Nadine Velazquez

The vivacious energy that actor Nadine Velazquez seemed to emanate on screen may very well have been the source of her star power. Born in Chicago in 1978, Velazquez was a self-described hyperactive child. She attended a Catholic all-girls school, but had trouble staying out of trouble. By age 16, she had left both school and home, and was working as a waitress while beginning her career as a model. Before long, she was supporting herself with her modeling income alone, and used the success to enroll at Columbia College Chicago, where she graduated with a degree in marketing in 2001.

Soon, however, Velazquez realized that her real dream was to become a successful actor. She relocated to Los Angeles and by 2003, she had made her first film appearance in the movie "Biker Boyz" (2003), while her big break came just two years later when she was cast as Catalina on the sitcom "My Name is Earl" (NBC, 2005-09). Velazquez followed this with another role on a comedy series, playing Sofia on the semi-improvised "The League" (FXX, 2009-2015), and still another prominent TV role would follow when she began playing Didi on "Hart of Dixie" (CW, 2011-15). Switching gears to a more serious tone, Velazquez next wowed audiences as recurring character D.D.A. Emma Rios on the procedural "Major Crimes" (TNT, 2012-), before playing the wife of a Navy SEAL on "Six" (History, 2017-).