Gina Torres
About
Biography
Biography
A statuesque beauty, actress Gina Torres began her career as a talented vocalist and stage actor before finding success on screen in the blockbuster films "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003), "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003) and Joss Whedon's "Serenity" (2005). A talented mezzo soprano and New York native, Torres started her career on the Broadway stage. Though her heart was in musical theater, Torres shifted her talents to the small screen where she found starring roles in "Cleopatra 2525" (2000-2001), Joss Whedon's short-lived sci-fi series "Firefly" (FOX, 2002) and appeared in recurring roles on "Alias" (ABC, 2001-06) and "24" (FOX, 2001-10). In 2006, she guest-starred on "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08) and filmed "Five Fingers" with co-star and real-life husband Laurence Fishburne. Her later series work on the legal drama "Suits" (USA 2011- ), "Hannibal" (NBC 2013-15) and "The Catch" (ABC 2016-17) continued her string of exciting projects.
Born April 25, 1969 in New York City, NY, Torres was raised in a primarily Latino Bronx neighborhood near the Grand Concourse. Born to Cuban-American parents, Torres grew up immersed in the Latin music and culture of her neighborhood. She attended the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Art in Manhattan as a vocal major, studying various musical styles from opera to jazz. Forgoing college after graduation in order to pursue a musical career, Torres landed an internship at the Lincoln Center Theater Company. While working at Lincoln Center, Torres landed an audition for the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes." Though she was not cast, Torres found an agent through the audition and thus, quickly landed a part in a Bridgeport, CT production of the musical, "Dreamgirls." Joining the Company Theater for New Audiences, Torres performed in productions of "Raisin in the Sun" and "Antigone." Torres went on to perform at Baltimore Center Stage and in a New York Public Theatre production of "Blood Wedding."
Branching out from her theatre roots, Torres began the natural progression of auditioning for television roles. She landed a small role on the daytime soap "One Life to Live" (ABC, 1968-2013) in 1995. Next, Torres landed roles in episodes of "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010) and "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005). Still active in theatre, Torres was cast as an understudy in the Broadway play "Face Value," and was asked to step into the lead after the previous actress left the cast. Though the show ran a week of previews, it never officially opened. Getting another shot at Broadway however, Torres was cast in "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public" by the show's director, Tommy Tune. Though the show had a big opening night on Broadway, it also had a short run at only two weeks. Returning to TV, Torres' luck began to change. She landed a lead role in the pilot for the FOX sci-fi series "M.A.N.T.I.S." (1994-95). Though the pilot was picked up for series, Torres got lost in the shuffle and did not appear beyond the pilot. Undaunted, the talented actress went on to appear in a series of smaller roles in the films "Bed of Roses" (1996) and "The Substance of Fire" (1996), as well as in the TV series "Profiler" (NBC, 1996-2000) and "La Femme Nikita" (USA, 1997-2001).
Much to the future delight of internet fan-boys, Torres received her first big break in 1998 when the producers of "M.A.N.T.I.S." tapped her for a role on the USA adventure series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (1995-99) opposite Kevin Sorbo. Cast in the role of Nebula, Torres appeared in a recurring role on the series, also appearing in its spin-off, "Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995-2001). Next, Torres was cast in the lead role of Hel in the futuristic sci-fi series "Cleopatra 2525" (2000-01). Though the show only lasted one season, it gained cult status among fans and earned Torres notice. Torres went on to land a recurring role on the ABC hit "Alias" (2001-06) and was cast in the lead role of Zoë Washburne on the Joss Whedon sci-fi western series "Firefly" (FOX, 2002). Though the series was cancelled after only 11 episodes, it proved to have a dedicated fan base on DVD and was later resurrected on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2005. Torres also appeared in a recurring role on Whedon's more successful series "Angel" (WB, 1999-2004). Landing her first major film role, Torres was cast opposite Laurence Fishburne as Cas in the sci-fi blockbusters "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003) and "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003). Meeting Fishburne during the back-to-back film shoot in 2001, Torres went on to marry her co-star in New York in September of 2002. (The couple split in 2016, though they kept this secret for nearly a year.)
In 2004, Torres appeared on the popular crime drama "CSI" (CBS, 2000-2015) as well as landed a recurring role on the FOX mega hit "24" (2001-10), portraying Julia Milliken in the show's third season. Reprising her "Firefly" role in 2005 - three years after the show went off the air - Torres starred in the much hyped feature film follow-up to the series, "Serenity." Though fans were thrilled at the big-screen resurrection of the series, the film failed to deliver at the box office.
Taking a break from her sci-fi fantasy gigs, Torres got gritty, appearing in a small but pivotal role on "The Shield" (FX, 2002-08). Torres portrayed the mentally ill and estranged wife, Sadie, of IAD investigator Lt. Jon Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker). In a daring turn on the final episode of the fifth season ("Postpartum"), Torres appeared nude from the rear during a graphic sex scene with Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis). After the fan-boy internet buzz settled down, Torres worked once again with husband Fishburne, in the film "Five Fingers" in 2006. Prior to filming "Five Fingers," Torres landed a regular role in "Standoff" (Fox, 2006) as the boss of an FBI hostage negotiation team who is loathe to discover that two of her agents (Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt) are romantically involved. She returned to the feature world with "I Think I Still Love My Wife" (2007), playing the wife of a bored businessman (Chris Rock) whose refusal to have sex leads him to consider infidelity with an old flame (Kerry Washington). After co-starring in teen drama "Huge" (ABC Family 2010), Torres took a key supporting role in the legal drama "Suits" (USA 2011- ) as conscientious lawyer Jessica Pearson. During her stint on "Suits," Torres also took on a recurring role in Bryan Fuller's "Hannibal" (NBC 2013-15). After that critically-acclaimed but low-rated series went off the air, Torre appeared in brief story arcs on "Revenge" (ABC 2011-15) and "Westworld" (HBO 2016- ) before joining the cast of action comedy "The Catch" (ABC 2016-17) for its second and final season.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1994
Had Broadway debut in "The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public"
1994
Gained the attention of producers Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi who cast her in the TV movie "M.A.N.T.I.S." (Fox)
1995
Landed a bit part in the daytime drama "One Life to Live" (ABC), brought back several times to portray different characters
1996
Made feature film debut in "Bed of Roses" starring Mary Stuart Masterson and Christian Slater
1997
Portrayed the recurring character Nebula on the syndicated series "Hercules: The Legendary Journey"
2000
Reunited with producers Raimi and Tapert to play the role of Hel in the futuristic adventure series "Cleopatra 2525"
2001
Had a recurring role as Jennifer Garner's arch nemesis, Russian-accented Anna Espinosa, on "Alias" (ABC)
2002
Cast as Zoe in the short-lived sci-fi series "Firefly" by creator Joss Whedon
2003
Cast in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," the sequels to the 1999 blockbuster "The Matrix"
2004
Played the wife of a major donor to President Palmer's (Dennis Haysbert) political campaign on the Fox drama "24"
2005
Cast as a highly adept and sly terrorist in "Five Fingers," opposite husband Laurence Fishburne
2005
Resumed her role as Zoe, for Joss Whedon's feature adaptation "Serenity" based on his short-lived series "Firefly"
2007
Cast in "I Think I Love My Wife," as the wife of Chris Rock's character
2011
Joined the cast of "Suits" as Jessica Pearson
2013
Began appearing on "Hannibal" as Bella Crawford
2016
Played a recurring role on HBO's "Westworld"
2016
Played the title role on "The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez"
2017
Starred as Justine Diaz on crime-thriller series "The Catch"
2017
Was cast as Ketsu Onyo on "Star Wars: Forces of Destiny"
2018
Appeared on an episode of "Angie Tribeca"
