Jackie Cruz

Early life

Cruz was born in Queens, New York, and grew up between Los Angeles and in Santiago, Dominican Republic. She was raised by a single mother, and she speaks fluent English and Spanish. Cruz was inspired to become an entertainer at the age of seven after watching Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard.

At age 16, Cruz moved out of her mother's apartment and became homeless. When she was 17, she was the victim of a car accident where she suffered a collapsed lung, fell into a coma and required brain surgery. Her song "Sweet Sixteen" is based on the incident.

Music career

When Cruz was in high school, she worked with will.i.am's producers in a girl group called Krush Velvet, although the group never got signed to a record label. Her debut extended play, Hollywood Gypsy, was released independently in 2010.A

On 7/17/17 Cruz released a music video with Mona Haydar entitled "Dog". Amongst other vocals, Cruz joins Haydar in the chorus chanting "He's a dog." The content of the song is an attempt to raise awareness and comment on patriarchy and violence against women.

Acting career

In 2009, Cruz began making appearances on the E! television series Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami. She and Kourtney Kardashian became friends after meeting in an art class, which led to further appearances on the series. In one episode, Cruz and Kardashian were filmed kissing, an incident that Kardashian later stated she was "so embarrassed" by. Although Cruz initially stated that she and Kardashian remained friends following the incident, Kardashian later stated that she "can never talk to [Cruz] again".

Cruz cites Rita Moreno as an acting influence.

Orange Is the New Black

Cruz was working as a model as well as a waitress at New York City restaurant Lavo before she was cast as Marisol "Flaca" Gonzales on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black; and she briefly continued both previous jobs while filming the series, whose hours led to her being "kind of fired" from Lavo. Originally a recurring character for the first three seasons, it was announced in April 2015 that she would be promoted to series regular for the fourth season.

Personal life

In January 2016, Cruz told AfterEllen.com: "I like the person whether it’s a woman—we don’t like to be labeled. I’m in a relationship with a man right now, but I’ve liked women in the past. So I guess we don’t want to be labeled. We don’t really talk about it, but the actions speak louder than words, am I right? So you’re seeing it. You’re living it."

Discography