Juani Feliz
Born (1989-01-03) January 3, 1989
Dominican Republic
EducationHarvard University (BS, MS)

Juani Feliz (born January 3, 1989) is a Dominican-American actress. She is best known for playing Isabela Benitez-Santiago in Tracy Oliver's Amazon comedy series Harlem, Carmen in Ava DuVernay's HBO Max series DMZ, and Alejandra Lopez in FX's Fleishman Is In Trouble.[1][2]

In 2022, Feliz was named one of People en Español's 50 Más Bellos ("50 Most Beautiful") of 2022.[3][4]

Early life

Feliz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx. She started acting at the age of 14 after getting involved in her first school play. She landed her first TV role at the age of 15 on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her acting career took a backseat when she graduated high school and studied biomedical engineering at Harvard University. After college, Feliz worked at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Boston, where she worked on a clinical trial for a melanoma cancer vaccine and helped develop biomaterials and drug delivery systems. During this time she also completed a master's degree at Harvard.[5] Despite her career in bioengineering, Feliz made her return to acting in 2016.[6]

Career

Upon her return to acting, Feliz made her big screen debut in The Purge: Election Year. Between 2016 and 2018, she guest starred on various TV series including Blue Bloods, Power, Shades of Blue, One Dollar and had a major supporting role in the film Canal Street. In 2017, she was one of the 12 actors chosen to be part of the ABC Discovers Talent Showcase. In 2019, she filmed her first network pilot as a series regular on the ABC romantic drama Until The Wedding[7] and filmed for a major supporting role in the upcoming feature film Quiet In My Town. In 2020, Feliz won Best Supporting Actress at the Utah Film Festival for her performance in the indie short Below The Belt.[8]

In 2021, she played Isabela Benitez-Santiago in Amazon's comedy series Harlem,[2] from Tracy Oliver and Amy Poehler.[9][10]

In 2022, she played Carmen in the HBO Max limited series DMZ, from Ava DuVernay and Roberto Patino.[1] Later that year, she played Alejandra Lopez in the FX limited series Fleishman Is In Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner's screen adaption of her 2019 NYT best-selling novel.[11]

More recently, Feliz reprised her role as Isabela Benitez-Santiago in the second season of Harlem and guest starred in episodes of The Rookie: Feds, NCIS: Hawaii and The Good Doctor.[12]

She will next be seen in Alex Garland's action epic Civil War for A24.[12]

Personal life

Feliz is a member of the LGBTQ community. She married her wife, a Disney executive, in September 2021 in New York City.[13]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Delirious Staci from Queens
2016 The Fastest, Most Romantic Love Yet Female #3
2016 The Purge: Election Year Schoolgirl #2
2016 Doctor Strange Girl on Bus Uncredited
2017 The Polka King PR Woman
2018 Canal Street Zoey Swanson
TBA Quiet In My Town Janet
TBA Civil War

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Esperanza Episode: "Acts of Contrition"
2006 Conviction Vida Diletez Episode: "Savasana"
2018 Shades of Blue Vanessa Ruiz 2 episodes
2018 One Dollar Paloma Episode: "Chelsea Wyler"
2019 Blue Bloods Corey Vallejo 2 episodes
2019 Power Jesenia Episode: "Deal with the Devil"
2019 Until the Wedding Isabel Television film
2021–2022 Harlem Isabela Benitez-Santiago 7 episodes
2022 DMZ Carmen 3 episodes
2022 Fleishman Is in Trouble Alejandra Lopez

References

  1. 1 2 Petski, Denise (2021-07-12). "'DMZ': Rutina Wesley & Mamie Gummer Among 9 Cast Additions; Ernest Dickerson & Carly Wray Join Creative Team Of HBO Max's DC Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  2. 1 2 Petski, Denise (2021-03-04). "'Harlem': Andrea Martin, Robert Ri'chard, Juani Feliz, Kate Rockwell & Sullivan Jones To Recur In Tracy Oliver's Amazon Comedy". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  3. ↑ "Los 50 Más Bellos de People en Español 2022: #DejandoHuella". People en Español (in Spanish). June 22, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  4. ↑ Colomé Santiago, Carla (July 14, 2022). "Juani Feliz, la historia de una dominicana que conquistó Harvard y Hollywood". People en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  5. ↑ "Juani Feliz: Talento e inteligencia criolla". listindiario.com (in Spanish). 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  6. ↑ "About | Juani Feliz". Juanifeliz. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  7. ↑ Petski, Denise (2019-03-11). "'Until The Wedding': Michael Stahl-David, Trent Garrett, Liza Colon-Zayas Among 6 Cast In ABC Drama Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  8. ↑ "2020 Nominees – The Utah Film Festival". Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  9. ↑ Sisavat, Monica (2022-02-17). "Juani Feliz". POPSUGAR Entertainment. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  10. ↑ "Sullivan Jones, Juani Feliz & Robert Ri'chard Interview: Harlem". ScreenRant. 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  11. ↑ Zaltzman, Lior (2022-09-30). "Everything We Know About the 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' TV Show". Kveller. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  12. 1 2 "Juani Feliz". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  13. ↑ "A Whimsical Meets Rustic-Chic Wedding in Long Island City". Brides. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
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