Gloria Garayua’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Gloria Garayua (born October 18, 1978 in New York City) is an American film and television actress. Garayua made her major film debut in 2005 in Fun With Dick and Jane, and currently, her acting credits include guest stints on long-running series such as Six Feet Under, Weeds and The Shield. After being cast in an ongoing role in Grey’s Anatomy, she’s had recurring roles in major TV shows such as Cougar Town and How to Get Away with Murder.

Early Life and Education

Gloria Garayua was born and raised in the Fordham section of the Bronx. Garayua is of Puerto Rican heritage and her parents are from Ponce, Puerto Rico. She attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine Elementary School and St. Catherine’s Academy High School, both in the Bronx.

Gloria graduated from Long Island University with a Bachelor’s Degree in acting, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Her portrayal of Ariel in The Tempest earned her an Irene Ryan Nomination where she placed as the 1st National Alternate.

Acting career

Gloria moved to California in 2004 after getting the leading role in Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and A Piano at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. Afterwards, she moved to the greater Los Angeles area and was cast for a minor role in Fun With Dick and Jane after only 2 weeks. During this time she also appeared in an episode of NYPD Blue as a guest star.

In 2007 she guest starred in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy as Intern Graciella. She would ultimately become a recurring guest star in the show, appearing in a total of 24 episodes from 2007 to 2010. In 2008 she played the part of Reyna in two episodes of Showtime’s Weeds titled No Man is Pudding and The Three Coolers.

Other notable roles include Nurse Chapel in American Housewife, Madison Young in Criminal Minds, Vita Chacon in Cold Case, and Gloria Ortiz in ER. As of 2016, Gloria has worked in over 25 different television shows.

Gloria is also a prolific stage actress that has been featured in productions such as La Posada Magica (The Magic Journey) at South Coast Repertory, Real Women Have Curves at CASA 0101, The Skriker at the Kennedy Center Stage and Romeo and Juliet at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble.

Awards

Gloria was nominated for Best Female Principal Performer by the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle in 2009.

Fixing Paco, in which Gloria played the lead role of Margie Fuentes, was nominated for 2013 Best Webseries in the “Drama” Category. The show was also nominated in 2014 to the Best WebSeries in 3 categories, “Drama”, “Comedy”, and “Reality or Informational.

Other Endeavors

Gloria has worked as a private acting coach in the Los Angeles area since 2005. She has also taught “Beginning and Intermediate Drama” at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s “Gifted and Talented Fine Arts Conservatory”, “Adult Beginner’s Scene Study” at “The Mauricio Ochmann Studio” in North Hollywood, “Advanced On-Camera Technique” at “Actor Training in LA” in North Hollywood, and “Teen Scene Study” at the “John D’Aquino’s Acting Studio” in Toluca Lake.

Gloria plays beginner piano, sings Mezzo-soprano, and is an intermediate dancer in Jazz and various Latin styles.

Personal life

Gloria currently resides in the greater Los Angeles area. She is unmarried and has no children.

She is a fluent Spanish speaker and an intermediate French speaker.

Selected Filmography

Film

Television