Lauren Vélez
Vélez in 2011, Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Date of Birth: November 2, 1964
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican [African, Spanish]
Lauren Vélez, also credited as Luna Lauren Vélez, is an American actress.
She was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents moved there from Puerto Rico in the 1950s, and her father became an New York City police officer. Her twin sister is actress Lorraine Vélez.
Lauren is known for her roles in the television series New York Undercover and Dexter. She is considered one of the breakthrough Latina actresses who does not fit a European-Hispanic and/or Indigenous-Hispanic image. For this, Lauren has a large multi-ethnic following. Her father was of African-Puerto Rican descent.
She probably is part African blah blah but that doesn’t mean she’s Black. She is Puerto Rican of a multi-ethnic background. Many Puerto Ricans can be White or mixed Native, White etc.
Several years ago I saw an article in a Latin magazine that showed I believe her older sister (same mother, etc) who has very strong african features, someone of African decent. It’s strange that this actress tries to distance herself from her black heritage.
Soy Boricua and I dont c mi gente as Black,White Mulatto bla bla bla We are BORICUA and thats how I c mi gente as BORICUA no matter how dark or light. Yes we have a beautiful blend of people but we are still BORICUA! PUERTO RICO!!!!!
I love her!
she’s a great actress
i love her, she’s so pretty, she’s clearly a mixed puerto rican