Born on November 8, 1979, Dania Ramirez is a Dominican TV film actress. She is most presently known for playing a recurring character during the last season of The Sopranos and as Maya Herrera in Heroes. She also portrayed the character of female antagonist Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. At an early age, she took the decision of becoming an actress. As a young child, she would re-enact Spanish soap operas for her family. She was discovered by a modeling scout while working in a New York City convenience store at the age of 15, and was cast in a small part in a soda commercial. Later, she decided to pursue acting seriously and studied at the Actor's Workshop in New York City under Flo Greenberg. She graduated from Montclair State University in 1999, where her volleyball talents led her to be placed among the top 5 in career digs, digs/game, solo blocks and total blocks. Then she moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue her acting career.
Ramirez has appeared in several music videos, including Jay-Z's Streets is Watching (1998), LL Cool J's "Hush" (2005; directed by her fiancè, Jessy Terrero[3][4]), and Santana's "Into the Night" (2007).Also "Cry Baby Cry" (a Santana and Sean Paul Collaboration) Ramirez has also made apprearance in Wisin y Yandel's Music Video Dime Que Te Paso, where she played the main character, the wife and mother of a military man at war in Iraq who finds out her husband died at war.
Ramirez appeared as an extra in the HBO film Subway Stories (1997), where she met filmmaker Spike Lee who later cast her in his film, She Hate Me (2004). She portrayed older sister "Laurie" in the movie Fat Albert (2004). She was Callisto, one of The Omegas, in the comic book film X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). She went on to star in The 5th Commandment in 2008, a film written and starring Rick Yune.
Ramirez appeared as the minor character Caridad in the final episodes of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and as Blanca Selgado, a recurring role during the the 6th season of The Sopranos.
Currently, Ramirez portrays the character of Maya on the TV series Heroes.
