsbury "Two of a Kind"
2005 LAX Carla "Mixed Signals"
2005 Grey's Anatomy Zona Cruz "No Man's Land"
2005 Inconceivable Vanessa Calder "The Last Straw"
2006 Invasion Colonel Sabrina Lopez "Re-Evolution", "The Last Wave Goodbye"
2006, 2013 Dexter Syl Prado Recurring role (season 3), guest (season 8)
2007 Hidden Palms Maria Nolan Recurring role
2007–2008 The Dresden Files Lieutenant Connie Murphy Main role
2008 Street Warrior Maggie Kuerner TV film
2009 Eleventh Hour Coco Delgado "Olfactus"
2009 Dollhouse Selena Ramirez "A Spy in the House of Love"
2009 True Blood Isabel Beaumont Recurring role
2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit U.S. Attorney Camilla Velez "Shadow"
2010 Criminal Minds Brooke Sanchez "Parasite"
2011 Off the Map Dr. Zee Alvarez Main role
2011 The Glades Dr. Sophie Perez "Dirty Little Secrets"
2011 Alphas Kathy Sullivan Recurring role
2012 The Secret Lives of Wives Alyse TV film
2012 Grimm Dr. Levine "Organ Grinder"
2012 Scandal Carolina Flores "Enemy of the State"
2012 Necessary Roughness Vera Dade "Spell It Out", "Double Fault"
2012 Homeland Major Joy Mendez Recurring role
2013 NCIS Anna "Detour"
2014 Bosch Teresa Corazon "'Tis the Season"
2014–2015 The Following Agent Gina Mendez Regular role
2015 Quantico Vera Rodriguez "God."
2017 Chicago Justice Miranda Sharp "Lily's Law"
2017 Doubt Commander Olivia Jimenez "Top Dog/Underdog"
2018 The Resident Renata Lopez "Pilot"
2018 Life Sentence Gina Recurring role
2019 The Rookie Elena Ruiz "The Checklist", "Free Fall"
2018–2021 Charmed Marisol Vera Recurring role (seasons 1–2), guest (season 3)
2022 Walker: Independence Teresa Davidson guest

References

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  1. ^ Hernandez, Lee (January 20, 2014). "The Following's Hot New FBI Agent Valerie Cruz: 5 Things to Know". People Magazine. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  2. ^ TV.com
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