“I can’t be the leader I’m meant to be without all of the parts of who I am.” – America Ferrera
America Ferrera is a Honduran-American actress, TV producer, and director. She is widely known for her performances in Barbie, Ugly Betty, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Real Women Have Curves. She has won and been nominated for many prestigious awards, including an Emmy, Oscar, Academy Award, Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Not only is Ferrera an amazing actress, she is also an amazing activist. Ferrera was named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year, Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, and is part of BBC’s 100 Women’s list. She constantly stands for what she believes in. As Ferrera expressed, “I feel like my convictions and my passions come from my very personal experience and the life that I’ve led. I feel the very natural tendency to stand up for and use my voice for the things that I know about and the things that I feel passionate about.”
Ferrera was born in Woodland Hills, California, where she attended El Camino Real High School. She always loved theater growing up, and was part of many different school productions. She grew up with a very large family, and was the youngest of six siblings. “I was an open, smiley, and gregarious child. I could make friends in 30 seconds wherever I went,” Ferrera said.
Her parents immigrated to the US in the 1970s from Honduras, so Ferrara was raised in a Spanish speaking household. “I struggled with being a Latino growing up in Los Angeles. I felt very American. I still do. I went to 35 bar mitzvahs before I went to a single quinceanera. I could talk all day about my culture and what it means to me,” Ferrera stated. But feeling disconnected never stopped her from advocating to be represented, showing much about her astonishing character.
Although Ferrera did not grow up rich, she believes that it shaped her as a child. Even if it meant going to school hungry with no lunch, Ferrera never allowed that to diminish her pride.
Ferrera is also a major activist for feminism. One of the many ways that Ferrera ties her Hispanic heritage to her feminist activism is through influencing voting in Latinas, on top of the Latinx community as a whole. “The women who came before us fought for our right to vote, and it’s up to us to make our voices heard, especially as our reproductive freedom is on the ballot this year,” America stated in a recent instagram post.
She encourages the Latino community to use their voice to advocate strongly for their culture. Ferrera is a part of Voto Latino, an organization whose main goal is to represent the possibilities in both government and life for the Latinx community. She is always looking to gain new members.
Not only does she represent and show her passion for activism through organizations, she also does through every single role that she plays in movies and TV. From her performance in Barbie to Ugly Betty, Ferrera never fails to make a strong impact on her audience. Kenzie Saunders ‘28 shared how she was influenced by Ferrera, “When I watched Barbie and listened to her monologue, it didn’t feel like she was memorizing lines. It felt like it was what she really wanted to say. That passion made me really want to listen, and I’m happy I did. I realized things about the way women are treated that I hadn’t really ever thought about before.”
She challenges traditional ideas, bringing awareness to the un-represented. For example, in these roles she speaks out about women’s bodies and different views of society. Ferrera says, “Take your time and your talent and figure out what you have to contribute to this world, and get over what the hell your butt looks like in those jeans!” She constantly goes to the farthest mile to make people feel seen, impacting people she doesn’t even know.
As a female high school student, I look up to Ferrera in so many ways. The way she carries herself and her beliefs, how well she expresses her opinions, her culture, her passion, her ability to make a true change, and the way she performs impacts my personal view on many things and inspires me to work to make a change myself. This impact on me just as easily is made on so many of my peers. Kenzie Saunders ‘28 says that, “She opened my eyes to embracing more of my Hispanic culture, even though I’m not fully Mexican.”
America Ferrera is a very strong and impactful woman who makes a great difference in our world today. For women, Latina, and society in general, Ferrera is a role model. She constantly inspires all and is continuing to do so many more efficacious things, all while being strongly confident in who she is.
