Loraine Vélez
Encyclopedia
Loraine Vélez is an American
actress of Puerto Rican descent. She is the twin sister of actress Lauren Vélez
.
in the early 1950s and lived in the Brooklyn
section of New York City
where the twins were born. Their father was a New York City police officer who eventually bought a house in the middle class neighborhood of Queens and moved there with his wife and eight children. The sisters enjoyed setting up improvised plays and acting for the family ever since childhood.
After graduating from high school
, the twins both received scholarship
s to attend The Alvin Ailey
Dancing School. They also studied acting at The Acting Studio and Lauren studied Shakespeare with Michael Howard. Lauren landed her first job performing in the national touring company of the musical "Dreamgirls". Loraine would often step in for her sister in Dreamgirls.
. There she participated in the production of "RENT" where she was cast as "Mimi" the understudy. Loraine also starred in the debut of "Fame" in London. She returned to the United States
in 2000. There, she performed the role of Mimi on Broadway for almost two years. That same year Loraine was cast as "Tutu" in the film "Piñero", starring Benjamin Bratt
and Talisa Soto
. In 2002, she played the role of "Abby Bishop" in the TV series "Law & Order
" and in 2002 she played "Valentina Minola" in the episode: "Worse Things I Could Do" of the TV series "Casualty
".
Loraine has since moved back to London. She performed the role of Spanish maid in famous British TV series "Doctor Who
" (Season 4, chapter 11 - Turn Left). She recently starred in a new stage production of "Porgy and Bess".
Both sisters continue to make TV and stage appearances.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress of Puerto Rican descent. She is the twin sister of actress Lauren Vélez
Lauren Vélez
Lauren Vélez is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez. Her most notable roles are as María LaGuerta on Dexter, Detective Nina Moreno on Fox's New York Undercover, and Dr...
.
Early years
The twins' parents emigrated from Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in the early 1950s and lived in the Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
section of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where the twins were born. Their father was a New York City police officer who eventually bought a house in the middle class neighborhood of Queens and moved there with his wife and eight children. The sisters enjoyed setting up improvised plays and acting for the family ever since childhood.
After graduating from high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, the twins both received scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to attend The Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance...
Dancing School. They also studied acting at The Acting Studio and Lauren studied Shakespeare with Michael Howard. Lauren landed her first job performing in the national touring company of the musical "Dreamgirls". Loraine would often step in for her sister in Dreamgirls.
Career
Loraine participated in Broadway's Dreamgirls, and also in the Off-Broadway production of "Does A Tiger Have A Necktie". In 1997, Loraine went to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. There she participated in the production of "RENT" where she was cast as "Mimi" the understudy. Loraine also starred in the debut of "Fame" in London. She returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2000. There, she performed the role of Mimi on Broadway for almost two years. That same year Loraine was cast as "Tutu" in the film "Piñero", starring Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Rey Curtis on the TV series Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies Blood in Blood Out, Miss Congeniality, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Traffic, and Piñero.-Early life:Bratt was born in San Francisco, California,...
and Talisa Soto
Talisa Soto
-Early life:Born Miriam Soto in Brooklyn, New York, Soto is the youngest of four children born to an Italian mother and a Canadian father of Puerto Rican descent. Her parents later relocated to Northampton, Massachusetts where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated.-Modeling:At the age of...
. In 2002, she played the role of "Abby Bishop" in the TV series "Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
" and in 2002 she played "Valentina Minola" in the episode: "Worse Things I Could Do" of the TV series "Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
".
Loraine has since moved back to London. She performed the role of Spanish maid in famous British TV series "Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
" (Season 4, chapter 11 - Turn Left). She recently starred in a new stage production of "Porgy and Bess".
Both sisters continue to make TV and stage appearances.
Filmography and stage roles
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Piñero Piñero Piñero is a 2001 biopic about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the titular character. It was written and directed by the Cuban filmmaker, Leon Ichaso. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 31 August 2001... |
Tutu | Film debut |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Law & Order | Abby Bishop | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Valentina Minola | |
| 2008 | Doctor Who Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior... |
Spanish Maid | |
| Broadway | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Dreamgirls | Unknown Role | |
| 1996-2008 | Rent Rent (musical) Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème... |
Mimi Marquez | Replacement |
| West End | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993-1994 | Miss Saigon Miss Saigon Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover... |
Gigi | Drury Lane Theatre |
| 1994 | Out of the Blue | Hannah | Shaftesbury Theatre |
| 1995 | Mama I Want to Sing | Lena Horne Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the... |
Prince of Wales Theatre |
| 1995-1996 & 1998 | Fame Fame: The Musical Fame: The Musical is a singing and dance contest in Ireland, produced by Screentime ShinAwiL for RTÉ. The audition and Fame Bootcamp stages were filmed around Ireland and in London.... |
Carmen | Prince of Wales Theatre. Original cast. |
| 1998-2000 | Rent Rent (musical) Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème... |
Mimi Marquez | Shaftesbury Theatre |
| 2006-2007 | Porgy and Bess Porgy and Bess Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward... |
Clara, and Bess | Savoy Theatre. Billed as 'Lorraine Velez' |