Paula Garcés
Paula Garcés (born March 20, 1974) is a Colombian-American actress. She is known for her appearance in films such as Clockstoppers, Man of the House and the Harold & Kumar series, and on TV shows such as CSI: Miami, On My Block, The Shield, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, Oz, Devious Maids, Guiding Light and All My Children.
Paula Garcés | |
---|---|
Born | Medellín, Colombia | March 20, 1974
Citizenship |
|
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1991–present |
Spouse |
Antonio Hernandez (m. 2002) |
Children | 2 |
Website | paulagarces |
Early life
Paula Garcés was born on March 20, 1974, in Medellín, Colombia. At a very early age she moved to East Harlem in New York City.[2][3][4]
Career
Acting
Garcés played Alvina in 1995's Dangerous Minds with Michelle Pfeiffer. Garcés has also co-starred on Guiding Light as Pilar Santos.
She co-starred in Paramount Pictures' 2002 teen sci-fi adventure Clockstoppers, starring opposite Jesse Bradford. She was then cast in Richard Benjamin's hip-hop comedy Marci X opposite Lisa Kudrow and Damon Wayans. Garcés was next seen opposite Academy Award-winner Tommy Lee Jones in the Revolution Studios feature Man of the House. In 2004, she starred in National Lampoon's Pledge This!. She was featured on CSI: Miami and starred in a four episode arc on NBC's Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as guest spots on HBO's hit series The Sopranos and Oz.
Garcés landed a role as a cast member on The Shield. She appeared in New Line Cinema's 2004 feature film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, its 2008 sequel Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and the 2011 sequel A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as Maria, the love interest and later wife of John Cho's character.
Garcés was a series regular on the ABC drama series Defying Gravity, playing documentarian Paula Morales during its single 2009 season. She had a recurring role as Dr. Kelly Hernandez in the Syfy TV series Warehouse 13 She was also featured in the video "Imagínate" with Wisin & Yandel, and rapper T-Pain. In May 2011, Garcés appeared in "Off the Beaten Path", the 11th episode of season one of Breakout Kings. In February 2013, Garcés appeared on the CBS series Elementary, playing villainous police officer Paula Reyes in season one's episode "Details".
Garcés played Ruby's mom in On My Block, a Netflix series, and reprised the role in its spinoff Freeridge.
Aluna Comics
While attending a Comic-Con to promote one of the Harold & Kumar films, Garcés noted the sizeable Latino audience for superheroes, despite the low number of Latino characters in the genre.[5][6] She created Further Lane Productions to issue a limited run comic book featuring the Latina superhero Aluna, later working with S2 Games to create, and voice, Aluna as a 2011 playable hero added to Heroes of Newerth, S2's multiplayer online battle arena video game.[5][7][8][9] In time for the 2014 Comic-Con, she worked with sekretagent Productions and Allegory Media to produce a four issue Aluna comic book series.[7][10][11] In 2019, Aluna was developed into an action RPG.[12]
Personal life
Garcés is a naturalized United States citizen.[13] Her first child, a daughter, was born in 1992.[14] In 2002, she married entrepreneur and producer Antonio Hernandez.[15] The couple have a son, born in 2013.[15][16][17]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Hangin' with the Homeboys | Harassed Sister | |
1993 | Life with Mikey | Janice | |
1995 | Dangerous Minds | Alvina | |
1998 | Harvest | Mina Fuentes | |
2002 | Clockstoppers | Francesca | |
2003 | The Station Agent | Cashier | |
2003 | Marci X | Yolanda Quinones | |
2003 | Spin | Francesca | |
2004 | Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | Maria | |
2005 | Che Guevara | Aleida | |
2005 | The Shore | Tina | |
2005 | Man of the House | Teresa | |
2006 | National Lampoon's Pledge This! | Gloria Torrez | |
2008 | Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay | Maria | |
2008 | Harold & Kumar Go to Amsterdam | Maria | Short film |
2011 | A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas | Maria | |
2011 | Deception | Katrina Mendoza | |
2013 | The Maid's Room | Drina | |
2014 | Adult Beginners | Blanca | |
2021 | Aftermath | Claudia |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Law & Order | Lucy Rivers | Episode: "The Secret Sharers" |
1994 | New York Undercover | Aria Nuriez | Episode: "School Ties" |
1999 | Oz | Isabella | Episodes: "The Truth and Nothing But...", "Napoleon's Boney Parts"; uncredited |
1999–2001 | Guiding Light | Pilar Santos | Regular role |
2002 | The Brothers García | Milagros | Episode: "West Side Stories" |
2003 | CSI: Miami | Carmen Abregon | Episode: "Simple Man" |
2004 | The Sopranos | Felicia Galan | Episode: "Unidentified Black Males" |
2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | CSU Tech Millie Vizcarrondo | 4 episodes |
2006–2008 | The Shield | Officer Tina Hanlon | Recurring role (seasons 5–6); main role (season 7) |
2007 | CSI: Miami | Anna Sivarro | Episodes: "A Grizzly Murder", "Bloodline" |
2008 | Knight Rider | Kelli Haddigan | Episode: "A Knight in Shining Armor" |
2009 | Defying Gravity | Paula Morales | Main role |
2010–2014 | Warehouse 13 | Dr. Kelly Hernandez | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
2010 | Chase | Tia Archer | Episode: "Betrayed" |
2011 | The Good Wife | Aida Rios | Episode: "Foreign Affairs" |
2011 | Breakout Kings | Debbie Myera | Episode: "Off the Beaten Path" |
2013 | Elementary | Paula Reyes | Episode: "Details" |
2013 | All My Children | Lea Marquez | Recurring role |
2013 | Devious Maids | Flora Hernandez | Recurring role (season 1), 6 episodes |
2016 | King of LA | Valerie | Unsold television pilot |
2017 | Major Crimes | Alexa Diaz | Recurring role (season 6), 5 episodes |
2018–2021 | On My Block | Geny Martinez | Recurring role |
2022 | Chicago Med | Gia Lindahl | Episode: "All the Things That Could Have Been" |
2023 | Freeridge | Geny Martinez | 4 episodes |
References
- "AMC Star Pregnant". Soap Opera Digest. June 21, 2013.
- "Today's history on this day". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. March 20, 2012, Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- Valeria, Andrea (2011). El poder de tu cumpleaños: 366 Dias de Revealciones Astrologicas y Astronomicas. Penguin Group US. ISBN 9780983139010
- Garcés, Paula (May 9, 2013). "Paula Garces's Blog: Meet Me and My Family!" People.
- Moreno, Carolina (July 9, 2013). "Paula Garces Creates Aluna, A Latina Superhero, To Represent Latinos". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- "Hometown superhero: Paula Garces' new comic book series 'Aluna'". April 15, 2019.
- Garcés, Paula (September 5, 2013). "Meet Me and My Family!". Sekretagent Productions. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- "Aluna Comes to Life". HofN Newsletter Vol7. S2 Games. 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- Callaham, John (February 25, 2011). "Interview: Actress Paula Garces talks about bringing Aluna to Heroes of Newerth". BigDownload.com. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- alunathecomic (July 23, 2014). "Aluna 2014 San Diego Comic Con". Aluna Comics. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- "Actress Paula Garces Co-Creator of ALUNA, Latina Superhero Comic Book Series, at San Diego Comic Con 2017".
- "How a Hollywood Actress Created a Latina Superhero for Comics & Games". November 2, 2019.
- @therealpaulagarces (June 23, 2020). "#vote I just voted I walked to 2 locations but I didn't give up so don't you #itsyourright #votolatino #ijustvoted". Retrieved December 9, 2022 – via Instagram.
- Castillo, Amaris (June 26, 2013). "'Devious Maids' Star Paula Garces is Expecting!". Latina. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- Leonard, Elizabeth (June 26, 2013). "Paula Garces Expecting Second Child". People. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- WENN Staff (June 27, 2013). "Paula Garces: 'My Pregnancy Is A Miracle'". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
- Hernandez, Lee (November 20, 2013). "Paula Garces Welcomes Son Antonio Andres". People. Retrieved April 18, 2016.