Andrea Navedo
Born and raised in the Bronx, Andrea Navedo's first role was in a fifth grade play. She had no lines but loved being onstage. However, a limited family income meant there was no money for acting lessons, so it wasn't until her freshman year at SUNY Old Westbury that Navedo saw an audition sign and decided to give acting a try. Her first major role came in 1995 when she was cast as Linda Soto on long-running soap opera "One Life to Live" (ABC 1968-). Frustrated by her character's limited role as the Latina girlfriend of a gang member, Navedeo tried to infuse her performance with heart and personality. It worked, and her character remained on the show for two and a half years with increasingly complex storylines. Following her stint on daytime, Navedo was cast in the recurring role of Detective Ana Cordova on the crime procedural institution "Law & Order" (NBC 1990-2010). This was followed by supporting roles on prime time dramas like "Damages" (FX 2007-2010), "Blue Bloods" (CBS 2010-), and "How to Make it in America" (HBO 2011). Navedo returned to series television when she was cast as Xiomara "Xo" Villanueva in the comedy-drama series "Jane the Virgin" (CW 2014-). Navedo plays the mother of the titular Jane, a young religious woman in Miami who becomes pregnant when her doctor artificially inseminates her by mistake. The series, based on a popular telenovela, was an immediate critical and ratings hit.