# Marlene Forte

Marlene Forte is a Cuban actress and producer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Carmen Ramos on the television soap opera Dallas (2012–2014). Forte also had recurring roles in Fear the Walking Dead, The Fosters and Altered Carbon. Her notable film credits including A Haunted House (2013), El Chicano (2018), Knives Out (2019), and The Way Back (2020).

## Life and career

Forte studied English literature at Rutgers and education at Montclair State University. She has appeared in many independent films since the early 1990s. She received an Imagen Award nomination for performance in the 2008 film Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story. On television, Forte appeared in recurring roles on Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Crossing Jordan, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her film appearances include the transporter chief in the 2009 Star Trek reboot and Mrs. Glass in Real Women Have Curves.
In 2012, Forte was cast on TNT's revamped Dallas, playing Carmen Ramos, longtime Ewing family housekeeper and mother to Elena (played by Jordana Brewster). She played another housekeeper in the 2013 comedy film, A Haunted House, and co-starred in the Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club (2014). After Dallas, Forte had recurring role as Elena Gutierrez in the ABC Family drama series, The Fosters from 2015 to 2017.
In 2016, Forte played Celia Flores, the main antagonist during the first half of season 2 of the AMC horror drama series, Fear the Walking Dead. In 2018, she was cast as Alazne Ortega for the first season of the Netflix science fiction drama series, Altered Carbon. Her other television credits include Claws, Mayans M.C., Runaways, Superstore and The Conners. Forte also played supporting roles in the 2018 superhero film El Chicano as Raúl Castillo's character' mother, 2019 mystery crime comedy Knives Out as Ana de Armas' mother, and 2020 drama film The Way Back. In 2021, she appeared in the Netflix vampire film Night Teeth.
In 2022, Forte starred and produced horror thriller film Hypochondriac that premiered at the South by Southwest festival.

## Personal life

Forte married screenwriter Oliver Mayer in 2006. They live in Los Angeles, California. They have no children together, but Forte has daughter Giselle Rodriguez, who works as a producer, from a previous relationship. Forte is the sister of former HSN host Lesley Ann Machado.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1991 | The Color of Love | | |
| 1991 | The Bronx War | | |
| 1997 | Lena's Dreams | Lena | Also producer |
| 1998 | Mob Queen | Chica | |
| 1998 | Bury the Evidence | The Naked Woman | |
| 2000 | Our Song | Pilar Brown | |
| 2000 | The Love Machine | Becca Campbell | |
| 2000 | The Accountant | | |
| 2000 | Cusp | Mother | Short |
| 2001 | Reunion | Margaret | |
| 2002 | Real Women Have Curves | Mrs. Glass | |
| 2003 | What Really Happened During the Cuban Missile Crisis | Socorro | Short |
| 2004 | Darkness Minus Twelve | Marta Gutierrez | Short |
| 2004 | Anyone | | Short |
| 2004 | Indocumentados | Mother | |
| 2005 | Cuco Gomez-Gomez Is Dead! | Cuban Lady | Short |
| 2005 | Shooting Vegetarians | Amber | |
| 2006 | Cut Off | Lydia | |
| 2007 | Adrift in Manhattan | Marta Colon | |
| 2008 | Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee | Mrs. Lopefrawitz | |
| 2009 | Star Trek | Transport Chief | |
| 2011 | My Last Day Without You | Luz | |
| 2011 | Deep Blue Breath | Nurse Talbot | Short |
| 2013 | A Haunted House | Rosa | |
| 2013 | Plush | Dr. Ortiz | |
| 2013 | Unidentified | | |
| 2013 | Times Like These | Gladys | Short |
| 2014 | The Single Moms Club | Manny's Mother | |
| 2015 | I Am Gangster | Tia | |
| 2016 | Irving | Vivian | Short |
| 2018 | El Chicano | Susanna Hernandez | |
| 2019 | Knives Out | Mrs. Cabrera | |
| 2020 | The Way Back | Gale | |
| 2021 | The Guilty | House on Fire Caller | Voice |
| 2021 | Night Teeth | Abuela | |
| 2022 | A Place in the Field | Rondi | |
| 2022 | Hypochondriac | Mom | Also associate producer |
| 2022 | 9 Bullets | Grandma Lucy | |
| 2022 | Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | Tia Ophelia | |
| 2023 | You Can't Stay Here | Angela | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | New York Undercover | Mrs. Flores | "Blue Boy" |
| 1997 | The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing | Monica Smith | TV film |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Sandra Pena | "Double Down" |
| 1999 | Law & Order | Alicia Bowers | "Shield" |
| 2000 | Judging Amy | Margaret Lopez | "Zero to Sixty" |
| 2000 | Family Law | Silvia Guerrero | "The Choice" |
| 2000 | Mysterious Ways | Gloria Capistrano | "Reason to Cry" |
| 2001 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Elena Guerro | "Golden Boy" |
| 2001 | My Wife and Kids | Rosa Lopez | "Pilot", "A Little Romance" |
| 2001 | Crossing Jordan | Gloria | Recurring role |
| 2002 | For the People | Marisol Martinez | "Racing Form", "Nascent" |
| 2003 | Nip/Tuck | Miss Michaels | "Pilot" |
| 2003 | George Lopez | Sylvia | "Dubya, Dad and Dating: Part 1" |
| 2004 | CSI: Miami | Judge Veracruz | "Pro Per" |
| 2005 | Bones | Ambassador Olivos | "A Boy in a Tree" |
| 2006 | The West Wing | SSA Linda | "The Last Hurrah" |
| 2006 | Windfall | Mrs. Maduro | "Crash Into You" |
| 2006 | The Unit | Maritza Calderon | "Off the Meter" |
| 2007 | Seemore's Playhouse | Herself |
| 2007 | Day Break | Mrs. Garza | "What If They're Connected?", "What If He's Not Alone?", "What If It's Him?" |
| 2007 | Lost | Det. Mason | "The Man from Tallahassee" |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Mrs. Pamela Gentry | "Big Shots" |
| 2007 | Lincoln Heights | Mayor Giselle Amezcua | "Flashpoint" |
| 2007 | ER | Mrs. Gonzalez | "The War Comes Home" |
| 2008 | Jericho | Teresa Clemons | "Return to Jericho" |
| 2008 | Ylse | Bianca | TV series |
| 2008 | Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story | Tatita | TV film Nominated — Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress/Television |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Yesenia Ramos | "True Calling" |
| 2008–09 | Tyler Perry's House of Payne | Rosie Hernandez | Recurring role |
| 2010 | Criminal Minds | Sheriff Ruiz | "Rite of Passage" |
| 2010 | Community | Doctora Escodera | "English as a Second Language" |
| 2010 | Past Life | Lucinda Morales | "Gone Daddy Gone" |
| 2010 | Eastbound & Down | Soledad | "Chapter 11" |
| 2010 | The Whole Truth | Louisa Diaz | "Cold Case" |
| 2011 | Castle | Blanca | "The Final Nail" |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Isabella Artega | "Rhapsody in Red" |
| 2011 | Law & Order: LA | Inez Gomez | "Westwood" |
| 2011–13 | Caribe Road | Capt. Garcia | Recurring role |
| 2011–13 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Kathy's Grandmother | "Past History", "Girlfriends", "It's a Miracle", "Money for Nothin'" |
| 2012–14 | Dallas | Carmen Ramos | Recurring role |
| 2013 | Major Crimes | Mary Torres | "The Deep End" |
| 2015 | Murder in Mexico: The Bruce Beresford-Redman Story | Evelyn Chavez | TV film |
| 2015 | Code Black | Lucia | "We Plug Holes" |
| 2015–17 | The Fosters | Elena Gutierrez | Recurring role |
| 2016 | NCIS: New Orleans | Rita Ortega | "Undocumented" |
| 2016 | Fear the Walking Dead | Celia Flores | "Blood in the Streets", "Sicut Cervus", "Shiva" |
| 2017 | Superstore | Connie Sosa | "Integrity Award" |
| 2017 | APB | Mita | "Hard Reset", "Personal Matters", "Above & Beyond", "Last Train to Europa" |
| 2017–18 | Marvel's Runaways | Graciela Aguirre | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Altered Carbon | Alazne Ortega | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Mayans M.C. | | 2 episodes |
| 2017-2021 | Superstore | Connie Sosa | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Snowfall | I.A. Detective Vasquez | Episode: "The Bottoms" |
| 2019 | Ghostwriter | Grandma | Episode |
| 2020 | All Rise | Josephine Calderon | Episode: "Bye Bye Bernie" |
| 2020 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Nurse Marlene | Episode: "The Spite Store" |
| 2020 | The Conners | Tia Elsie | Episode: "Tats and Tias" |
| 2021 | Ghostwriter | Grandma | Episode: "Ghost Castaways, Part 2" |
| 2021 | Good Girls | Rio's Grandmother | Episodes: "Grandma Loves Grisham" and "Broken Toys" |
| 2021 | Grey's Anatomy | Carmen Delgado | Episodes: "I'm Still Standing" and "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" |
| 2021 | The Resident | Cherry Sandoval | Episode: "The Long and Winding Road" |
| 2022 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Judge Medina | Episode: "Momentum" |
| 2023 | The Rookie | Carla Juarez | 3 episodes |