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Liza Colón-Zayas
American actress (born 1972) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Liza Colón-Zayas (born July 15, 1972) is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for playing Tina Marrero on the comedy-drama series The Bear, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2024.
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Early life and education
Liza Colón-Zayas was born as Liza Colón in 1972 in the Bronx borough of New York City.[1] She is of Puerto Rican descent.[2]
She earned her bachelor's degree in theater from SUNY Albany.[1]
Career
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Colón-Zayas began her career off-Broadway. She broke into mainstream theatre when she wrote, produced, and starred in a one-woman show titled Sistah Supreme, a semi-autobiographical play in which she chronicles growing up as a Latina woman in New York during the 1970s and 1980s.[1]
Colón-Zayas has been a member of the LAByrinth Theatre Company, a New York-based traveling actors' group, since its founding in 1992.[3] On stage, she originated the role of Norca in the off-Broadway productions of Our Lady of 121st Street and the role of Haiku Mom in Quiara Alegría Hudes Pulitzer winner, Water by the Spoonful.[4] In 1999, she appeared in the Philip Seymour Hoffman directed play, In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings.[5][6]
One of Colón-Zayas' most memorable roles to theatergoers was the "Church Lady" in Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Between Riverside and Crazy which played the Atlantic Theater Company in 2014 and then Second Stage Theater in 2015. Colón-Zayas earned a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress for her portrayal. She went on to play the role once more in 2022 on Broadway at Second Stage's Hayes Theater.[7]
In 2021, she was honored at the Dramatists Guild Foundation with the Madge Evans and Sidnet Kingsley Award. DGF’s longest-running award honors a mid-career dramatist and stage actresses for excellence in the theatre.[5]
On the big screen, she's appeared in United 93 (2006), Righteous Kill (2008), and the 2016 action horror film The Purge: Election Year.[8]
Colón-Zayas has also appeared in television series such as Sex and the City, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Blue Bloods, Dexter, and many more. In 2019, she got her first recurring role on the short-lived OWN drama, David Makes Man, and in 2021, she joined the cast of the Emmy-winning drama, In Treatment, as Rita.[9][1]
In 2022, Colón-Zayas rose to significant fame after starring in Hulu's critically acclaimed drama comedy series The Bear as Tina Marrero. She has received critical praise for her portrayal, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Imagen Award.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
She starred in John Krasinski's live action animated fantasy comedy feature IF released in 2024.[16]
Her win of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2024[15] made her the first Latina to win a Primetime Emmy in that category.[17]
In May 2025, Colón-Zayas was announced to have joined the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026).[18]
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Personal life
Colón-Zayas is married to actor David Zayas, known for his role as Angel Batista on Showtime's Dexter.[10]
Acting credits
Film
Television
Theatre
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Awards and nominations
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In 2024, she made history as the first Latina to win an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for The Bear. In 2025, she was nominated again for an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for The Bear.[26]
Film and television
Theatre
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See also
References
External links
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