ACTOR BIO

She's the feisty one. And we know that's what keeps you coming back for more…

Ana Ortiz has earned both ALMA and Imagen Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal as the no-holds-barred Hilda Suarez on the hit ABC comedy Ugly Betty. She has also appeared in recurring roles on ABC's acclaimed Boston Legal as A.D.A. Holly Raines, and as Anna in the FX series set in wartime Iraq, Over There. Ortiz also starred in the NBC series A.U.S.A and Kristin.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Ortiz discovered her passion for the performing arts at a young age. "I started ballet lessons when I was five years old and spent my childhood dreaming about becoming a ballerina... When I was in junior high school I began singing and soon realized that it was a lot less painful than being on pointes." Ortiz was accepted to the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts as a voice major. And the rest is history.

She studied theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia while accumulating stage credits. She made her professional stage debut as Cecile in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Philadelphia Repertory Theater before conquering major roles in regional including Wrong Turn at Lungfish, directed by Garry Marshall. A highlight in Ortiz' early career was portraying Chrissy in a European tour of the hit musical Hair.

Ortiz returned to New York and joined the Labyrinth Theater, where she delivered bravura performances in the critically acclaimed In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, directed by Academy Award-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, and in which her portrayal of a hardened teenage mother garnered her rave reviews.

Her outstanding theater performances subsequently landed her a guest-starring role in ABC's NYPD Blue. Other television credits include guest-starring roles on The New Adventures of Old Christine, Commander In Chief, Freddie, North Shore, Greetings from Tucson, Everybody Loves Raymond and ER, as well as a starring role in the television film Mr. St. Nick, opposite Kelsey Grammer. Her feature film credits include a starring role in the independent features Tortilla Heaven and supporting role in Miramax's Carolina. She can also be seen in the cable film, Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story.

In her free time, Ortiz enjoys hiking, kickboxing and visiting her family. She also loves singing back-up in her friends' bands and seeing as much theater as possible.