Francia Raisa Almendárez (born July 26, 1988[1]) is an American actress.[2] Raisa is known for her roles in Bring It On: All or Nothing, The Secret Life of the American Teenager,[3] Grown-ish,[4] and How I Met Your Father.

Francia Raisa
Francia Raisa in 2018
Raisa in June 2018
Born
Francia Raisa Almendárez

(1988-07-26) July 26, 1988 (age 36)
OccupationActress
Years active2004–present
FatherRenán Almendárez Coello

Early life and education

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Raisa was born in Los Angeles, California to a Mexican mother, Virginia Almendárez (née Pelayo), and Renán Almendárez Coello, a Honduran-born radio personality; and raised in Los Angeles.[3][5][6] A few years after she was born, her father started using his new Latin radio personality, "El Cucuy".[3]

Raisa attended Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California, where she was a cheerleader.[7]

Career

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Raisa began to take acting jobs in her junior year of high school, modeling for print ads and appearing in commercials. She guest-starred in the sitcoms American Family: Journey of Dreams and Over There. Raisa appeared in Lil' Romeo's music video "My Girlfriend" as Tamy in 2004 and in Iyaz's music video "So Big". A month into her senior year, she booked one of her first lead roles, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere in Bring It On: All or Nothing. She co-starred in the Nickelodeon movie Shredderman Rules, where she portrayed Isabel, and in The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream and The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice as Alexandra Delgado. She played the role of Adrian Lee in the hit ABC Family drama, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, from its beginning in July 2008, until the series finale in early June 2013.

In 2009, Raisa guest-starred on the USA Network's TV series In Plain Sight and co-starred in a short film directed by David Henrie called Boo, which aired on YouTube. In 2013, Raisa starred in the Christmas-themed movie Christmas Bounty alongside Mike "The Miz" Mizanin.

 
Raisa in August 2012

From 2018 to 2022, Raisa starred in the Freeform show, Grown-ish, executive produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris.[8][4] She starred in the show's first four seasons, exiting upon the character's graduation at the end of the fourth season.[9] She also starred in Freeform's 2018 television film, Life-Size 2, opposite Tyra Banks.[10][11]

In May 2021, Raisa was cast in How I Met Your Mother's spinoff series How I Met Your Father, which premiered on Hulu on January 18, 2022.[12] In February 2022, the series was renewed for a 20-episode second season.[13] In September 2023, however, it was cancelled after two seasons.[14]

Personal life

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Raisa was born in Los Angeles.[15] In the summer of 2017, Raisa donated one of her kidneys to her friend, singer and actress Selena Gomez, who has lupus.[16][17][18] Raisa said that Gomez was told by doctors that the two were match before she was and that it was Gomez who informed her that the two were a match.[19] In 2023, Raisa shared on Instagram about her recent diagnosis with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).[20]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Bring It On: All or Nothing Leti Video
2007 Shredderman Rules Isabel Lopez TV movie
2008 The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream Alexandra "Alex" Delgado TV movie
2009 Fired Up! Marly
Boo! Herself Short
2010 Bulletface Maria
The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice Alexandra "Alex" Delgado TV movie
ASD. Alma sin dueño -
2012 Strain Julie Short
2013 Chastity Bites Katharine
Christmas Bounty Tory Bell TV movie
A Snow Globe Christmas Penny TV movie
2015 Beyond Paradise Shahrzad
2016 The Wrong Car Gretchen TV movie
The Secrets of Emily Blair Tara
Holly's Girl Girl Short
2017 Dirty Lies Officer Ramirez
Tiny House of Terror Sam TV movie
Once Upon a Date Izzy Flores TV movie
2018 Life-Size 2 Grace Manning TV movie
2020 Second Team Molly Short

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2005 Over There Sawa Episode: "The Prisoner"
2008–13 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Adrian Lee Main Cast
2009 Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List Herself Episode: "Kathy at the Apollo"
In Plain Sight Olivia Moreno/Olivia Morales Episode: "Jailbait"
2012 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Erin Vickler Episode: "Trends with Benefits"
2013 WWE Raw Herself Episode: "Episode #21.47"
Massholes Herself Episode: "Catfish and Coldcuts"
The Mindy Project Katie Episode: "Frat Party"
2014 Halloween Wars Herself/Guest Judge Episode: "Mummies vs. Werewolves"
2016 Hit the Floor Rennae Recurring Cast: Season 3
2017 Rosewood Lena Price Episode: "Mummies and Meltdowns"
Dear White People Vanessa Recurring Cast: Season 1
Shut Eye Palm Reading Girl Episode: "Are You Listening?"
2018 Black-ish Ana Torres Episode: "Don't You Be My Neighbor"
2018–24 Grown-ish Ana Torres Main Cast: Season 1-4, Guest: Season 5-6
2020 Floored Herself/Guest Judge Episode: "Heart Attack"
2021 To Tell the Truth Herself/Panelist Episode: "Kevin Nealon, Retta and Francia Raisa"
Celebrity Family Feud Herself/Celebrity Player Episode: "Episode #8.5"
The Talk Herself/Guest Co-Host Recurring Guest Co-Host: Season 11
2022 Guy's Ultimate Game Night Herself/Contestant Episode: "Pizza Guy Delivers"
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Herself/Celebrity Contestant Episode: "Francia Raisa, Joel Madden & Jenifer Lewis"
2022–23 How I Met Your Father Valentina Morales Main Cast
2023 Play-Doh Squished Herself/Guest Judge Episode: "Dinosaurs"
The $100,000 Pyramid Herself/Celebrity Player Episode: "Episode #6.17"

Music videos

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Year Title Artist(s) Ref.
2010 "So Big" Iyaz [21]
2013 "Everybody Knows" Dustin Tavella [22]
2015 "Gibberish" (feat. Hoodie Allen) MAX [23][24]
2020 "Man" JoJo
2020 "Red Sangria" Jordin Sparks

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated Work Result Refs
2011 ALMA Awards Favorite TV Actress: Leading Role in a Drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager Nominated [25]
2011 Gracie Allen Awards Outstanding Female Rising Star in a Drama Series or Special The Secret Life of the American Teenager Won [26]
2012 Teen Choice Awards Choice Scene Stealer: Female The Secret Life of the American Teenager Nominated [27]
2012 Imagen Awards Best Young Actress in a Television Series The Secret Life of the American Teenager Nominated [28]
2016 Imagen Awards Best Actress - Feature Film Beyond Paradise Nominated [29]
2018 Imagen Awards Best Supporting Actress - Television Grown-ish Nominated [30]
2022 NHMC Impact Awards Gala Impact Award for Performance in a Sitcom How I Met Your Father Won [31]

References

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  1. ^ Raisa, Francia (July 26, 2017). "Francia Raisa Official Twitter". Retrieved March 21, 2019 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Rodriguez, Priscilla (November 26, 2013). "Exclusive: Francia Raisa Talks 'Christmas Bounty' & BFF Selena Gomez!". Latina. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Hernández, Lee (January 27, 2009). "Francia Raisa, mean girl of 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager'". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Agard, Chancellor (August 30, 2017). "'Grown-ish': Francia Raisa, Jordan Buhat Join 'Black-ish' Spin-Off". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ^ Hernandez, Lee (June 11, 2012). "'The Secret Life Of The American Teenager:' Our 15 Favorite Francia Raisa Scenes (VIDEO)". Huffington Post.
  6. ^ Moniuszko, Sara M. (September 14, 2017). "Who is Francia Raisa? 5 things to know about Selena Gomez's kidney donor". USA Today.
  7. ^ Geragotelis, Brittany (June 2011). "Francia Raisa's (Not So) Secret Life". American Cheerleader. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011.
  8. ^ Petski, Denise (August 30, 2017). "'Grown-ish': 'Black-ish' Spinoff Adds Francia Raisa & Jordan Buhat As Regulars, Chloe x Halle To Recur". Deadline Hollywood.
  9. ^ Ausiello, Michael (March 24, 2022). "grown-ish Shake-Up: 6 Original Cast Members Exiting Ahead of Season 5". TVLine. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (July 9, 2018). "Francia Raisa To Co-Star Opposite Tyra Banks In 'Life Size 2' On Freeform". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  11. ^ Nolfi, Joey (July 9, 2018). "Tyra Banks reveals Francia Raisa as her costar, more Life-Size 2 plot details". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Schwartz, Ryan (November 17, 2021). "How I Met Your Father Gets January Premiere Date on Hulu — Watch Video". TVLine. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  13. ^ Cordero, Rosy (February 15, 2022). "'How I Met Your Father' Renewed For Season 2 At Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  14. ^ Sherlock, Ben (September 4, 2023). "Why Hulu Cancelled How I Met Your Father After Only 2 Seasons". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  15. ^ Moniuszko, Sara M. (September 14, 2017). "Who is Francia Raisa? 5 things about the 'Grown-ish' actress you've probably seen before". USA Today. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  16. ^ France, Lisa Respers (September 15, 2017). "Selena Gomez's best friend gave her a kidney". CNN.
  17. ^ Kim, Eun Kyung (October 31, 2017). "Selena Gomez: Kidney transplant 'defined everything that I am right now'". The Today Show.
  18. ^ Stanton, Leanne Aciz (February 17, 2018). "Francia Raisa Talks Recovery After Selena Gomez Kidney Donation". Us Weekly. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  19. ^ Chung • •, Gabrielle (August 2, 2023). "Francia Raísa addresses claim she was 'forced' to donate kidney to Selena Gomez". NBC Boston. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  20. ^ Vasquez, Ingrid. "Francia Raisa Reveals Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Diagnosis: 'Still Learning How to Live with It'". Peoplemag. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  21. ^ So Big [Official Music Video] - Iyaz on YouTube
  22. ^ Yaranon, Charisma (July 15, 2013). "Dustin Tavella Releases "Everybody Knows" Video Featuring Danny Trejo and Marielle Jaffe with Appearances from Selena Gomez, Francia Raisa, Samantha Droke and Baby Bash". Cision PRWeb. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  23. ^ Raisa, Fancia (March 22, 2015). "Had so much fun working with these guys for @maxgschneider new video "gibberish" which will be dropping tomorrow! Thanks for having me be a part of it @maxgschneider and @laurajquinn excited for you guys to see it". FranciaRaisa. Instagram. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021.
  24. ^ MAX - Gibberish (feat. Hoodie Allen) [Official Music Video - YTMAs] on YouTube
  25. ^ "2011 NCLR ALMA AWARDS" (PDF). ALMA Awards. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 4, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  26. ^ "2011 Gracie Awards Winners". The Gracies. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  27. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2012: Complete Winners List". MTV. July 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  28. ^ "2012 Imagen Awards Winners & Nominees". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  29. ^ "Nominations Announced for the 31st Annual Imagen Awards". Imagen Foundation. July 18, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  30. ^ "2018 Imagen Awards Winners & Nominees". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  31. ^ Gardner, Chris (August 31, 2022). "Impact Awards to Honor George and Mayan Lopez, Colman Domingo, Francia Raisa and Yvett Merino". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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