Gina Rodriguez is best known for her role as the title character in “Jane the Virgin.” While she’s known for her acting, having won a Golden Globe among numerous other awards, it’s what she does behind the scenes to embrace diversity that makes her a star.
Rodriguez has broken down barriers herself, becoming the first Latina lead on the CW and recently becoming a director on her show. When she won her Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Comedy in 2015, she was the first Latina nominated since 2009 (America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty“). While many people would take this platform she has been given and do nothing, she uses it to better the way people of color, especially to better Latinos are portrayed in the media, and the way that limits their lives in other facets. She has spoken fervently about the lack of Latinos in the industry and how she couldn’t identify with the people she saw on TV when she was growing up. Now, she’s making strides to change that.
Rodriguez has turned down roles that she felt limited Latinos. After her breakout performance in the indie film Filly Brown, she turned down an offer for a role in Devious Maids. She wanted to show that Latinos are more than maids and garden workers. While Rodriguez says that “being a maid is fantastic” she wants to focus on the “other stories that need to be told”. The Latino Media Gap has reported that 69 percent of maids in TV and film are Latina when in reality they make up only 44.3 percent of maids and house cleaners. The report also includes that Latinos are most often portrayed as “criminals, law enforcers, and cheap labor.” In her Golden Globe acceptance speech, she says that her award represents “a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes”, and that’s what she is shaping up to be.
A simple swipe down her Instagram shows her #MovementMondays where she shares another person in the entertainment industry’s story and how they too are breaking down barriers. She shares people from Kumail Nanjiani (“The Big Sick“) to Ricky Martin to Coral Pena (“The Post”). Each of these people have their own stories and obstacles and she embraces and uplifts them and how they are working to improve the world.
While Rodriguez has faced backlash, she focuses on how she wants to see the world and puts one foot forward each time to get there. She’s a change maker that focuses on what can and should be, instead of what is. She wants to inspire kids like her to dream big and show the diversity of the Latino culture beyond what is portrayed as today. As the Washington Post reported, she said “You’re always going to piss some people off because you’re taking action… Because you’re speaking up for the voiceless.” And that’s why she should be an inspiration to all of us.