Velez, Lauren 1964-

PERSONAL

Born November 2, 1964, in Brooklyn, NY; daughter of Jose (a police officer) and Coco Velez; twin sister of Lorraine Velez (some sources say Maria Dolores; an actress); married Mark Gordon (a bartender and personal trainer), 1993. Education: Studied dance at the Alvin Alley American Dance Theatre; attended Kingsborough Community College for one semester.

Addresses:

Manager—James/Levey Management, 3500 West Olive Ave., Suite 1470, Burbank, CA 91505.

Career:

Actress. Also worked as a restaurant hostess and telephone operator.

Awards, Honors:

Independent Spirit Award nomination, best female lead, 1995, Independent Features Project, for I Like It Like That; NCLR Bravo Award nomination, outstanding actress in a feature film, National Council of La Raza, 1996, for City Hall; NCLR Bravo Award, outstanding actress in a drama series, 1996, Image Award nominations, outstanding lead actress in a drama series, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1997, 1998, ALMA Award nomination, outstanding actress in a drama series, American Latin Media Arts Awards, 1998, all for New York Undercover; ALMA Award nomination, outstanding actress in a feature film, 1999, for I Think I Do; ALMA Award nominations, outstanding actress in a drama series, 1999, 2000, 2002, ALMA Award, outstanding actress in a television series, 2001, all for Oz; ALMA Award nomination, outstanding actress in a made-for-television movie or miniseries, 1999, for Thicker Than Blood; Festival Prize, best supporting actress, Long Island International Film Expo, 2006, for Serial; Vision Award, best actress-drama, National Association of Multi-ethnicity in Communications, 2007, for Dexter.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

(Film debut) Lisette Linares, I Like It Like That, Columbia, 1994.

Elaine Santos, City Hall, Columbia, 1996.

Carol, I Think I Do, Strand Releasing, 1997.

Nueba Yol III (bajo la nueva ley), kit parker films, 1997.

Buscando un sueno (also known as In Search of a Dream), Nova Creative Releasing, 1997.

Vicky, The La Mastas, 1998.

Rosa Sanchez, Prince of Central Park, Keystone Entertainment, 2000.

Prison counselor, Prison Song, New Line Cinema, 2001.

Maria Vasquez, Barely Buzzed (short), 2005.

Roseanne Crystal, Serial, 2007.

Television Appearances; Series:

Detective Nina Moreno, New York Undercover, 1995-98.

Dr. Gloria Nathan, Oz, HBO, 1997-2003.

Lieutenant Maria Laguerta, Dexter, Showtime, 2006—.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Camilla Lopez, Thicker Than Blood, TNT, 1998.

Agent Susan Mestre, Love and Treason, CBS, 2001.

Television Appearances; Specials:

The 1996 NCLR Bravo Awards, Fox, 1996.

Presenter, The 12th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards, NBC, 1998.

Presenter, Hispanic Heritage Awards, NBC, 2000.

Presenter, The 5th Annual ALMA Awards, ABC, 2000.

Intimate Portrait: Rita Moreno, Lifetime, 2001.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Claudine Palmeri, "The Hit Parade," The Cosby Mysteries, NBC, 1995.

Detective Arias, "Azrael's Breed," Strange World, ABC, 1999.

Ms. Torres, "Marathon," Law & Order, NBC, 1999.

Emily Sadler, "Clean Sweep," Profiler, NBC, 2000.

Emily Sadler, "Spin Doctor," The Pretender, NBC, 2000.

Stalker, Resurrection Blvd., Showtime, 2000.

Detective Denise Beltran, "Redemption," Dragnet (also known as L.A. Dragnet), ABC, 2003.

Detective Denise Beltran, "For Whom the Whistle Blows," Dragnet (also known as L.A. Dragnet), ABC, 2003.

Attorney Shamal, "Home," Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU and Special Victims Unit), NBC, 2004.

Attorney Shamal, "Obscene," Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU and Special Victims Unit), NBC, 2004.

Dr. Vanessa Burke, "First Response," Strong Medicine, Lifetime, 2005.

Faye Templeton, "The Last Temptation," Wanted, TNT, 2005.

Elena Cabrera, "Knowing Her," Medium, NBC, 2006.

Claudia Gomez, "Undercurrents," Numb3rs (also known as Num3ers), CBS, 2006.

Claudia Gomez, "Hardball," Numb3rs (also known as Num3ers), CBS, 2006.

Claudia Gomez, "Contenders," Numb3rs (also known as Num3ers), CBS, 2006.

Stage Appearances:

Witch, Into the Woods, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1987-89.

Mayne, Intimate Apparel, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, 2004.

Major Tours:

Appeared in Dreamgirls, U.S. cities.