# Christina Vidal

Christina Vidal is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in films such as Life with Mikey, Brink!, Freaky Friday, See No Evil and for her role in Nickelodeon sitcom Taina, in which she played the title character (2001–2002), as Gina Perrello in Code Black (2015–2016), and as Detective Valeria Chavez in Training Day (2017). She has also starred as Drea in the sitcom Primo (2023).

## Early life and education

Vidal was born and raised in Whitestone, an area in Queens, New York City, the daughter of Manny Vidal, a tax consultant and businessman, and his wife Josie, a secretary, both of Puerto Rican ancestry. She attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. When she was 17 in 1998, she joined a girl group called Gemstone (along with Jade Villalon and Crystal Grant). Vidal later moved to Orlando, Florida, to proceed with the filming of Taina. Her sisters Lisa and Tanya are also actresses and have appeared on TV and in theatre; she also has a brother, Christian.

## Career
### Acting

Vidal's acting career began when one of her teachers told her there was an audition for the film Life with Mikey (1993), starring Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. She auditioned and got the part of "Angie Vega", becoming the first Puerto Rican child actress to play a lead in a US film. Since then, Vidal has appeared in feature films and television series. She portrayed Taina Maria Morales in the Nickelodeon sitcom Taina in 2001 and 2002. The series ran for two seasons with speculation that it would be renewed for more; according to Vidal, the reason for the show being cancelled was likely due to her recording deal with MCA. Scripts for a third season and a made-for-television movie of the series were already written before Nickelodeon canceled the show.
The next year she played Maddie in the film Freaky Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan and starred in the short-lived ABC action TV series about police officers called 10-8: Officers on Duty until she suddenly left after two months on the show. Also in 2003 she guest-starred in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch as Paris Fate. In 2006 she did an untitled sitcom pilot with her sisters for ABC (which was executively produced by George Lopez). The show was not picked up, but later that year she starred in the film See No Evil and also had a brief stint on the hit sitcom Girlfriends. More recently she has made cameo appearances in the films I Think I Love My Wife, Mask of the Ninja, and the Internet comedy short "Love Automatically", written by Mylinda Royer and directed by Allison Haislip. Most recently, Vidal played a supporting character in the film Magic Man, which was released in 2009.

### Music

When Vidal was in the band Gemstone, she recorded songs with herself as well as bandmates Jade Villalon and Crystal Celeste Grant performing vocals. A few of these tracks would surface many years later on albums consisting of demos, rare tracks, and special songs of Villalon's music project, Sweetbox. In 2002, she was briefly signed to MCA Records and in that time she was supposed to release her first single "Tropical" and her solo debut album White in the summer of 2002, but never did. She was also presented with the opportunity to be the lead singer for The Pussycat Dolls, however she was uninterested with the groups image. That same year she provided guest vocals on the remix of Will Smith's summer hit "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" from the Men in Black II soundtrack. She was a part of Lupe Fiasco's 1st & 15th Entertainment. She also recorded a track for the work out cd called Byou from Sabrina Bryan of The Cheetah Girls. The song she recorded was "Anything Is Possible". She also sang the song "Take Me Away" in the film Freaky Friday.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Life with Mikey | Angie Vega | |
| 1995 | Welcome to the Dollhouse | Cynthia | |
| 2000 | Details | Maggie | Short film |
| 2003 | Chasing Papi | Festival Singer | |
| 2003 | Freaky Friday | Maddie | |
| 2005 | The Mosquito | Tia | |
| 2006 | See No Evil | Christine | |
| 2007 | I Think I Love My Wife | Candy | |
| 2010 | Magic Man | Elena | |
| 2021 | The Guilty | Sergeant Denise Wade | |
| 2025 | Freakier Friday | Maddie | Post-production |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 | The Cosby Mysteries | Ramona Suarez | Episode: "Camouflage" |
| 1995 | The Commish | Julianna Muldoon | Episode: "Off Broadway: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1997 | F/X: The Series | Theresa | Episode: "Bad Influence" |
| 1997–98 | Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher | Sophia Del Bono | Main Role (Season 2); 21 episodes |
| 1998 | Brink! | Gabriella | TV movie |
| 1999 | Providence | Street Girl | Episode: "Saint Syd" |
| 1999 | Touched by an Angel | Ilena | Episode: "Hearts" |
| 2001–02 | Taina | Taina Maria Morales | Lead Role; 26 episodes |
| 2003 | Hotel | Gisel | TV movie |
| 2003 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Fate Paris | Episode: "Romance Looming" |
| 2003–04 | 10-8: Officers on Duty | Deputy Gabriela Lopez | Main Role; 14 episodes |
| 2004 | Beck and Call | | TV short |
| 2004 | Second Time Around | Gabrielle Herrera | Episode: "Secrets", "A Kiss Is Still a Kiss" |
| 2005 | Clubhouse | Carmen | Episode: "Between First and Home" |
| 2006 | Girlfriends | Samantha Stephens | Episode: "Bad Blood" Episode: "Just Joan" |
| 2007 | ER | Elena Vega | Episode: "In a Different Light" |
| 2008 | Play or Be Played | | TV movie |
| 2008 | Mask of the Ninja | Mercedes | TV movie |
| 2009 | Monk | Winona | Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes Camping" |
| 2009–10 | House | Sandy | Episodes: "Wilson", "Private Lives" |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Rachel Esposito | Episode: "Nothing Personal" |
| 2010 | In Plain Sight | Amber Whitman | Episode: "Son of Mann" |
| 2010 | Castle | Jamie Ruiz | Episode: "Almost Famous" |
| 2011 | Things We Do for Love | | Episode: "Best Friend" |
| 2011 | Fairly Legal | Sofia Peña | Episode: "Coming Home" |
| 2014 | Stalker | Christina Richards | Episode: "Skin" |
| 2015 | Being Mary Jane | Lilly | Episode: "Reading the Signs" |
| 2015 | The Player | Mrs. Cruz | Episode: "A House Is Not a Home" |
| 2015 | Major Crimes | Carmen Tamayo | Episode: "Thick as Thieves" |
| 2015–16 | Code Black | Gina Perrello | Recurring role; 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Limitless | Lucy Church | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Blue Bloods | ADA Marta Avila | Blowback |
| 2017 | Training Day | Det. Valeria Chavez | Main role; 13 episodes |
| 2018 | Sneaky Pete | Valerie | The Reluctant Taxidermist |
| 2019 | Grand Hotel | Det. Ayala | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | United We Fall | Jo Ryan | Main role |
| 2021 | The Shrink Next Door | Hannah | Recurring Role |
| 2022 | The Terminal List | Mac Wilson | Main Role |
| 2023 | Primo | Drea | Main role |

## Discography
### Soundtracks

* 2002: Taina soundtrack
* 2003: Chasing Papi soundtrack
* 2003: Freaky Friday soundtrack
* 2006: Byou soundtrack

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Group | Award | Result | Film/Show |
| 1994 | Young Artist Award | Best Leading Role in a Motion Picture Comedy – Youth Actress | Won | Life with Mikey |
| 1994 | Young Artist Award | Most Promising New Youth Actress (special award) | Won | Life with Mikey |
| 2002 | ALMA Award | Outstanding Actress in a Television Series | Nominated | Taina |