America Ferrera has made a career of playing real women, ranging from portraits of historical figures (such as political activist Helen Chávez in “Cesar Chavez”) to portrayals of the relatable plights faced by everyday girls everywhere (as embodied by the actress’ viral speech in “Barbie.”)
Ferrera’s selection of roles have seeming all lead to her turn in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” which landed Ferrera a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 2024 Oscars. But the former teen star was already an icon to fans of the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” franchise, “Ugly Betty,” and “Superstore.” “Barbie” was just a nice reminder that maybe we’ve all been taking Ferrera’s talents for granted too long.
Let’s not forget that Ferrera made history by winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for “Ugly Betty,” becoming the first Latina woman to take home the prize in the category. She also went on to win a Golden Globe and SAG Award for her turn in the beloved series.
Next, Ferrera went on to expand her TV empire with NBC workplace comedy “Superstore,” which she starred in and co-produced. Ferrera has no trouble carving out unique roles that bring authenticity and genuine warmth to screens big and small. The actress is set to make her directorial debut with the adaptation of novel “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” for Amazon and MGM, as Deadline announced. The film reunites Ferrera with her “Gentefied” executive producing partner Linda Yvette Chávez who is writing the script.
Academy Award nominee Ferrera told IndieWire that as a Honduran-American actress, “We’re usually invited in to put our despair and our trauma on a story, not to get to be the heroes of the story. Not to get to be a part of the fun.”
She said of “Barbie,” “It filled my soul to get to be invited to the [‘Barbie’] party, and to get to have fun. It’s healing for us to see ourselves in those roles. That we aren’t just our pain. We aren’t just our oppression and the fight. We also get to show up in our joy.”
In honor of the 2024 Best Supporting Actress Oscars race, IndieWire revisited ten of Ferrera’s best film and TV roles from throughout her career.
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10. “Our Family Wedding” (2010)
Who Ferrera plays: Lucia Ramirez falls for grad school classmate Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross) and opts to quickly tie the knot before Marcus leaves for Laos to work with Doctors Without Borders. However, their mulitcultural backgrounds make it difficult for their families to get along, especially with dueling patriarchs (Carlos Mencia and Forest Whitaker) going at it.
Why she’s great: Ferrera leads the comedy of errors as an attempted peacemaker as her character also struggles with the nerves of getting married, figuring out her own career, and trying to convince her family that she’s making all the right decisions. Ferrera fires on all cylinders for her comedy chops, ranging from physical humor to hilarious hijinks stemming from the stress of nupitals.
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9. “Cesar Chávez” (2014)
Image Credit: Everett Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera is Helen Chávez, the activist wife of revolutionary Cesar Chávez (Michael Peña) in this 2014 historical drama. Together, Helen and Cesar organized 50,000 farm workers in California to create an agricultural union. The real Helen Chávez died in 2016 after spending her adult life as a labor activist for the United Farm Workers of America (UFWA).
Why she’s great: Ferrera captures the important struggle behind the movement, and brings a multifaceted and layered performance.
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8. “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010)
Image Credit: Everett Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera voices animated character Astrid Hofferson, who is the fellow student of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) in dragon training. As Hiccup leads a movement to incorporate dragons into society, he also falls for Astrid.
Why she’s great: Ferrera has starred in the animated franchise for almost a decade, with her most recent return in 2019. The dedication to the kid-friendly series, especially with its themes of acceptance woven into the adventure, is noble and cements Ferrera’s dedication to telling a wide range of important stories.
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7. “Dumb Money” (2023)
Image Credit: Everett Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera is nurse and single mother Jennifer Campbell, who follows the advice of a YouTube investor (Paul Dano) and makes the wrong bet in not shorting GameStop.
Why she’s great: Ferrera told Variety that she loved the role as it subverted her typical typecasting. The character of Jenny was a Trump supporter and written as a white woman. Ferrera called “Dumb Money” a turning point, saying, “It was another moment in my career of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m being considered for a role that wasn’t written as a Latina.’ And that was a shock. What fascinated me about that character was our assumptions of what a working-class, struggling mother feels and believes in the world. I genuinely feel for that character. It wasn’t about money. She was being driven by a sense of an idea. That was her reward — the sense of power and belonging to an idea.”
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6. “WeCrashed” (2022)
Image Credit: Apple Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera is fictional CEO Elishia Kennedy in the Apple TV+ limited series based on the very real rise and fall of WeWork. Ferrera’s Elishia was rumored to have been inspired by SoulCycle co-founder Julie Rice, who befriended Rebekah Neumann (played by Anne Hathaway) and was being courted as an investor for Adam Neumann’s (Jared Leto) WeWork expansion.
Why she’s great: “WeCrashed” marked the renaissance of Ferrera, especially post-“Superstore.” The prestige series proved Ferrera could hold her own among Oscar winners Leto and Hathaway; now, as Ferrera herself is an Academy Award nominee, “WeCrashed” seems even more relevant. The series reminded audiences just how beloved Ferrera is, and her breadth of talent can make any role feel relatable yet elevated.
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5. “Superstore” (2015 – 2021)
Image Credit: NBC Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera is Amelia “Amy” Sosa, a Honduran-American Cloud 9 employee who works as an associate, floor supervisor, and assistant manager before being promoted to store manager.
Why she’s great: Ferrera also produced the beloved NBC workplace sitcom that brought everyday struggles and inconviences to the small screen. Her leadership as Amy proved to be the driving force of the series that ran for six years.
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4. “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (2005)
Image Credit: Everett Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera brought iconic literary character Carmen Lowell to life in this two-film adaptation which respectively debuted in 2005 and 2008. Carmen’s teen and adult years are captured as she struggles with her WASPy step-siblings and misses her dear friends.
Why she’s great: For fans of the novels, there is no question that Ferrera is Carmen. The backbone of the friend group who also has a fierce temper, Carmen was like the mom to all of her pals…but that too came at a cost. Ferrera’s performance is so staggering in what typically would be considered just a teen flick, and her multilayered performance makes both films a collective must-see.
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3. “Ugly Betty” (2006 – 2010)
Image Credit: Netflix Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera spent four years being the titular Betty Suarez on the series adapted from a Colombian telenovela. Betty is a quirky 22-year-old Mexican-American woman from Queens, New York, who lands a position at trendy fashion magazine Mode.
Why she’s great: This is Ferrera’s show all the way and she takes being a fish out of water to a whole new level. Ferrera’s Betty performance brings the show its signature heart and humor, and to any real Ferrrera fan, it’s a staple performance. She also made history winning an Emmy for the comedy series, and teased a possible revival while at the 2016 ATX Television Festival.
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2. “Barbie” (2023)
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera plays Mattel employee Gloria, who is reunited with her former doll, Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie), and helps Barbie take back Barbie Land from the Ken-driven patriarchy. Gloria is also mother to teen Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt).
Why she’s great: The speech Ferrera says as Gloria about the difficulties of being a modern woman went viral and ultimately helped land her an Oscar nomination. Ferrera opened up about just how meaningful the role was, and how screenwriters Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach penned such an immediately iconic Latinx charater.
“On a personal level, I’ve never had a director, an Academy Award-nominated director, call me and say, ‘I’ve written a role for you,” Ferrera told IndieWire. “[Writer/director Greta Gerwig] wrote the role Latina, but there was really nothing about it that is stereotypically Latina. She’s not undocumented. She doesn’t have to speak Spanish. She’s not a maid or a housekeeper. She’s just invited to the party in a meaningful way — and in a way that we don’t often get to show up to the party.”
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1. “Real Women Have Curves” (2002)
Image Credit: Everett Who Ferrera plays: Ferrera portrays Ana García, a teenager who balances finding love with pressures from her family.
Why she’s great: Ferrera’s feature debut is a powerhouse performance that essentially cemented her career trajectory as being a beacon of relatability, especially when it comes to tough conversations. Ferrera as Ana is purely transformative not only to Ferrera’s filmography but also to any viewer.
