# Valerie Cruz

Valerie Cruz is an American actress.

## Early life and education

Valerie Cruz is of Cuban ancestry.
She attended Florida State University and received a BFA theatre degree.

## Career

Cruz appeared in the film Cellular and played Grace Santiago, a main character in Nip/Tuck, but she left the show just after the first season. 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

* 2008: Nominated, ALMA Award, Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series, for The Dresden Files on SciFi Channel
* 2009: Nominated, Screen Actors Guild Award, Best Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series, for Dexter

## Filmography
### Film

| 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

| 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 |