Luna Lauren Vélez (born November , ) is an American actress and the
twin sister of actress Lorraine Vélez. Her most notable roles are as
MarÃa LaGuerta on Showtime's Dexter, Detective Nina Moreno on Fox's
New York Undercover, Dr. Gloria Nathan on HBO's prison drama Oz, and
Elena on ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty.In the early s, Vélez's
parents moved from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, where she and her twin
sister, Lorraine Vélez, were born. The twins have five other sisters
and one brother. Vélez's father, a New York City Police Department
officer, eventually bought a house in Far Rockaway, Queens and moved
the family there. The twins staged improvised plays and acting for the
family, and participated in nearly all their high school drama
productions, such as Fiddler on the Roof. After graduating from high
school, they received scholarships to attend the Alvin Ailey Dance
School. They went on to study acting at the Acting Studio with its
founding artistic director James Price, the protégé and personal
friend of Sanford Meisner. Lauren also studied Shakespeare with
Michael Howard.Vélez landed her first performing job in the national
touring company of the musical Dreamgirls. She was also understudy for
actress Phylicia Rashad in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and
performed Off-Broadway in productions of Much Ado About Nothing.In ,
Vélez landed her first major television role as Nina Moreno, a
policewoman, in the TV series New York Undercover. That year, she also
made her film debut as Lisette Linares in the movie I Like It Like
That alongside Rita Moreno and Jon Seda. She was nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award and The Desi Award for Best Lead Actress. The
movie was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards and won an
NYFCCA award. Another TV series in which she performed was HBO's jail
drama Oz. She also acted in the feature film City Hall () with Al
Pacino. In , she starred in Buscando un Sueño (In Search of a Dream),
the first Spanish-language film sanctioned by SAG. She again played
police lieutenant MarÃa LaGuerta, in a major supporting role on
Showtime's series Dexter.
twin sister of actress Lorraine Vélez. Her most notable roles are as
MarÃa LaGuerta on Showtime's Dexter, Detective Nina Moreno on Fox's
New York Undercover, Dr. Gloria Nathan on HBO's prison drama Oz, and
Elena on ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty.In the early s, Vélez's
parents moved from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, where she and her twin
sister, Lorraine Vélez, were born. The twins have five other sisters
and one brother. Vélez's father, a New York City Police Department
officer, eventually bought a house in Far Rockaway, Queens and moved
the family there. The twins staged improvised plays and acting for the
family, and participated in nearly all their high school drama
productions, such as Fiddler on the Roof. After graduating from high
school, they received scholarships to attend the Alvin Ailey Dance
School. They went on to study acting at the Acting Studio with its
founding artistic director James Price, the protégé and personal
friend of Sanford Meisner. Lauren also studied Shakespeare with
Michael Howard.Vélez landed her first performing job in the national
touring company of the musical Dreamgirls. She was also understudy for
actress Phylicia Rashad in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and
performed Off-Broadway in productions of Much Ado About Nothing.In ,
Vélez landed her first major television role as Nina Moreno, a
policewoman, in the TV series New York Undercover. That year, she also
made her film debut as Lisette Linares in the movie I Like It Like
That alongside Rita Moreno and Jon Seda. She was nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award and The Desi Award for Best Lead Actress. The
movie was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards and won an
NYFCCA award. Another TV series in which she performed was HBO's jail
drama Oz. She also acted in the feature film City Hall () with Al
Pacino. In , she starred in Buscando un Sueño (In Search of a Dream),
the first Spanish-language film sanctioned by SAG. She again played
police lieutenant MarÃa LaGuerta, in a major supporting role on
Showtime's series Dexter.
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