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Who is Nadine Velazquez?
Fans of the comedy series “My Name Is Earl” remember her as Bolivian immigrant Catalina Rana Aruca, who worked as a maid in a motel where Earl and Randy live, and was a stripper by night. Although this role brought Nadine Velazquez praise and numerous accolades, worth mentioning is her movie role as Katerina Marquez in the thriller drama “Flight”, in which she starred opposite the famed Denzel Washington.
If you would like to know more about her acting career and her life, let us tell you the naked truth about Nadine Velaquez.
Early life, family, and education
Born Neidin Enid Velazquez under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius on 20 November 1978, she’s today aged 44 (as of July 2023). A native of Chicago, Illinois USA, she holds American nationality and comes from a family of Puerto Rican descent. Nadine was raised alongside her brother Nelson, by their parents, about whom nothing is known.
As Nadine put it, as a child she was a ‘hyper, sensitive clown’, and had various interests. Her parents wanted her to have a good education, so upon matriculating from Notre Dame High School for Girls in 1996, Nadine enrolled at Columbia College Chicago, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts (Marketing), in 2000.
After graduating, she made appearances in numerous print ads and commercials before launching her professional acting career.
Roles in movies
Nadine made her acting debut playing Allison in the 2003 movie “Biker Boyz”. Later that year, she followed with her support role as an Attractive Woman at Conga Club in the romantic comedy “Chasing Papi”, starring Sofia Vergara and Eduardo Verastequi.
Nadine’s next movie role came in 2004, when she was cast to play Luna in the action thriller “Blast”, followed by her role as Claudia in the 2005 musical drama “Sueño”. In May of that year, Nadine was named one of ‘Five Rising Stars to Watch Closely” by USA Today.
Two years later, Nadine landed her first lead role playing Maria in the action crime-drama “War”, also starring Jason Statham and Jet Li. Nadine was next seen in the 2009 movie “A Day in the Life” before she was cast to play her first major movie role as Katerina Marquez in “Flight” in 2012.
The plot follows an airline captain who saves almost all of his passengers in his malfunctioning plane before it crashes, but an investigation following the tragedy shows something worrisome. The movie had 45 award nominations, including two Oscars (Best Writing, Original Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role- Denzel Washington), and won 15. Nadine and the rest of the crew were nominated for the St. Louis Film Critics Association Award- Special Merit (for best scene, cinematic technique, or other memorable aspect or moment), while she won the Alliance of Women Film Journalist Special Mention Award for Most Egregious Age Difference Between the Leading Man and the Love Interest (shared with Denzel Washington).
In the following year, Nadine was seen as Analisa in “Snitch”, followed by her roles in “My Sister” (2014), “Clarity” (2015), “Ride Along 2” (2016), and “Sharon 1.2.3” (2017), among others. She starred in the 2018 horror “Discarnate”, which didn’t gain much success.
Most recently, Nadine was seen as Lyra in the 2019 fantasy adventure “A World Away”, written and directed by Mark Blanchard, the story of six children who go on to trip to the Grand Canyon, but end up in a whole other world,.
Roles in series
Nadine made her first TV series appearance as Anna in an episode of the series “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2003. She followed with her guest role as Janeen in “Entourage” in 2004, before she was cast to play her most notable television role, to date.
Between 2005 and 2009, Nadine was seen as Catalina in 96 episodes of the five-time Primetime Emmy-awarded show “My Name Is Earl”, also starring Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee and Jaime Pressly. The series followed the story of Earl, who after losing his winning lottery ticket, realizes that his bad luck is the result of karma, and decides to make amends to all the people he’s hurt in the past.
Nadine Velazquez on The League s06e05 2014 @nadinevelazquez pic.twitter.com/cbbRR8SkyH
— CelebriCity (@CelebriCity) October 4, 2014
When it comes to Nadine’s performance in the series, she was four times nominated for the American Latino Media Arts Award (ALMA) Award, and once for the Monte-Carlo TV Festival Award (Outstanding Actress – Comedy Series), while with the rest of the cast she shares the Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
From 2009 through 2015, Nadine played Sofia in 26 episodes of the comedy sports drama “The League”, which followed a group of old friends in a fantasy football league, who make each other’s lives miserable.
Concurrently, Nadine made guest appearances in hit series such as “Gary Unmarried” (2009), “CSI: Miami” (2010), and “Charlie’s Angels” (2011), and had a recurring role as Didi Ruano in the series “Hart of Dixie” (2011-2012).
Between 2013 and 2017, Nadine was seen as Emma Rios in “Major Crimes”, followed by her role as Jackie Ortiz in “Six”. During 2017 and 2018, she made an appearance in 18 episodes of this historic action drama about the Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Team who while attempting to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan, discovers that an American citizen has been working with the enemy.
Most recently, from 2021 through 2022, Nadine played Valeria ‘Butter Pecan’ Mendez in the musical drama “Queens”, also starring Eve and Naturi Naughton.
Love life and relationships
Nadine has been the subject of various rumors about her love life, and ha beens romantically linked to numerous men from the entertainment industry; however, she hasn’t commented on these assumptions.
Nadine was once married – her husband was Marc Provissiero, a producer. The two wed in 2005 and divorced on 22 August 2012. Since Nadine prefers to keep her personal life secret, she hasn’t spoken about the reason for their separation. The couple didn’t have children together.
As of July 2023, it seems that Nadine is single.
What is she doing now? Net worth
Nadine’s admirers will be happy to hear that she will be seen in the announced TV series “Wild Life”, which is currently in development. It’s a comedy about a group of high school teens and their personal and social issues; Nadine’s co-stars are Tasos Hernandez and Maria Thayer.
When it comes to Nadine’s wealth, thanks to her acting career, she seems to make a good living for herself. According to sources, as of July 2023, her net worth has been estimated at over $4 million.
