Gina Torres

Gina Torres (born April 25, 1969) is an American television and movie actress. She is known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy. She has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (as Nebula), Xena: Warrior Princess (as Cleopatra), the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, as well as Alias (as Anna Espinosa), Firefly (as series regular Zoe Washburne), Angel (as Jasmine), The Matrix sequels in a supporting role, and The Shield. She also starred in the award-winning independent film South of Pico as the fragile waitress (Carla).

Early life
Torres was born at the Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the youngest of three children. Her family lived briefly in Washington Heights before moving to The Bronx. Her parents were both of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, and her father worked as a typesetter for La Prensa and the New York Daily News. Torres began singing at an early age and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. She applied and was accepted to several colleges but could not afford to attend. Torres subsequently decided that college was not what she needed and chose to pursue her dream of being a performer.

Torres is a mezzo soprano who began her performing career as a singer, attending New York City's High School of Music and Art. Torres also trained in opera and jazz, and she performed in a gospel choir.

Career
In 2001, she won the ALMA Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Syndicated Drama Series for her role in Cleopatra 2525. In 2004, she was nominated for the International Press Academy's Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Drama, for her role as Jasmine in Angel. Her film appearances include The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

In 2004, Torres appeared in seven episodes of the third season on 24 as Julia Milliken, a woman who has an affair with the White House Chief of Staff and becomes involved in a Presidential scandal. In 2005 she was tapped for the pilot episode of Soccer Moms. Also in 2005, she voiced the character of Vixen in numerous episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited and replaced the voice-over of Jada Pinkett Smith's character Niobe in The Matrix Online. Gina is best known for her role in Fox's short-lived Firefly series which only lasted one season, but still carries a heavy sci-fi fanbase. She reprised her Firefly role as Zoe in the film Serenity (2005).

In 2006, Torres began her role as Cheryl Carrera in the short-lived drama series Standoff on the FOX network. Her character is the Supervisory Special Agent in Charge for Crisis Negotiation Unit, FBI Los Angeles. Torres's most recent role is in the film I Think I Love My Wife, playing the spouse of Chris Rock's character.

She was cast in Washington Field, a 2009 CBS television pilot from executive Producer Edward Allen Bernero. It is about the National Capital Response Squad, a unit of the FBI made up of elite experts in different areas who travel around the world, responding to events that affect American interests. Think: The Unit. The cast includes Cole Hauser, Eddie Cibrian, Gina Torres, Teri Polo and Matthew Yang King.

Personal life
She met Laurence Fishburne while filming The Matrix Reloaded. Torres and Fishburne were engaged in February 2001 and married in September 22, 2002, at The Cloisters museum in New York City.

On January 8, 2007, Fishburne's spokesman Alan Nierob announced the couple were expecting their first child. They welcomed daughter Delilah in June 2007.