Aimee Garcia

Aimee Garcia grew up in show business - dancing in a Chicago-area production of "Cinderella" at the age of seven and performing professionally as Clara in "The Nutcracker" - before moving to Los Angeles after college to work in film and television.

In addition to her best-known roles as Veronica Palmero, niece of George Lopez on the sitcom "George Lopez" (ABC, 2002-07), and Jamie, nanny for the son of serial killer Dexter on "Dexter" (Showtime, 2006-13), she also racked up a handful of movie credits, including a role in the 2011 dance musical, "Go for It!"

Garcia was born and raised in the Chicago area, and began working professionally as a dancer during her elementary school years in a stage version of "Cinderella." She went on to regularly dance in "The Nutcracker," while appearing in commercials and other acting projects throughout her teens.

Despite growing up as a performer, Garcia did not perceive acting as an automatic career choice. Triple-majoring in French, journalism and economics at Northwestern University while juggling acting jobs on the side, Garcia went to work in New York City as a mutual fund analyst and later received a job offer from Morgan Stanley. Realizing that her first love was acting, not finance, she headed to Los Angeles instead.

Garcia initially struggled for several years with minor roles on television shows and films, including a small part as a nurse in the Jennifer Aniston vehicle "The Good Girl" (2002). Her big break came when she was cast on the sitcom "Greetings from Tucson" (The WB, 2002-03).

Although the show lasted only a season, it was lauded for featuring a cast that was made up mostly of Latinos and tackling issues surrounding immigration and cultural identity. Work came regularly for Garcia after "Greetings from Tucson" was canceled, and in 2006 she began appearing in George Lopez's eponymous sitcom as Lopez's niece. Like "Greetings from Tucson," "George Lopez" was another show that put its Latino actors and their culture front and center.

After "George Lopez" ended, Garcia went on to appear regularly in a number of other shows including "Trauma" (NBC, 2009-10) and "Vegas" (CBS, 2012-13). Her next big opportunity came when she was cast as the nanny of Dexter's son Harrison on the popular serial killer drama "Dexter."