Meet Karina Ortiz: 11 Things To Know About 'OITNB' Dominican Actress We Should Be Talking About

We’ve been hearing the names Dascha Polanco, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Jackie Cruz, Selenis Leyva, Diana Guerrero and Jessica Pimentel on a regular basis ever since Latinas took over Season 3 of the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.” When Red (Kate Mulgrew) left Litchfield’s kitchen in the hands of Gloria (Selenis Leyva), against her own will of course, the Latino gang began getting a little more exposure and we got to find out a lot about their character’s background.

However, there is one Dominican actress that was left unnoticed throughout the season. Karina Ortiz plays Margarita, Cesar’s (Berto Colon) girlfriend and as you may recall, she is left with all his kids, including Daya’s newborn, when Cesar is arrested at the end of the season. We are still unsure about how the plot will develop during Season 4, but judging by the way things ended, we are hoping to see more of this talented 31-year-old.

In the mean time, here some things you should know about this real, confident and badass actress:

1) She was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

2) Her middle name is Estela.

3) Her family moved to New York when her baby brother was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

4) Karina desired to connect with world by performing after being emotionally drawn to both music and acting.

5) Her mom had to work three jobs to support her and her two brothers before her dad joined them in New York City.

6) She used to be shy before joining the drama club in high school.

7) She enrolled at the City College of New York, where she originally decided to major in business administration.

8) Taking acting classes on the side made her switch to a BA in theater.

9) She got her courage to follow her dreams when she noticed that the majority of the celebrities featured on E! were Caucasian.

10) She performed in the Off-Broadway play “Plátanos y Collard Greens” for four years before venturing into the TV world.

11) Her TV debut role was playing the role of Mercedes, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sister in NBC’s “Do No Harm.”