Latina of Influence | Andrea Navedo
Actress Andrea Navedo is a 2015 Latina of Influence named by Hispanic Lifestyle. Andrea is being recognized for her commitment to craft of acting and taking on roles that promote positive images of Latinas. Navedo is now starring as Xiomara “Xo” Villanueva in The CW comedy-drama series, Jane the Virgin. Hispanic Lifestyle’s 2015 Latinas of Influence will be recognizingAndrea and her fellow Latinas of Influence during a luncheon held in their honor on at Latina Conference 2015.
Video interview took place on the red carpet at the 2014 Alma Awards, produced by NCLR.
Andrea Navedo was born and raised in the Bronx, Andrea had dreamt of becoming an actress. However, growing up as a child, she didn’t see any significant examples of Latinos on television or film so she never considered it a real possibility. Fast forward to her 1st semester in college, she saw an audition sign for a play posted on the wall just outside of the schools theatre doors. Her heart jumped when she read it and instantly wanted to audition, however, she talked herself out of it because she had had no acting experience nor did she feel she could compete against “college actors”. Days later as the date of the audition neared, Andrea couldn’t stop thinking about it. She went back and forth in her mind on whether or not to try out for the play. Ultimately, she didn’t want to look back and have any regrets, so inspite of her fears she showed up to the audition and to her great surprise landed a part. After performing in that first play, she was hooked and the following semester she declared Acting as her major. She earned a BA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting. Afterwards she completed the 2 year Meisner program with The Acting Studio Inc. where studied with and continues to study with James Price and John Grabowski.
Andrea went on to book major recurring roles on One Live to Live as Linda Soto, on the Guiding Light as Theresa Sandoval and on Law and Order as Detective Cordova. She also has had guest roles on several television shows including NY Undercover, Damages and Blue Bloods.
Some of her film credits include co-starring with Manny Perez in the indie ‘Washington Heights’ (which he also produced), playing Jennifer Lopez’s sister in ‘El Cantante,’ working with Robert Pattinson in “Remember Me” and as the female lead in the action comedy ‘Double Take’ opposite Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin.
