Francia Almendárez
Encyclopedia
Francia Raisa Almendárez (born July 26, 1988) is an American actress. She is sometimes credited as Francia Almendárez. Raisa is most notable for her roles in Bring It On: All or Nothing
, where she plays a tough Latina cheerleader named Leti, The Secret Life of the American Teenager
as Adrian Lee, or The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream
as Alejandra "Alex" Delgado and reprising her role in The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice
.
to Renan Almendarez Coello and Virginia Almendarez. She is of Honduran and Mexican ethnicity and has two younger sisters, Italia and Irlanda. A few years after Raisa was born her father came up with the Latin radio personality "El Cucuy". She attended Bishop Alemany High School
for a while.
At the early age of five, Raisa began taking dance lessons excelling in tap, jazz
, acrobatics
, hip hop
, and Polynesian dance. She also explored karate
and ice skating
.
. Just a month into her senior year, she booked one of her first lead roles, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere
in Bring It On: All or Nothing
. She co-starred in the Nickelodeon
movie Shredderman Rules
, where she portrayed Isabel and in The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream
, as Alejandra Delgado. She currently plays the role of Adrian Lee in the hit ABC Family drama, The Secret Life of the American Teenager
.
Raisa appeared in Lil' Romeo's music video "My Girlfriend" as Tamy in 2004.
In 2009, Raisa guest-starred on the USA network's TV series "In Plain Sight" and she reprised her role as the lead for the sequel to MGM's The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice
in spring 2010.
She has also co-starred in a short film directed by David Henrie
called Boo, which aired recently on YouTube
.
Francia recently appeared in a music video for pop duo Savvy & Mandy
, and also appeared in Iyaz
's music video "So Big".
Bring It On: All or Nothing
Bring It On: All or Nothing is the third installment in the Bring it On series of films that revolves around high school cheerleading. Directed by Steve Rash, the movie was released direct-to-DVD on August 8, 2006 by Universal Pictures....
, where she plays a tough Latina cheerleader named Leti, The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first aired on ABC Family on July 1, 2008. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 24 episodes on February 9, 2009, which began airing on June 22, 2009...
as Adrian Lee, or The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream
The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream
The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream is a 2008 American Drama and Romance film that follows the 2006 film The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold and was followed by The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice ...
as Alejandra "Alex" Delgado and reprising her role in The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice
The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice
The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice is an 2010 American drama and romance film that follows the 2008 film The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream. Francia Raisa reprises her role as Alexandra "Alex" Delgado...
.
Early life
Raisa was born and raised in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
to Renan Almendarez Coello and Virginia Almendarez. She is of Honduran and Mexican ethnicity and has two younger sisters, Italia and Irlanda. A few years after Raisa was born her father came up with the Latin radio personality "El Cucuy". She attended Bishop Alemany High School
Bishop Alemany High School
Bishop Alemany High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in the Mission Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. It is located within the San Fernando Pastoral Region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles...
for a while.
At the early age of five, Raisa began taking dance lessons excelling in tap, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, acrobatics
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, and Polynesian dance. She also explored karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
and ice skating
Ice skating
Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and...
.
Career
Raisa began to book acting jobs in her junior year of high school, modeling for print ads and appearing in commercials. She guest-starred in the sitcoms American Family: Journey of Dreams and Over ThereOver There
"Over There" is a 1917 song popular with United States soldiers in both world wars.It was written by George M. Cohan during World War I. Notable early recordings include versions by Nora Bayes, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, and Charles King....
. Just a month into her senior year, she booked one of her first lead roles, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live , and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light , before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in...
in Bring It On: All or Nothing
Bring It On: All or Nothing
Bring It On: All or Nothing is the third installment in the Bring it On series of films that revolves around high school cheerleading. Directed by Steve Rash, the movie was released direct-to-DVD on August 8, 2006 by Universal Pictures....
. She co-starred in the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
movie Shredderman Rules
Shredderman Rules
Shredderman Rules is a 2007 television movie based on Wendelin Van Draanen's Shredderman book series. It originally aired on Nickelodeon along with the series finale episode of Ned's Declassified on June 9, 2007, and had 3.9 million viewers...
, where she portrayed Isabel and in The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream
The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream
The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream is a 2008 American Drama and Romance film that follows the 2006 film The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold and was followed by The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice ...
, as Alejandra Delgado. She currently plays the role of Adrian Lee in the hit ABC Family drama, The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Secret Life of the American Teenager is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first aired on ABC Family on July 1, 2008. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 24 episodes on February 9, 2009, which began airing on June 22, 2009...
.
Raisa appeared in Lil' Romeo's music video "My Girlfriend" as Tamy in 2004.
In 2009, Raisa guest-starred on the USA network's TV series "In Plain Sight" and she reprised her role as the lead for the sequel to MGM's The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice
The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice
The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice is an 2010 American drama and romance film that follows the 2008 film The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream. Francia Raisa reprises her role as Alexandra "Alex" Delgado...
in spring 2010.
She has also co-starred in a short film directed by David Henrie
David Henrie
David Clayton Henrie is an American actor, television writer, and producer. He is noted for playing Ted Mosby's future son on How I Met Your Mother, Justin Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place and Larry on That's So Raven...
called Boo, which aired recently on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Francia recently appeared in a music video for pop duo Savvy & Mandy
Savvy & Mandy
Savvy & Mandy are a pop duo from Southern California in the United States. Savvy and Mandy are sisters - Savannah Shay Burhoe and Amanda Quinn Burhoe...
, and also appeared in Iyaz
Iyaz
Keidran Jones , better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a singer signed with the record label Beluga Heights Records from the British Virgin Islands. His debut single "Replay", was released in 2009 and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, number-one in the UK, Australia and the top ten...
's music video "So Big".
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Bring It On: All or Nothing Bring It On: All or Nothing Bring It On: All or Nothing is the third installment in the Bring it On series of films that revolves around high school cheerleading. Directed by Steve Rash, the movie was released direct-to-DVD on August 8, 2006 by Universal Pictures.... |
Leti | Direct-to-DVD |
| 2007 | Shredderman Rules Shredderman Rules Shredderman Rules is a 2007 television movie based on Wendelin Van Draanen's Shredderman book series. It originally aired on Nickelodeon along with the series finale episode of Ned's Declassified on June 9, 2007, and had 3.9 million viewers... |
Isabel | TV Movie |
| 2008 | ASD. Alma sin dueño | Unknown Role | |
| The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream is a 2008 American Drama and Romance film that follows the 2006 film The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold and was followed by The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice ... |
Alejandra 'Alex' Delgado | TV Movie | |
| 2009 | Fired Up Fired Up (film) Fired Up! is a 2009 teen comedy film produced and directed by Will Gluck and written by Freedom Jones. The main plot revolves around two popular high school football players who create their lie to attend cheerleading camp for the summer and get close to its female cheerleaders.-Plot:Nick Brady... |
Marly | |
| 2010 | Bulletface Bulletface Bulletface is a 2010 action thriller starring Victoria Maurette and directed by Albert Pyun.-Cast:* Victoria Maurette as Dara Marren* Steven Bauer as Ned Walker* Morgan Weisser as Josh Wexler* Jenny Dare Paulin as Shannon Dall... |
Maria | |
| The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice The Cutting Edge: Fire & Ice is an 2010 American drama and romance film that follows the 2008 film The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream. Francia Raisa reprises her role as Alexandra "Alex" Delgado... |
Alejandra 'Alex' Delgado | TV Movie | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | American Family: Journey of Dreams | Karina | |
| 2005 | Over There Over There (TV series) Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S... |
Sawa | 1 episode |
| 2009 | In Plain Sight In Plain Sight In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program... |
Olivia Morales | 1 episode |
| 2008–present | The Secret Life of the American Teenager The Secret Life of the American Teenager The Secret Life of the American Teenager is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first aired on ABC Family on July 1, 2008. The show was renewed for a second season consisting of 24 episodes on February 9, 2009, which began airing on June 22, 2009... |
Adrian Lee | TV Series |