Juani_Feliz
Juani Feliz
Dominican-American actress (born 1989)
Juani Feliz (born January 3, 1989) is a Dominican-American actress. She is best known for playing Isabela Benitez-Santiago in Tracy Oliver's Amazon comedy series Harlem, Carmen in Ava DuVernay's HBO Max series DMZ, and Alejandra Lopez in FX's Fleishman Is in Trouble.[1][2]
Juani Feliz | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1989-01-03) January 3, 1989 (age 35) |
| Education | Harvard University (BS, MS) |
In 2022, Feliz was named one of People en Español's 50 Más Bellos ("50 Most Beautiful") of 2022.[3][4]
In 2023 and 2024, Feliz was nominated for the "Best Actor/Actress Abroad" award at the Soberano Awards in the Dominican Republic.[5]
Feliz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in the Bronx. She started acting at the age of 14 after getting involved in her first school play. She landed her first TV role at the age of 15 on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Her acting career took a backseat when she graduated high school and studied biomedical engineering at Harvard University. After college, Feliz worked at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Boston, where she worked on a clinical trial for a melanoma cancer vaccine and helped develop biomaterials and drug delivery systems. During this time she also completed a master's degree at Harvard.[6] Despite her career in bioengineering, Feliz made her return to acting in 2016.[7]
Upon her return to acting, Feliz made her big screen debut in The Purge: Election Year. Between 2016 and 2018, she guest starred on various TV series including Blue Bloods, Power, Shades of Blue, One Dollar and had a major supporting role in the film Canal Street. In 2017, she was one of the 12 actors chosen to be part of the ABC Discovers Talent Showcase. In 2019, she filmed her first network pilot as a series regular on the ABC romantic drama Until The Wedding[8] and filmed for a major supporting role in the upcoming feature film Quiet In My Town. In 2020, Feliz won Best Supporting Actress at the Utah Film Festival for her performance in the indie short Below The Belt.[9]
In 2021, she played Isabela Benitez-Santiago in Amazon's comedy series Harlem,[2] from Tracy Oliver and Amy Poehler.[10][11]
In 2022, she played Carmen in the HBO Max limited series DMZ, from Ava DuVernay and Roberto Patino.[1] Later that year, she played Alejandra Lopez in the FX limited series Fleishman Is In Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner's screen adaption of her 2019 NYT best-selling novel.[12]
More recently, Feliz reprised her role as Isabela Benitez-Santiago in the second season of Harlem and guest starred in episodes of The Rookie: Feds, NCIS: Hawaiʻi and The Good Doctor.[13]
In 2024, she starred in Alex Garland's dystopian film Civil War for A24.[13]
Feliz is a member of the LGBTQ community. She married her wife, a Disney executive, in September 2021 in New York City.[14]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Delirious | Staci from Queens | |
| 2016 | The Fastest, Most Romantic Love Yet | Female #3 | |
| The Purge: Election Year | Schoolgirl #2 | ||
| Doctor Strange | Girl on Bus | Uncredited | |
| 2017 | The Polka King | PR Woman | |
| 2018 | Canal Street | Zoey Swanson | |
| 2024 | Civil War | Joy Butler | |
| TBA | Quiet In My Town | Janet | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Esperanza | Episode: "Acts of Contrition" |
| 2006 | Conviction | Vida Diletez | Episode: "Savasana" |
| 2018 | Shades of Blue | Vanessa Ruiz | 2 episodes |
| One Dollar | Paloma | Episode: "Chelsea Wyler" | |
| 2019 | Blue Bloods | Corey Vallejo | 2 episodes |
| Power | Jesenia | Episode: "Deal with the Devil" | |
| Until the Wedding | Isabel | Television film | |
| 2021–2022 | Harlem | Isabela Benitez-Santiago | 7 episodes |
| 2022 | DMZ | Carmen | 3 episodes |
| Fleishman Is in Trouble | Alejandra Lopez |
- Petski, Denise (July 12, 2021). "'DMZ': Rutina Wesley & Mamie Gummer Among 9 Cast Additions; Ernest Dickerson & Carly Wray Join Creative Team Of HBO Max's DC Series". Deadline. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- Petski, Denise (March 4, 2021). "'Harlem': Andrea Martin, Robert Ri'chard, Juani Feliz, Kate Rockwell & Sullivan Jones To Recur In Tracy Oliver's Amazon Comedy". Deadline. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "Los 50 Más Bellos de People en Español 2022: #DejandoHuella". People en Español (in Spanish). June 22, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- Colomé Santiago, Carla (July 14, 2022). "Juani Feliz, la historia de una dominicana que conquistó Harvard y Hollywood". People en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved September 24, 2022.
- Diario, Listin (February 5, 2024). "Todos los nominados a Premios Soberano 2024". listindiario.com (in Spanish). Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- "Juani Feliz: Talento e inteligencia criolla". listindiario.com (in Spanish). March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "About | Juani Feliz". Juanifeliz. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
- Petski, Denise (March 11, 2019). "'Until The Wedding': Michael Stahl-David, Trent Garrett, Liza Colon-Zayas Among 6 Cast In ABC Drama Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "2020 Nominees – The Utah Film Festival". Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- Sisavat, Monica (February 17, 2022). "Juani Feliz". Popsugar Entertainment. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- "Sullivan Jones, Juani Feliz & Robert Ri'chard Interview: Harlem". ScreenRant. December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- Zaltzman, Lior (September 30, 2022). "Everything We Know About the 'Fleishman Is in Trouble' TV Show". Kveller. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- "Juani Feliz". IMDb. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
- "A Whimsical Meets Rustic-Chic Wedding in Long Island City". Brides. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- Juani Feliz at IMDb