Gina Torres (1969- ) is an American actress. She starred in the television shows “Firefly” (2002-2003) and “Cleopatra 2525” (2000-2001), but in general she plays a supporting character in science fiction & fantasy or FBI agent sort of shows, like “Hercules”, “24”, “Alias”, “Standoff” and two of the Matrix films. You can see her now in “FlashForward” which is an FBI science fiction show! She is tall, pretty and does her own stunts. Oh, and she can sing opera too.
Those who do not watch those sort of shows might remember her as the wife of Chris Rock in “I Think I Love My Wife” (2007).
Off stage she is the wife of Larry Fishburne, another serious black actor. They married in 2002 and had a daughter, Delilah, in 2007. They live in New Rochelle, New York just north of New York City
She is tall, thin and has beautiful eyes and beautiful lips! Her natural hair seems to be Type 3. She is as tall as a model: 5 foot 10 (1.78 m). And as tall as her husband!
At first I thought she was Nuyorican. She is in fact from New York – she was born in Manhattan and grew up in the Bronx – but her parents came from Cuba, not Puerto Rico. Her father was a newspaper typesetter.
Her parents loved Latin jazz and so did she. She wanted to be a singer – and had talent: she got into La Guardia High School for the Arts in New York. She sang opera, jazz and gospel. She wanted to go to university and had the grades but her parents did not have the money.
So she went to Lincoln Center and did office work hoping to get noticed. She did. That led to stage acting (“Dreamgirls”, “Antigone”, “Blood Wedding” and others) and, in time, to television. From 1995 to 1996 she played Magdelena on the soap opera “One Life to Live”.
She got her start as an action character on “Xena: Warrior Princess” in 1997. She only appeared once, but that led to a regular part on “Hercules” (1998-1999) and then to two seasons of “Cleopatra 2525” (2000-2001) where she was one of the three main characters. That led to parts on the Matrix films and primetime shows.
Torres:
You have to have a spirit of warrior in you. You’re going to be facing battles as a woman in this industry and a woman of color. You have to be prepared to face battles of respect and pride and sexuality, and you can’t tire of fighting.
How Larry Fishburne won her heart: the Wikipedia says they met on the set of a Matrix film. Not true: they met and dated years before. One of their dates was during the New York blizzard of 1995: all the snow of one winter fell in one day. And they were outside having a snowball fight in Fort Tryon Park! Then they sat down on a bench overlooking the Hudson River. Sitting there knee-deep in snow he pulled out his harmonica and serenaded her.
See also:
I’m SO happy you covered her but you missed the fact that Joss Whedon the creator a of Buffy, often casts her in many of his projects. That including her role in Cleopatra 2525 is the only way I catch up on her work.
She is amazing!
end rant.
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It’s great to see Afrolatinas, like Gina Torres, Zoe Saldana, Dania Ramirez, Rosario Dawson, Rosie Perez, Lauren Velez, etc. doing such a great job of representing us in Hollywood.
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I agree Laromana,
There’s plenty of successful Afro-Latinos in Hollywood and although, I do not derive from a Latin American nation, I feel proud. It’s so beautiful to see black people from all corners of the world representing.
I love Gina. She actually was on the cover of Black Enterprise a few years ago. The cover story was on the Black American/Black Latino connection. She described the complex experiences that she has had in H-Town as an obvious black woman who is Latino.
She has a beautiful singing voice!
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I just saw this gorgeous woman in an independent film last night. She was wonderful, and the film will be release next year…soooo excited!!!
thank you for the Afro-Latina love…
~*~ Pretty Star
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I love Gina Torres!!!!!
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[…] Gina Torres « Abagond […]
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To me she always looks so regal and beautiful. Like an african queen. I would love to see a show (sitcom or drama) about an afro latino family.
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Joss Whedon = Crybaby feminist pu$$y and a disgrace.
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Vindicator,
I also would love to see a television series about a Latino family. An Afro-Latino one, even more. They’ve come close though.
I do believe that there was a show on Nickeloden that depicted such a family. How about the long-defunct “Resurrection Blvd” on Showtime? That was a good show that showed the broad range of Latino families, ethnically. The black American sitcom, “The Steve Harvey Show”, had an Afro-Latino character in the late Merlin Santana’s “Romeo”. Can anyone think of more examples?
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@mynameismyname
I can’t think of an “Latino” shows and for the most part I bet the actors looked stereotypically “latino” (which I can’t stand.)
Btw what was “Resurrection Blvd” like? What was it about and who were the latino families and their ethnicities?
Oh I love “The Steve Harvey Show”, it’s funny!
I mean I’m no writer but what’s so hard about writing a show about say an afro-cuban family or a haitian family (yes, haitians are latinos) or a group of afro latino misfits. Then actually casting afro latino actors to play the roles (or black american actors.)
I’m just fed up of seeing the stereotypical “latino.” Show some of us.
P.S. God rest Merlin Santana’s soul!
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Vindicator,
“Resurrection Blvd” was a family drama about a family of boxers. It became melodramtic at times but it wasn’t a bad show. It used to air about the television adaption of “Soul Food” on Showtime.
CBS’ “Cane”, starring Jimmy Smits, and NBC’s “Kingpin” were two other “Latino” network dramas. Alas, two short-lived ones. And of course, you can guess what the cast of these shows looked like.
I agree, the white mainstream media paints “Latinos” out to be a “race” of slick, black-haired, olive skinned Mediterranean types. When in reality, the majority don’t fit that model, phenotypically or ethnically! LOL. But again, this is America, everything to be put a 2D box for it to be understood.
A television series about an Afro-Latino or hell, a black Caribbean or Native African family (or group of friends)even would be wonderful. It would be something different and it would expand minds. Yet, network TV is in a slump. These same networks claim that “black doesn’t sell” so it could all be wishful thinking on our parts.
Where are you, BET or TVOne?!
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@mynameismyname
Then again there is this show called “City of Men” it’s a brazilian drama about 2 black kids growing up in the slums of Rio
Here’s a link explaining it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Men
It is brilliant. I love the way it shows latinos in there diversity (albeit they mainly show afro latinos.)
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She has a beautiful singing voice!
She really does. She is tall and magnificent. A real Goddess.
I remember seeing her in Hercules and thought she was so under-utilized. She overpowered the other actors and I thought she was a fine actress. I wish they would cast her more—she has a lot of unused potential–better than Rosario Dawson.
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Gina has been steadily working for the last ten years. That’s more than the vast majority of working actresses in Hollywood can say. But I agree, Mayhue, she should be as big of a pop celeb as Rosario. You have to factor in age, when it comes to that as well. Gina may be “too old” for them.
I loved “City of God” and the film adaption of “City of Men”. I have yet to see the television adaption of the latter. I have the DVD of the first season on my Amazon wishlist.
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She’s one of my favourite actresses (and I don’t have many on my list). Thanks for featuring her.
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Flash Forward is my new favorite show, and she is great on it! Gabrielle Union is on there as well, as the fiance of John Cho’s character Demitri. The cast is pretty diverse, let’s see how the storylines go.
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Wow, my friend had me watching Flash Forward tonight! I rarely watch TV but I decided to give it a try. Seems interesting but it’s defintely is serialized as opposed to episodic. So I may have to watch it from the beginning.
Just browsing over Gina’s credits on IMDB, I see that she’s been doing a lot of guest spots on TV dramas in the last few years. That’s a major source of work and exposure for many talented black actors. Not much luck in feature film but lots on television.
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@ Vin
must…not…bash you….
yeah, no.
Joss is the shit.
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sorry for the cursing!!!!!
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mynameismyname Says,
Gina has been steadily working for the last ten years. That’s more than the vast majority of working actresses in Hollywood can say. But I agree, Mayhue, she should be as big of a pop celeb as Rosario. You have to factor in age, when it comes to that as well. Gina may be “too old” for them.
laromana says,
I’m not sure age has ANYTHING to do with why Gina Torres isn’t as big a pop celeb as Rosario (Gina’s not “old” and her NON-BLACK contemporaries are just as popular as Rosario).
I’ve always suspected that, although Rosario is an Afrolatina, her “more ambiguous/not necessarily Black look” allow her to get more exposure, acting roles, and popularity in Hollywood than other more talented Afrolatinas like Gina.
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But I agree, Mayhue, she should be as big of a pop celeb as Rosario. You have to factor in age, when it comes to that as well. Gina may be “too old” for them.
I loved “City of God” and the film adaption of “City of Men”. I have yet to see the television adaption of the latter. I have the DVD of the first season on my Amazon wishlist.
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I think the problem is that she has been a serial guest star, instead of seeing her with regularity in visible movies and TV roles. I do agree with you and laroma that Roasrio Dawson gets more attention because of her youth and she is more ambiguous–compared to Gina Torres.
But I think that this situation plagues genuinely talented Black women actresses and singers who hit past 30 and cannot be racially ambiguous. Would any one care about Rihanna is she was 35.
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oh I didn’t know she is Afro-Latina! Awesome 😉
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I’ve noticed that there are a lot of Afro-Latinas in Hollywood.
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Rosario and Gina look equally black. But then again, that’s very subjective. Isn’t Angelina Jolie way past 30? As are most white female starlets? I’m just playing devil’s advocate…to my own observation. LOL.
Also, Gina has gotten more work than Rosario. Being racially ambigious in Hollywood is not neccessarily an asset when it comes to getting steady work in Hollywood. Ask your favorite out-of-work light skinned black actress.
Yet, still, ageism does exist in the mainstream entertainment work. But then again, most of the most successful actors and singers are 30+. Weird.
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mynameismyname said:
Also, Gina has gotten more work than Rosario.
Yeah but Rosario is more well known and has been featured in more big budget films and indie films. Gina gets more work on TV dramas though.
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True, but really, I think both ladies are fairly underrated as are most black actresses, regardless of origins or skin complexion even.
Ask the typical Middle American movie goer who Dawson or Torres are? They’ll draw a blank.
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Rosario and Gina look equally black. But then again, that’s very subjective. Isn’t Angelina Jolie way past 30? As are most white female starlets? I’m just playing devil’s advocate…to my own observation. LOL.
Also, Gina has gotten more work than Rosario. Being racially ambigious in Hollywood is not neccessarily an asset when it comes to getting steady work in Hollywood. Ask your favorite out-of-work light skinned black actress.
Yet, still, ageism does exist in the mainstream entertainment work. But then again, most of the most successful actors and singers are 30+. Weird.
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Angelina Jolie is past 30 but she hasn’t made a blockbuster film that warranted merit since Girl Interrupted. However she has carved out a niche outside of Hollywood as an Earth Mother saving third world children. In fact, by a lot of men standards—again going by what I hear, she isn’t even seen that great looking anymore compared to the new starlets in their 20’s like Megan Fox and say Scarlett Johanssen. With the exception of older female actors such as Helen Mirren and Judi Dench (both English) and Meryl Streep, many good actresses who are older flounder in the American Cinema, at least based on my own observations. This explains why excellent older actresses like Charlotte Rampling find acceptance and a more progressive home in European Cinema and Independent film, precisely because getting older is seen as an asset as opposed to something deleterious.
The status of being seen as older and invisible does get worse for Black actresses no matter what-with the notable exception of Halle Berry who hasn’t done anything strenuous since Boomerang and playing the crack addict in Jungle Fever. And of course she fulfills a fantasy role for a lot of non-Black men.
So someone like Torres who can actually sing and has real acting chops, who is quite dignified and has never really stooped to outright camp, and is obviously Black, I think it makes it that much harder. I also think this is why Beyonce works as hard as she does. I don’t care for her music but I understand that she not only wants to be remembered as an Icon but also to make as much bank before she hits a certain age.
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^^^
True, to a point. Still doesn’t discount why so many of the “big” starlets are in their ’30s. But yes, ageism does exist.
Also, Beyonce, Scarlett and some of the other celebs you named are actually older than what they say. That’s a sign of the ageism.
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City of God was bad. If there’s an indictment here, it never surfaces. Taken from a Paulo Lins novel and based on a true story (as the film is happy to boast at its conclusion), the film sensualizes the violence cycle and makes a fetish of poverty. What ought to be devastating and tragic about ”City of God” is discomfiting in its offhandedness. This isn’t a movie; it’s a soulless pictorial.
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Also, Beyonce, Scarlett and some of the other celebs you named are actually older than what they say. That’s a sign of the ageism
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That I didn’t know. But I did hear the same rumor with Catherine Zeta Jones when she first came out.
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CZJ, despite being a rare white female celeb that I find to be truly beautiful does indeed push back her age. Within the industry, this is well known.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Gina is older than what she says.
I think “City of God” was more of a portrait than a moral play. Although, I don’t think the film condones street violence at all. Not anymore than any Scorsese/Coppola film anyway.
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I’d actually like to see her in more feature films or even shows. I just saw that movie with her and Chris Rock, “I Think I Love My Wife” and it was hilarious, a good watch period. I’m so sick of all these One Tree Hill, young, white, skinny, rich and under 30 with the lone acceptable minority friend type movies and shows.
And yes ageism is just crazy in Hollywood and the entertainment industry period. Models are done at 35, actresses are used up by 40(to the point where they get cookies for not hitting the wall at that age), and when singers stop looking “hot” in videos, they’re pretty much cruise ship fodder.
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CZJ, despite being a rare white female celeb that I find to be truly beautiful does indeed push back her age. Within the industry, this is well known.
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I agree. I thought she was Italian or Spanish but she is completely Welsh. Very naturally beautiful.
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She is an Example of why soooo many white women wish they had color, They cant compete with us in the looks department.
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She’s lovely, talented actress. I want her curly hair. Oh, and she has the same first and last name as my stepmom.
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She’s awesome the way she moves around the set so confident assured chin up straight forward and she dominants her role I suits wow .
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First saw Gina Torres in “Firefly”, and … what was it about her?
There is something about her which sets apart from being merely “beautiful”, “talented”, “a performer”. She’s kind of timeless, with almost transcendent quality to her appeal.
She’s a sort of person that is very hard NOT to stare at, but that doesn’t matter to her, because she is too competent and serious and genuinely too lovely inside to take any of the externals too seriously!
She always seems to radiate a message of femininity and strength, and all without a sense of pettiness, like she’s a generous spirit.
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A couple of evenings ago, I saw her in “Suits” on Irish TV, playing a dynamic leader of a law firm. She’s a rare breed on tv (US-produced), a woman of colour in a position of power.
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I like her as an actress. I like her in “Suits” and now she and her hubby Lawrence Fishburne are on the NBC show “Hannibal” she was good in another sci-fi show can’t remember the name of it. But she has commanding presence and she is beautiful and talented. She does great work.
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I think the show was called “Firefly” she is so beautiful and talented and i wonder why she’s so underrated.
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I remember she played this character where she was like this goddess and she really was a demon. That was a fun episode, i think it might have been “Buffy” i remember enjoying her in that role.
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The character Gina Torres portrayed was named Jasmine and it was the Joss Whedon show “Angel”
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I forgot about her and Chris Rock in “I Think I Love My Wife” LOL!
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She’s the black pearl in the scifi/fantasy world. She’s a mature actress and largely adore/respect by her fans. She fall into the spot and vibe with Morgan Freedom and Denzel Washington. I first spotted Lady Gina in my old favorite incomplete tv series of Cleopatra 2525. I can’t believe a black female play as a strong leader role on tv. It’s kinda rare.
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go gina
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