Valerie Cruz

Valerie Cruz
Born	(1976-07-18) July 18, 1976 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.

Valerie Cruz (born July 18, 1976) is an American actress.

Cruz was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey of Cuban ancestry. She attended Florida State University and received a BFA theatre degree.

She has appeared in films such as Cellular and played Grace Santiago in Nip/Tuck. She played a main character in Nip/Tuck, but she left the show just after the first season. She has made guest appearances in series such as Grey's Anatomy and Las Vegas. In 2007, she appeared as Connie Murphy, a tough Chicago police detective, in SciFi Channel's adaptation of The Dresden Files. The show lasted for one season.

She has also played Maria Nolan on the CW's Hidden Palms. In 2008, she appeared in season three of Dexter, playing Sylvia Prado, the wife of Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits).

In 2009, she appeared in the horror film The Devil's Tomb and the HBO series True Blood, in which she played the part of Isabel. In 2009, she also played Olivia in the film La Linea. In 2010 she became part of the cast of the ABC drama Off the Map, which was canceled by ABC On May 13, 2011 . In 2011 she had a recurring role as a Homeland Security agent in the Syfy series Alphas. In 2012, she played a doctor in the "Organ Grinder" episode of Grimm; the wife of a dictator in the "Enemy of the State" episode of Scandal; and an investigator for the football league in the episode "Spell It Out" of Necessary Roughness. She currently stars on The Following as Agent Gina Mendez.

Awards

• 2008 Alma Awards Nomination; Best lead actress in a drama series for The Dresden Files on SciFi Channel
• 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination; Best ensemble cast in a drama series for Dexter on Showtime Networks

Filmography

Cruz's appearances and roles in film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Cellular	Dana Bayback
2007	LA Blues	Female Cop
2008	No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker	Allison
2008	La Linea	Olivia
2009	The Devil's Tomb	Dr. Elissa Cardell
2014	The Loft	Barbara Stevens	Post-production

Cruz's appearances and roles in television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Strong Medicine	Almira	Episode: "Precautions"
2002	American Family	Officer #1	Episode: "La Llorona: Part 1"
2002	The Agency	Ms. Constanza Diaz	Episode: "Heartless"
2003	Nip/Tuck	Grace Santiago	Recurring role (12 episodes)
2004	Missing	Karen Moore	Episode: "Delusional"
2004	Crossing Jordan	Madeline Pillsbury	Episode: "What Happens in Vegas Dies in Boston"
2004	Las Vegas	Madeline Pillsbury	Episode: "Two of a Kind"
2005	LAX	Carla	Episode: "Mixed Signals"
2005	Grey's Anatomy	Zona Cruz	Episode: "No Man's Land"
2005	Inconceivable	Vanessa Calder	Episode: "The Last Straw"
2006	Invasion	Col. Sabrina Lopez	Episode: "Re-Evolution" Episode: "The Last Wave Goodbye"
2007	Hidden Palms	Maria Nolan	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2007–08	The Dresden Files	Lt. Connie Murphy	Recurring role (13 episodes)
2008	Street Warrior	Maggie Kuerner	TV film
2008–13	Dexter	Sylvia Prado	11 episodes
2009	Eleventh Hour	Coco Delgado	Episode: "Olfactus"
2009	Dollhouse	Selena Ramirez	Episode: "A Spy in the House of Love"
2009	True Blood	Isabel	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2010	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	U.S Attorney Camilla Velez	Episode: "Shadow"
2010	Criminal Minds	Brooke Sanchez	Episode: "Parasite"
2011	Off the Map	Dr. Zita Alvarez	13 episodes
2011	The Glades	Dr. Sophie Perez	Episode: "Dirty Little Secrets"
2011	Alphas	Kathy Sullivan	Recurring role (4 episodes)
2012	Grimm	Dr. Levine	Episode: "Organ Grinder"
2012	Scandal	Carolina Flores	Episode: "Enemy of the State" The Devils Tomb
2012	Necessary Roughness	Vera Dade	Episode: "Spell It Out" Episode: "Double Fault"
2012	Homeland	Major Joy Mendez	5 episodes
2013	The Secret Lives of Wives	Alyse	TV film, post-production
2013	NCIS	Anna	Episode: "Detour"
2014-2015	The Following	Agent Gina Mendez	9 episodes

External links

• Valerie Cruz | Official Site
• Valerie Cruz at IMDb