Although known for her roles on the small screen, America Ferrera has also raked in credits in movies and TV shows. For four years, Ferrara played the most iconic role of her career as Betty Suarez to become one of American television’s sweethearts. Although this role was career-defining, Ferrara has starred in several other TV shows.
America Ferrera developed a passion for acting at an early age. After participating in a few play productions in elementary, middle, and high school, Ferrera earned a presidential scholarship and double-majored in theater and international relations at the University of Southern California (USC). Although she returned to complete her studies in 2013, she dropped out of USC to focus on her budding acting career. Over the years, these have been America Ferrera’s top 9 movies and TV shows.
Our Family Wedding
Rick Famuyiwa’s 2010 romantic comedy Our Family Wedding was far from a critic favorite but enjoyed moderate success at the Box Office. America Ferrera played the female lead as English teacher Lucia Ramirez. Ferrera’s character is a Mexican-American who dropped out of Columbia Law School but hasn’t informed her parents. The movie’s plot follows her love story with Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross), a Columbia Medical School graduate. Boyd is an African-American with a successful radio host father, Brad Boyd (Forest Whitaker).
Marcus Boyd and Lucia Ramirez have not only been living together for months, they’re engaged and hope to get their parent’s blessings. Lucia is from a traditional Mexican-American family with values and runs a successful auto shop and towing business. Marcus’ parents are separated, with his father known for his philandering lifestyle. Our Family Wedding follows the soon-to-be couple as they navigate the differences and infightings between their future fathers-in-law.
It’s a Disaster
America Ferrera joined the ensemble cast of Todd Berger’s art-house black comedy It’s a Disaster. In the hilarious apocalypse movie, she’s cast as Hedy Galili, a chemistry teacher. The movie’s plot follows four couples at one of the couple’s homes for a regular brunch party. They spend the first few minutes getting to know Glenn Randolph (David Cross), the new face among them, who recently began dating the doctor in the group, Tracy Scott (Julia Stiles).
While they wait for the fifth couple, who’s always late, a neighbor, Hal Lousteau (Todd Berger), informs the group of news of dirty bombs exploding in major U.S. cities, including their city. With the end of the world before then, each must decide how they want to spend their last hours on earth. The 2012 It’s a Disaster received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, with a 79% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) was largely popular in the mid-2000s. It followed four friends who strangely bought a mysterious pair of pants that fit each one, irrespective of their body shape and size. Since they would be spending their first summer apart, they decided to share the pants throughout the summer. They soon discover the pants bring luck to whoever has it. America Ferrera played one of the four friends and was cast as Carmen Lowell. The movie also starred Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, and Alexis Bledel. America Ferrera, alongside the other top cast, reprised their roles in the 2008 sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Dumb Money
America Ferrera played a supporting role in the 2023 biological comedy-drama Dumb Money. Although based on Ben Mezrich’s 2021 book The Antisocial Network, it follows the real-life events of the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021. Ferrera was cast as Jenny, one of Keith Gill’s (Paul Dano) viewers and investors in the GameStop stocks. It was a critical and commercial success. Despite having a limited theatrical release, Dumb Money grossed $20.7 million on a $30 million budget before being released on streaming platforms.
Real Women Have Curves
The 2002 Real Women Have Curves was America Ferrera’s film debut. Interestingly, Ferrera was cast in the lead role. A then 19-year-old America Ferrera played the 18-year-old high school student. The movie plot centers around her character as she navigates the pressures of going to college, family, and body weight. Although Ana is comfortable with her body and wants to attend Columbia University, her mother, Carmen García (Lupe Ontiveros), isn’t only domineering but body shames Ana. She also wants Ana to forget about schooling and lose weight so that she can find a husband and have kids. Real Women Have Curves was a critical success, especially with its theme of body positivity. Also, it was selected for preservation in 2018 by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry.
How to Train Your Dragon
Besides her acting roles, America Ferrera also has credits as a voice actor. However, she has only voiced one major character. Ferrera voices Astrid Hofferson, a student in dragon training who later becomes Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III’s (voiced by Jay Baruchel) love interest. Since the 2010 How to Train Your Dragon, America Ferrera has reprised the voice role in two movie sequels, short films, and in the TV show DreamWorks Dragons. The franchise has been widely successful since it began.
Barbie
Over two decades since she made her acting debut, America Ferrera finally got her first Academy Awards nomination in 2024. Ferrera was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Gloria in Barbie. Her character is that of a Mattel employee who has always been a Barbie fan. However, when she begins to stop believing in the doll, she inevitably causes problems in Barbieland. Gloria is instrumental in helping Barbie in the real world. With Box Office earnings of $1.446 billion, Barbie became the highest-grossing film of 2023.
Superstore
Depending on the generation of television audiences, the NBC sitcom Superstore is America Ferrera’s most famous TV role. Ferrera played Honduran-American Amelia ‘Amy’ Sosa. With the series set in the fictional big-box chain store Cloud 9, Ferrera’s Amy was an employee who worked as an associate and floor supervisor. As the series progressed, she was promoted to store manager. By season 6, her character is promoted to a corporate position. Although the first season has mixed to average ratings, subsequent seasons enjoyed high critical ratings and reviews.
Ugly Betty
Television audiences from the mid-2000s would readily associate America Ferrera with her Ugly Betty character more than any other of her roles. Ferrera played Betty Suarez, a 22-year-old, quirky, Mexican American woman from Queens, New York. Betty Suarez earned the “Ugly Betty” title for her lack of fashion sense. The ABC comedy-drama originally aired from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. If you enjoyed reading about America Ferrera’s top movies and TV shows, read about Hiroyuki Sanada’s best movies and TV shows.
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