Justina Machado
About
Biography
Biography
Justina Machado grew up in Chicago, but experienced a mixture of cultures as both of her parents were born in Puerto Rico. That blend helped color Machado's early career and even guided her to work in Latino acting groups in her home of Chicago. In the early '90s, she moved out of Chicago, eventually winding up in California where she started her acting career in earnest. Starting in 1996, she made numerous appearances on TV shows ranging from "NYPD Blue" (ABC 1993-2005) to "Angel" (The WB 1999-2004). Her film debut was in the Sean Penn-starring "She's So Lovely" (1997). All of that experience led to Machado joining the cast of "Six Feet Under" (HBO 2001-05) as Vanessa Diaz, a character who started off as recurring but wound up being a main character in later seasons. After "Six Feet Under" ended, she went back to appearing in smaller roles on the big and small screen, including "Torque" (2004), "I Think I Love My Wife" (2007), and "ER" (NBC 1994-2009) - a show that she had guest-starred on in an early season. While her recurring role on "ER" ended, she starred in the short-lived medical drama "Three Rivers" (CBS 2009-2010). After a few more years of one-off roles across TV shows like "Desperate Housewives" (ABC 2004-2012) and movies like "The Purge: Anarchy" (2014), Machado landed a recurring role on "Jane the Virgin" (The CW 2014- ) as Darci Factor. That quickly led to Machado starring as matriarch Penelope Alvarez on the critically adored sitcom "One Day at a Time" (Netflix 2017- ).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1993
Made TV debut on "Missing Persons"
1996
Cast in Oliver Mayer's "Blade to the Heat" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles
1996
Landed first two acting roles shorting after moving to Los Angeles, on the ABC series "NYPD Blue" and in the NBC movie "No One Would Tell"
1997
First recurring TV role on "Goode Behavior".
1997
Appeared in a rare, live episode of "ER".
1997
Landed first film role in "She's So Lovely"
2001
Starred as Vanessa Diaz on "Six Feet Under"
2002
Had a supporting role in Steven Soderbergh's groundbreaking film "Full Frontal"
2003
Cast as Sunny Estrada in the first season of the Canadian television series "1-800 Missing" (aired on Lifetime)
2004
Co-starred opposite Ice Cube in the feature film, "Torque"
2009
Landed a recurring role on the last season of "ER".
2012
Cast on the ABC medical drama, "Private Practice".
2013
Supporting role in "The Call".
2017
Starred on Netflix series "One Day at a Time"
