Actress Dania Ramirez - DIFF 2007 Rising Star Award Recipient

Dania Ramirez has come a long way from her native Dominican Republic, where her dreams of acting began. 

This fall she can be seen on the NBC series Heroes returning for season 3.  Dania plays ‘Maya Herrera’,  a woman plagued by a threatening ability that has driven both her and her twin brother ‘Alejandro’ (Shalim Ortiz) from their home in the Dominican Republic to make the dangerous crossing to the United States in search of help.

She also recently completed the thriller Quarantine for Sony Pictures as well as the independent film Brooklyn to Manhattan for director Jessy Terrero.

Last summer she was seen in the third installment of the X-MEN franchise X-Men: The Last Stand directed by Brett Ratner.   She made her film debut in Spike Lee’s The Subway Stories for HBO which lead to two other Spike Lee projects, 25th Hour and She Hate Me.  In the latter she plays the lead in a complicated love triangle involving a lesbian paralegal who wants to have a baby with her attorney girlfriend.  Her other credits include the independent film Cross Bronx and she plays the love interest in the comedy Fat Albert.  She was also seen on the critically acclaimed HBO drama The Sopranos.  

She moved with her family to New York City when she was ten years old.  Always a performer, writing songs to sing with her sisters but eager for something more, she looked for ways to break into the entertainment business.  After being discovered while working retail, she started modeling and taking acting classes.  This led to some commercial work and eventually towards acting.

Dania currently lives in Los Angeles.