Lela Loren
Lela Loren (born Maria Loren Avellaneda Sharp on May 7, 1980) is an American television and film actress. Known for her leading role as Angela Valdes on the Starz television series, Power,[1] [2] Loren notes in interview that it took time to land her first audition, and that her early roles were in The Shield, Gang Related, and shows of the CSI franchise.[3] Further television roles followed, including in Cold Case, and Ghost Whisperer, and she went on to film roles, including in The Hangover Part III and Reign Over Me. In 2019, Loren joined the second season of the Netflix science fiction series, Altered Carbon as a series regular, playing the character of Danica Harlan.[4]
Lela Loren | |
|---|---|
 Lela Loren at the opening night of Broadway's "Eclipsed" in 2016 | |
| Born | Lela Maria Loren Avellaneda Sharp May 7, 1980 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Early life
Loren was born Maria Loren Avellaneda Sharp on May 7, 1980 in Sacramento, California. She has one sibling,[3] an older brother, Daniel Sharp, who is the executive chef at a small restaurant in New York City.[5] Her mother is of Mexican descent, received her college degree in her 40s, and became a teacher; her father, an American, was working as an economist at the time he married her mother.[3] She spent her childhood in Sacramento, California, and later, in suburban Sacramento, although spending summers in an area of her mother's heritage, in Mexico.[3] Loren has stated that, despite her mom being from Michoacán, Mexico,[6] she did not learn Spanish until she was 10 years old, and that doing so helped her to communicate with relatives when she would return to the village from which her mother came.[7] From early childhood, Loren had surrounded herself with an array of pets, and had intended a career in biology.[3] Loren went to an all-girls' high school,[8] where she was a member of a men's rowing team.[8][9]
Loren attended the Whitman College,[10] in Walla Walla, Washington,[9] where she majored in biology. She "begrudgingly fell in love" with acting after enrolling in a fine arts course "to get it out of the way", only to find herself moved to an entry level acting class when the arts class was full.[3] It is reported that she did work on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska as a means to pay her college expenses.[8][9] She graduated with a B.A. in theatre,[9] in 2002. She also studied performing arts at the Ruskin School of Acting.[9] From her upbringing and studies, Loren is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian.[9][11]
Career
Television work
Loren notes that it took three years for her to land her first acting audition, and that she "paid her dues with small roles"—in The Shield, Gang Related, and shows of the CSI franchise.[3] Further television roles followed, including in Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer. Loren began a leading role as Angela Valdes on the Starz television series, Power.[1][2]
In 2019, Loren joined the second season of the Netflix science fiction series, Altered Carbon, as a series regular, playing the character of Danica Harlan.[4]
Film work
Loren has had various film roles, including in The Hangover Part III and Reign Over Me.
Stage work
In 2009, Loren played the lead role, Flora, at the American Conservatory Theater in José Rivera's Boleros for the Disenchanted.[9] She also starred as Antonia in a stage production of My Antonia at Pacific Resident Theatre.[9]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Between the Lines | Yola | |
| 2007 | Reign Over Me | Dental Hygienist | |
| 2008 | Flotsam | Salazar | Short |
| 2011 | The Reunion | Theresa Trujillo | |
| 2013 | Snitch | Vanessaa | |
| 2013 | The Hangover Part III | Female Officer | |
| 2021 | The Man from Toronto | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Cold Case | Ana Castilla | "Sanctuary" |
| 2006 | CSI: Miami | Isabella Mansera | "Shock" |
| 2006 | CSI: NY | Jo O'Keffe | "Sweet 16" |
| 2007 | The Shield | Nydia Hernandez | "Baptism by Fire", "Back to One", "Chasing Ghosts" |
| 2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Anna Sanchez | "Haunted Hero" |
| 2008 | The Unit | Carina | "Sudden Flight" |
| 2009 | NCIS | Agent Isabella 'Izzie' Cortez | "Outlaws and In-Laws' |
| 2010 | Chuck | Elia | "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners" |
| 2010 | Lost | Claudia | "Across the Sea" |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Nilda | "Bloodhounds" |
| 2011 | The Closer | Maria Flores | "Death Warrant" |
| 2012 | Covert Affairs | Blanca Gonzalez | "Loving the Alien" |
| 2012–13 | H+: The Digital Series | Francesca Rossi | Main role |
| 2013 | Whisper of Fear | Jane Cox | TV film |
| 2014 | Gang Related | Silvia | Recurring role |
| 2014–2019 | Power | Angela Valdes | Main role (seasons 1–5) |
| 2018 | Bull | Katherine George | "Justice for Cable" |
| 2020 | Altered Carbon | Danica Harlan | Main role (season 2) |
| 2021 | American Gods | Marguerite Olsen / Property Manager | Recurring Role |
Personal life
Loren also writes poems,[12] which is part of her process of getting into character.
References
- de Leon, Concepcion (June 5, 2015). "Power's Lela Loren on Playing a Shady Prosecutor and What Success Means to Her". Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- Morales, Nikoleta (June 19, 2014). "Lela Loren breaks stereotypes in "Power"". Archived from the original on 31 July 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- Connery, Ana Pelayo (September 15, 2018). "Lela Loren of the Hit Show Power Draws Strength from her Heritage". USAToday.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- White, Peter (August 27, 2019). "'Altered Carbon': 'Power' Star Lela Loren Joins Season 2 Of Netflix's Sci-Fi Drama". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
- Gabbara, Princess. "How Actress Lela Loren Faked Her Way Into Cooking on an Alaskan Fishing Boat". Rachael Ray In Season.
- Monell, Ray (June 11, 2015). "Lela Loren in the thick of the action on Starz drama 'Power'". NYDailyNews.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- Balfour, Brad (June 2, 2015). "Omari Hardwick and Lela Loren Talk Power's Season 2". BlackFilm.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- TV Guide Staff (5 March 2020). "Lela Loren—Biography—Fast Facts, College". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
Fast Facts / Was a member of an all-male crew team during high school. / Studied performing arts at Ruskin School of Acting. / Worked as a commercial fisher in Alaska to pay for college. / Starred in the titular role of a stage production of My Antonia at Pacific Resident Theatre. / Performed the lead role of Flora in José Rivera's Boleros for the Disenchanted at the American Conservatory Theater in 2009. / Is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian. / College / Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, United States (BA in Theatre)
- Loren, Lela (August 28, 2016). "'Power' episode 7: Actress Lela Loren on how FBI interrogation scenes get made". EW.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- "The Source |Her Source I Lela Loren & Naturi Naughton Talk 'Power'". April 13, 2014.
- Unknown participant (Interviewer), Hardwick, Omari & Loren, Lela (interviewees) (n.d.). Omari Hardwick & Lela Loren on the Final Season of 'Power' and Possible Spin-Offsv (Sway's Universe). Retrieved March 5, 2020 – via www.YouTube.com.
