# Francia Raisa

Francia Raisa Almendárez (born July 26, 1988) is an American actress. Raisa is known for her roles in Bring It On: All or Nothing, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Grown-ish, and How I Met Your Father.

## Early life and education

Raisa was born in Los Angeles, California to a Mexican mother, Virginia Almendárez (née Pelayo), and Renán Almendárez Coello, a Honduran-born radio personality; and raised in Los Angeles. A few years after she was born, her father started using his new Latin radio personality, "El Cucuy".
Raisa attended Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, where she was a cheerleader.

## Career

Raisa began to take acting jobs in her junior year of high school, modeling for print ads and appearing in commercials. She guest-starred in the sitcoms American Family: Journey of Dreams and Over There. Raisa appeared in Lil' Romeo's music video "My Girlfriend" as Tamy in 2004 and in Iyaz's music video "So Big". A month into her senior year, she booked one of her first lead roles, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere in Bring It On: All or Nothing. She co-starred in the Nickelodeon movie Shredderman Rules, where she portrayed Isabel, and in The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream and The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice as Alexandra Delgado. She played the role of Adrian Lee in the hit ABC Family drama, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, from its beginning in July 2008, until the series finale in early June 2013.
In 2009, Raisa guest-starred on the USA Network's TV series In Plain Sight and co-starred in a short film directed by David Henrie called Boo, which aired on YouTube. In 2013, Raisa starred in the Christmas-themed movie Christmas Bounty alongside Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.
From 2018 to 2022, Raisa starred in the Freeform show, Grown-ish, executive produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. She starred in the show's first four seasons, exiting upon the character's graduation at the end of the fourth season. She also starred in Freeform's 2018 television film, Life-Size 2, opposite Tyra Banks.
In May 2021, Raisa was cast in How I Met Your Mother's spinoff series How I Met Your Father, which premiered on Hulu on January 18, 2022. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a 20-episode second season. In September 2023, however, it was cancelled after two seasons.

## Personal life

Raisa was born in Los Angeles. In the summer of 2017, Raisa donated one of her kidneys to her friend, singer and actress Selena Gomez, who has lupus. Raisa said that Gomez was told by doctors that the two were match before she was and that it was Gomez who informed her that the two were a match. In 2023, Raisa shared on Instagram about her recent diagnosis with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Bring It On: All or Nothing | Leti | Direct-to-video; credited as Francia Almendarez |
| 2009 | Fired Up! | Marly | |
| 2010 | Bulletface | Maria | |
| 2013 | Chastity Bites | Katharine | |
| 2018 | Beyond Paradise | Shahrzad | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Smallville | Race Car Girl | Episode: "Velocity" |
| 2005 | Over There | Sawa | Episode: "The Prisoner" |
| 2007 | Shredderman Rules | Isabel Lopez | Television film |
| 2008 | The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream | Alexandra "Alex" Delgado | Television film |
| 2008–2013 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Adrian Lee | Main role |
| 2009 | In Plain Sight | Olivia Moreno / Olivia Morales | Episode: "Jailbait" |
| 2010 | The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice | Alexandra "Alex" Delgado | Television film |
| 2012 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Erin Vickler | Episode: "Trends with Benefits" |
| 2013 | Company Town | Grace | Television film |
| 2013 | Massholes | Francia Raisa | Episode: "Catfish and Coldcuts" |
| 2013 | The Mindy Project | Katie | Episode: "Frat Party" |
| 2013 | Christmas Bounty | Tory Bell | Television film |
| 2013 | A Snow Globe Christmas | Penny | Television film |
| 2016 | The Wrong Car | Gretchen | Television film |
| 2016 | Hit the Floor | Rennae | Episodes: "Carrying", "Killer Crossover" |
| 2017 | Dear White People | Vanessa | Episodes: "Chapter VI", "Chapter X" |
| 2017 | Tiny House of Terror | Sam | Television film |
| 2017 | Once Upon a Date | Izzy Flores | Television film |
| 2018 | Black-ish | Ana Torres | Episode: "Don't You Be My Neighbor" |
| 2018–2022 | Grown-ish | Ana Torres | Main role (seasons 1–4); guest role (seasons 5–6) |
| 2018 | Life-Size 2 | Grace Manning | Television film |
| 2022–2023 | How I Met Your Father | Valentina | Main role |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist(s) |
| 2010 | "So Big" | Iyaz |
| 2013 | "Everybody Knows" | Dustin Tavella |
| 2015 | "Gibberish" (feat. Hoodie Allen) | MAX |
| 2020 | "Man" | JoJo |
| 2020 | "Red Sangria" | Jordin Sparks |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 2011 | ALMA Awards | Favorite TV Actress: Leading Role in a Drama | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Nominated |
| 2011 | Gracie Allen Awards | Outstanding Female Rising Star in a Drama Series or Special | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Won |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Scene Stealer: Female | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Nominated |
| 2012 | Imagen Awards | Best Young Actress in a Television Series | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Nominated |
| 2016 | Imagen Awards | Best Actress - Feature Film | Beyond Paradise | Nominated |
| 2018 | Imagen Awards | Best Supporting Actress - Television | Grown-ish | Nominated |
| 2022 | NHMC Impact Awards Gala | Impact Award for Performance in a Sitcom | How I Met Your Father | Won |