America Ferrera has been a household name long before that memorable monologue in Barbie and her first Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. But that doesn’t mean this particular moment in Ferrera’s career isn’t a particularly apt one to stop and look back at where she started and what roles have shaped her. Ferrera has, after all, had some outstanding, career-defining moments, both on the big screen and the small screen.
From defining what Latina girls could be in Real Women Have Curves, to teaching us about real friendship and the magic of the right pair of jeans in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, to her memorable role in Ugly Betty, Ferrera is one of those actresses who has left a mark in every role she has inhabited and has become a true reference for Latina women all over. And looking at her career, it’s very easy to see why.
Here are some roles to get to know America Ferrera, starting from the beginning of her career to the role that earned her that Oscar nomination.
1
Real Women Have Curves (2022)
Real Women Have Curves focuses on Ana Garcia, a first-generation Mexican-American girl who desperately wants to college but finds herself clashing with her traditional parents. They expect her to follow a more traditional path instead of her dreams.
2
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005)
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer follows three generations of Garcia women as they find love one summer. Ferrera stars as the youngest of the Garcias, teenager Blanca, who falls in love with the new guy in town and discovers the joys and pains love can bring.
3
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
The quintessential friendship movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants tells the story of four friends who are forced to go their separate ways for a summer. However, one magical pair of pants that just so happens to fit all of them is the secret to keeping them connected. On the plus side, there’s a sequel too.
4
Ugly Betty (2006)
A remake of the popular Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty, la Fea, Ugly Betty follows a young Mexican-American woman who, despite her lack of style, lands a position at a high fashion magazine. And not just any position, either, but that of the assistant to the Editor-in-Chief.
5
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
How to Train Your Dragon sees Ferrera star as the young Viking Astrid. The animated movie follows another young Viking known as Hiccup, who befriends a dragon he is supposed to kill and, in the process, charts a new course for his island and his people. Astrid is his love interest but also a fierce warrior in her own right.
6
Superstore (2015-2021)
Taking another memorable turn at the small screen, Ferrera stars as Amy in Superstore, a workplace comedy following the employees at a big-box store. Amy might be jaded but throughout six seasons, she finds purpose, joy, and even love.
7
Barbie (2023)
One of the year’s most talked-about movies of the last year, Barbie is all about the famous doll and the lives changed because of her. Ferrera, however, doesn’t play a doll – she plays a human, Gloria, who reminds Barbie and us about what it means to be a woman and why that matters.