Actress

I'm really Americanized. The only real Latina thing I do is cook rice and beans with chuletas and tostones. I do the healthier version of what my grandmother would have made: a lot less salt, a lot less fat, a lot more vegetables. Sometimes I serve it with brown rice, which is, like, sacrilegious.

When I was 11, I went to Puerto Rico for a month to stay with my grandmother. To see the way people lived there and experience my own culture was wonderful.

I have to stop and think about everything I do. I'm very calculated in a lot of ways.

When my career started on daytime soaps, those characters usually didn't have much depth to them. The main goal was to memorize my lines in order to film efficiently the next day. But with 'Jane The Virgin,' the writing is strong, and everything is intentional.

The black community sees itself as one group, and they are all experiencing the same experiences as a group with racism and whatnot, growing up in this country.

Acting was always a secret desire of mine when I was growing up.

Since I don't have much time to cook, I tend to cook in bulk and eat leftovers.

I have a cousin who, at age 36, passed away from cancer, and she left three girls.

You're not going to learn about acting on TV and in film. You'll learn more in plays and in class.

Every mother wishes the best for her children.

Latinos come from different countries, and they tend to segregate with only their country instead of embracing all the other countries, because in reality, all the Latinos are going through the same experiences of discrimination and racism.

My mom struggled for a long time growing up poor, and then we were on welfare when I was a kid. So to see her kids, not just me, be successful and making money and happy and healthy and in good relationships - it means so much to her after all that she's been through.

My grandmother is bilingual, but she preferred to speak Spanish at home, so she would speak to us in Spanish, and everyone responded in English, sort of like what happens on 'Jane.'

My dad was in my life, and he was actually a very positive influence on me in my life. He was always there. He was a great dad. But my parents divorced when I was 5, so I grew up in a single-parent home.

In real life, we think people don't change, but they do. People do change in profound ways with all the different major things that happen in their lives.

It's really easy to give in to, 'I want to raise my kids,' 'I want to be the best mom, so I have to give up my dreams.' I don't believe that. I think, if anything, being a living example to your children is beautiful.

I went to Mexico for three months after college and studied Spanish there. And I went to Cuba and studied at the University of Havana. I loved studying in other countries.

When I was in Mexico and started to dream in Spanish, I knew that was a good sign that I was learning the language. It was cool.

Soap operas are like TV boot camp. You have to be able to self-direct, learn a ton of dialogue in a short amount of time, and deliver a performance in one or two takes.

I've seen other actresses refuse to be ugly. Even if the story line calls for it or the character calls for it, they just can't go there for vanity's sake, and they don't want to be perceived in an ugly way. I was like, 'Nah, I wanna go for this.'