America Ferrera

**America Georgina Ferrera** (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as the Disney original film *Gotta Kick It Up!* (2002), *The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants* (2005) and eponymous role on the ABC comedy-drama *Ugly Betty* (2006–2010). She also co-produced and starred as Amy Sosa in the NBC comedy series *Superstore* (2015–2021). She voices Olga Solis in *Elio*.

## Early life and education

Ferrera, the youngest of six children, was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents, América Griselda Ayes and Carlos Gregorio Ferrera, were originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s. Ferrera has stated that she has Lenca ancestry. Her mother worked as the director of the housekeeping staff for one of the Hilton Hotels, and stressed the importance of higher education. When Ferrera was 7, her parents divorced and her father returned to Honduras. Ferrera was estranged from her father when he died there in 2010.

Ferrera was raised in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, where she attended Calabash Street Elementary School, George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School. At age seven she played a small role in a school production of *Hamlet*, and when she was 10 she played the Artful Dodger in *Oliver!*.

While at El Camino High School, she took acting lessons. She entered the University of Southern California (USC) on a presidential scholarship, double-majoring in theatre and international relations. She dropped out to focus on her acting career, but completed her bachelor's degree in May 2013.

## Personal life

Ferrera first met actor, director, and writer Ryan Piers Williams when he cast her in a student film at USC. The couple became engaged in June 2010, and married on June 27, 2011. On January 1, 2018, Ferrera and Williams revealed that they were expecting their first child. She announced on her Instagram page on May 29, 2018, that she had given birth that month to a boy, Sebastian. On May 4, 2020, Ferrera gave birth to a girl, Lucia. On June 27, 2020, Ferrera announced that she and Williams had been together for a total of 15 years.

In 2018, her edited anthology of stories, *American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures*, was published by Gallery Publishing Group.

## Political activities

Ferrera has been politically active. During the 2008 presidential primaries, she, alongside Chelsea Clinton and Amber Tamblyn, led the Hillblazers organization in support of Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Ferrera attended both the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. At the 2016 convention, she addressed the delegates as a speaker, sharing the stage with Lena Dunham.

Ferrera has been active, through her involvement with the organization Voto Latino and by appearing on various news programs, in getting Latinos in the United States to vote. Ferrera also works with Eva Longoria to co-host She Se Puede, a digital lifestyle platform which encourages voting within the Latina community. As a continuation of their work prior to the 2020 presidential campaign, Ferrera and Longoria recently held a textbanking event with VoteRiders to educate voters about Georgia's strict Voter ID laws ahead of the Georgia Senate runoff.

Ferrera was the opening speaker for the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017.

Ferrera spoke at the Families Belong Together protest on June 30, 2018.

### Fighting sexual harassment

In October 2017, Ferrera began her participation in the #MeToo campaign, publicly revealing that she was sexually harassed when she was 9 years old. She did not reveal any details about the harassment or the person who harassed her. In January 2018, Ferrera was a founding member of the Time's Up legal defense fund.

### Soccer investment

In July 2020, Ferrera was announced as an investor in a primarily female group that was awarded a Los Angeles-based franchise in the National Women's Soccer League. The new team, since unveiled as Angel City FC, started playing in 2022.

### Other ventures

In April 2019, Ferrera gave a TEDTalk at a TED.

## Gallery

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