# Wanda De Jesus

Wanda De Jesus (born August 26, 1958) is an American character actress.

## Early life

De Jesus was born and raised in the Little Italy neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of parents who came to New York from Puerto Rico. She attended the High School of Performing Arts and earned a degree in performing arts in 1981 from the City College of New York.

## Career

In 1986, De Jesus made both her stage and television debuts: starring opposite Robert De Niro in the Broadway play Cuba and His Teddy Bear and playing a recurring role on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World. In 1987, De Jesus starred in the short-lived ABC prison drama series, Mariah. She later made guest starring appearances on L.A. Law, Tales from the Darkside and Matlock.
In 1990, De Jesus had supporting roles in the action comedy film Downtown and the science fiction film RoboCop 2. She was the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara from 1991 to 1992. In 1994 she returned to the big screen, starring in the crime drama The Glass Shield, and appeared alongside Jimmy Smits in Death and the Maiden at the Mark Taper Forum. The following year she was a regular cast member in the short-lived drama series Live Shot. She guest-starred on Babylon 5, Touched by an Angel, NYPD Blue and Nash Bridges. She later appeared in films The Insider (1999), Flawless (1999), Once in the Life (2000) and Ghosts of Mars (2001). In 2002, De Jesus starred opposite Clint Eastwood in the mystery thriller film Blood Work playing Graciella Rivers, a Latino woman still enraged over the murder of her sister. From 2002 to 2003 she had a recurring role on the CBS crime series CSI: Miami as MDPD Detective Adelle Sevilla. In 2007, De Jesus starred in the crime drama film, Illegal Tender.
In 2010, De Jesus had a recurring role as Iris Blanco, the mayor of Pine Valley in the ABC soap opera, All My Children. Later in 2010, De Jesus was cast as the head of the police squad on the NBC series Law & Order: Los Angeles, but the role – which had already been changed significantly before De Jesus joined – was changed again and reshot with a different actress after two episodes had been filmed. In 2012 she had a recurring role in the FX crime drama series, Sons of Anarchy. In 2022 she had a recurring role in the Paramount+ psychological thriller Fatal Attraction.

## Personal life

De Jesus has been in a relationship with actor Jimmy Smits since 1986. They live together in Los Angeles.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Downtown | Luisa Diaz | |
| 1990 | RoboCop 2 | Estevez | |
| 1994 | The Glass Shield | Carmen Munoz | |
| 1995 | Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys | Leslie Moore | |
| 1997 | Executive Power | Debra Skelly | Video |
| 1999 | Time to Pay | Magdalena Scanlon | Video |
| 1999 | Flawless | Karen | |
| 2000 | Once in the Life | Jackie | |
| 2001 | Ghosts of Mars | Akooshay | |
| 2002 | Blood Work | Graciella Rivers | |
| 2007 | Illegal Tender | Millie De Leon | |
| 2009 | The Ministers | Capt. Diaz | |
| 2013 | Water & Power | Officer Siler | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Another World | Gomez | TV series |
| 1987 | Mariah | Leda Cervantes | Regular role |
| 1987 | L.A. Law | Ms. Santiago | "The Wizard of Odds" |
| 1988 | The Pursuit of Happiness | Mrs. Lopez | "That Pair of Eyes" |
| 1988 | Tales from the Darkside | Telephone (voice) | "Payment Overdue" |
| 1990 | Singer & Sons | Mary Garza | "Our's Not to Reason Why Shmy" |
| 1990 | Lucky Chances | Suzita | TV miniseries |
| 1990 | Lifestories | Dr. Duran | "Frank Brody" |
| 1990 | Matlock | Alana Leon | "The Fighter" |
| 1991 | Equal Justice | Suzanne Garner | "Opening Farewell" |
| 1991 | Fatal Friendship | Darlene | TV film |
| 1991-1992 | Santa Barbara | Santana Andrade | Main role |
| 1992 | Civil Wars | Linda Rodriguez | "Tape Fear" |
| 1995 | Babylon 5 | Sarah | "Hunter, Prey" |
| 1995 | SeaQuest DSV | Comm. Pamela Lopez | "Chains of Command" |
| 1995 | Live Shot | Liz Vega | Regular role |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Sue Cheney | "Jacob's Ladder" |
| 1996 | NYPD Blue | Det. Martina Escobar | "Girl Talk" |
| 1996 | Spider-Man | Dr. Sylvia Lopez (voice) | "Sins of the Fathers Chapter 12: The Spot" |
| 1996 | Diagnosis: Murder | Det. Emma Lopez | "Murder in the Family" |
| 1996 | Profiler | Catherine Evers | "Cruel and Unusual" |
| 1997 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Xochitl (voice) | "The Shoemaker and the Elves" |
| 1997 | Gold Coast | Vivian Onzola | TV film |
| 1997 | Brooklyn South | Det. Marina McConnell | "A Reverend Runs Through It" |
| 1997 | Nash Bridges | Agent Janet Reynolds | "Bombshell" |
| 1998 | Vengeance Unlimited | District Atty. Rosalie Hanson | "Dishonorable Discharge" |
| 1999 | Promised Land | Nina Charles | "Finale" |
| 2000 | Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Ali | "At Poverty Level" |
| 2002 | Almost a Woman | Mami | TV film |
| 2002 | Thieves | Katrina Epstein | "The Green and the Black", "Home Is Where the Heist Is" |
| 2002-2003 | CSI: Miami | Det. Adell Sevilla | Recurring role |
| 2005 | Detective | Sanchez | TV film |
| 2010 | Law & Order: LA | Lt. Arleen Gonzalez | "Hollywood" |
| 2010 | All My Children | Iris Blanco | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Sons of Anarchy | Carla | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Blue | Cynthia | "Everything Is a Test" |
| 2015 | Letter Never Sent | Edith | TV film |
| 2020 | Gentefied | Delfina | Recurring Role |
| 2023 | Fatal Attraction | Marcella Levya | Recurring Role |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Group | Award | Result | Film/Show |
| 1996 | NCLR Bravo Award | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | Live Shot |
| 2003 | Imagen Award | Best Actress in a Television Film | Won | Almost a Woman |
| 2007 | Imagen Award | Best Actress in a Film | Nominated | Illegal Tender |