Lauren Vélez (born November 2, 1964) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez. Her most notable roles are as Lt. Maria LaGuerta on Dexter and Dr. Gloria Nathan on HBO's controversial jail drama, Oz.
Vélez's parents moved from Puerto Rico in the early 1950s and lived in the Brooklyn section of New York City where she and her twin sister were born. Their father was a New York City police officer wh...
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Lauren Vélez (born November 2, 1964) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Loraine Vélez. Her most notable roles are as Lt. Maria LaGuerta on Dexter and Dr. Gloria Nathan on HBO's controversial jail drama, Oz.
Vélez's parents moved from Puerto Rico in the early 1950s and lived in the Brooklyn section of New York City where she and her twin sister were born. Their father was a New York City police officer who eventually bought a house in the middle class neighborhood of Rockaway, Queens, and moved there with his wife and eight children. The sisters enjoyed setting up improvised plays and acting for the family since childhood. Vélez once played the part of a groundhog in a second grade school play, after which she decided to be an actor.
After graduating from high school, the twins both received scholarships to attend The Alvin Ailey Dancing School. They also studied acting at The Acting Studio with James Price, and Lauren studied Shakespeare with...
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