Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1964-11-02
- Born Place: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As:
Lauren Luna Vélez, Luna Velez, Lauren Vélez, לונה ולז, Λούνα Βέλεζ, Λόρεν Βέλεζ, لونا لورن ولز
Luna Lauren Velez
Luna Lauren Vélez is an accomplished American actress born on November 2, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Queens alongside her twin sister, Lorraine, she developed an early passion for acting, performing in school plays from a young age. After high school, Vélez received a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey Dance School, which led to her debut in the national touring company of the musical Dreamgirls. She further honed her craft by studying acting at The Acting Studio in New York City. Vélez's breakthrough role came in 1994 when she portrayed Detective Nina Moreno on Fox's New York Undercover. Her performance earned her the NCLR Bravo Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. She continued to gain recognition with roles in HBO's Oz and Showtime's Dexter, where she played Dr. Gloria Nathan and María LaGuerta, respectively. Her versatility extended to comedy with her portrayal of Elena on ABC's Ugly Betty. In addition to her television work, Vélez has appeared in films such as I Like It Like That (1994) and City Hall (1996), and lent her voice to the character Rio Morales in the animated films Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023). Throughout her career, Vélez has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Imagen Award for Best Voice-Over Actor for her role in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2024). Her work has been celebrated for breaking stereotypes and providing representation for Afro-Latin actresses in Hollywood.
