Nationality American Name Olga Merediz | Role TV actress | |
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Occupation Actress, Singer, Writer Known for Abuela Claudia in In the Heights Awards Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance Nominations Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical Movies The Place Beyond the Pines, Like Sunday - Like Rain, Evita, The Angriest Man in Br, Top Five Similar People Priscilla Lopez, Lin‑Manuel Miranda, Craig Van Hook, Mandy Gonzalez, Robin de Jesus | ||
Luis salgado olga merediz de in the heights entrevistados en acceso total
Olga Merediz (born February 15, 1956) is a Cuban-born American Broadway, TV, and film actress. Merediz originated the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights, for which she received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. She played the role for the show's entire Broadway run. Her television credits include NBC's 2016 series "Shades of Blue" and Netflix's Orange Is the New Black.
Contents
- Luis salgado olga merediz de in the heights entrevistados en acceso total
- 39 olga merediz actress
- Early life
- Film and television
- Theatre and stage
- Voice over Credits
- Awards and nominations
- References
39 olga merediz actress
Early life
Merediz was born in Guantánamo, Cuba on February 15, 1956. When she was five years old, she escaped from Cuba to Miami, Florida. Thereafter, she relocated with her family to Puerto Rico where she grew up. Merediz graduated with a bachelor's degree from Tulane University.
Film and television
Merediz’s motion picture credits include Top Five, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Remember Me, K-Pax, Apartment 5-C, Trouble in the Heights, Like Sunday, Like Rain, Fugly!, Requiem for a Dream, Angie, Evita, and Changing Lanes. She worked with Meryl Streep in both Marvin's Room and Music of the Heart, and with Sidney Lumet in Q&A. Robert Redford directed her in The Milagro Beanfield War.
Her television credits include NBC's 2016 series "Shades of Blue" and Netflix's big hit Orange Is the New Black. In 2014, Merediz joined the cast of the George Lopez-starring FX series, Saint George, playing Alma, Lopez's mother. Her other television credits are Royal Pains, Blue Bloods, Pan Am, Law & Order SVU, The Sopranos, The Job, The George Lopez Show, Third Watch, Law & Order, and 100 Centre Street. She had recurring roles in both The Jury and Hope & Faith. Merediz also appeared on the pilot episode of the FOX TV series Past Life, as well as an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay as a judge.
Theatre and stage
In addition to In the Heights, Broadway credits include Reckless at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Man of La Mancha, and Les Misérables. She also appeared as Rosie in Mamma Mia!.
Before they went to Broadway, Merediz starred in the Off-Broadway versions of In the Heights, and The Human Comedy. Some of her other Off-Broadway credits include Women without Men, The Haggadah, Lullabye and Goodnight, and The Blessing.
Additionally, Merediz was directed by John Cassavetes in a play called Thornhill.
Voice-over Credits
Merediz has an extensive voice-over and narration portfolio, including documentaries on PBS. Her voice can be heard in "Nature: Nature's Miracle Orphans" and Cuba: the Accidental Eden, numerous TV/radio commercials, Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego! Go!.
She served as spokesperson for the MTA, New York City Transit Authority.
Awards and nominations
In addition to her Tony Award nomination, Merediz won a 2007 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for her role in the off-Broadway run of In the Heights, as well as a 2003 HOLA Tespis Award from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. At the 2008 Tony Awards, she received a nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the Broadway incarnation of In the Heights.
In 2013, Latina magazine named her as one of the 50 Best Latin Singers and Pop Stars of All time. As per the magazine, “The Cuban Broadway star knows how to dominate a live stage and owns it!”