Maria-Elena Laas

Maria-Elena Laas
Born (1983-11-28) November 28, 1983 (age 41)
Ponce, Puerto Rico
OccupationActress
Years active1999–present

Maria-Elena Laas (born November 28, 1983) is a Puerto Rican–born American actress.[1] She is best known for her role as Cruz in the comedy-drama television series Vida.

Early life

Maria-Elena Laas was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and raised in Saudi Arabia and Japan.[2]

Career

Laas started her modeling career at the age of 13. She has appeared in over 90 international commercials and advertising campaigns, including Garnier, Mango, Miller Lite, Carlsberg, Coors Lite, Budweiser, Ford, and Target.[2] In 2006, she appeared in an advertising campaign for coffee brand Nespresso, opposite actor George Clooney.[3]

Her first on-screen appearance was a role as Marisa Rios in the episode "Silicone Valley of the Dolls" of the crime drama television series Pacific Blue. In 2002, she portrayed Svetlana in sitcom Grounded for Life. Laas' film credits include the comedy film The Hot Chick (2002) and independent films Suffering Man's Charity (2007), Airplane Disasters (2007), Lunatics, Lovers and Poets (2009) and Kill the Habit (2010). In 2018, Laas landed the role of Cruz in the drama television series Vida.[4][5] The series centers around the Mexican American community in Los Angeles.[4]

In 2020, she had a main role as Rosalita Vega on Cinemax's action television series Warrior. In the second season of Warrior, Rosalita Vega appeared in five episodes.

Personal life

She currently resides in Southern California.[2]

Filmography

Film roles
Year Title Role Notes
2000 This Guy Is Falling Laura Short film
2002 The Hot Chick Bianca
2006 Airplane Disasters Elena
2007 Suffering Man's Charity Liliana
2009 Burka Girls Gone Wild Burka Girl #2
2010 Kill the Habit Cardamosa
2010 Pastor Shepherd Annamarie-ah Harrison
2010 Lunatics, Lovers & Poets Maria Easton
2011 Sold Alexa Short film
2011 The Killing of Leonard Riley Christina
2011 Loverly Girlfriend Short film
2012 Swerve Maria
2012 Unknowns Detective Rios
2013 To the Bone Inspector Short film
2014 American Weapon Maria
Television roles
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Pacific Blue Marisa Rios Episode: "Silicone Valley of the Dolls"
2002 Grounded for Life Svetlana Episode: "Cat Scratch Fever"
2008 La estación de la Calle Olvera Catrina Television film
2014 Feed Me Lulu Episode: "The Goal of Sexual Intercourse"
2016 Alley Way Louisa Episode: "One Man's Trash"
2018 Vida Cruz 6 episodes
2020 Warrior Rosalita Vega Main Role, 5 episodes, season 2

References

  1. ^ "Maria Elena Laas | TV Guide". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  2. ^ a b c Maria-Elena Laas - Appearing in Several Feature Films in 2012. Lawrence Davis. Splash Magazines. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Nespresso What Else with Jack Black". The Inspiration Room. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  4. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (2017-11-14). "Starz Rounds Out Cast of Half-Hour Latinx Drama 'Vida'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  5. ^ "18 LGBTQ Women of Color TV Characters Crushing it in 2018". Autostraddle. 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2019-05-19.