While “Blue Bloods” is primarily about the Reagans, actress Marisa Ramirez plays one of the most prominent characters who isn’t related to the Reagans.
She’s been a part of the show since Season 3, when she joined partway through Season 3 and then became a regular in Season 4. Maria Baez, Danny Reagan’s (Donnie Wahlberg) partner, is played by her, and the length and closeness of their friendship has led many fans to wish for a more romantic dynamic to open up, so that Maria could finally join the Reagan family properly (via Country Living).
Ramirez has stated that the benefit of not being a member of the Reagans is that she has more time to live life and be a mother.
Nonetheless, in a video interview with PopCulture, she stated, “I’d like some of what they’re eating at the dinner table from time to time.
It looks great, especially the rolls.” She did make it to one of the show’s iconic Sunday family dinners during an episode last season, and it was a big deal (via CheatSheet), but she hasn’t joined them on a regular basis since then.
But, if you know Ramirez from “Blue Bloods,” which is now in its 12th season – and maybe “ship” her and Danny – you might be curious about how she grew into this role, which she’s now played for nine years.
Marisa Ramirez began her career as a model and television host.
Marisa Ramirez, 44, is a native of Los Angeles with Mexican, Native American, and Irish ancestors. She attended an all-girls’ private school in East Los Angeles as a child, but as a young tween, “a Polaroid picture of the 13-year-old girl made its way into the hands of a Los Angeles modeling agency,” according to her publicist’s official bio.
According to an interview Ramirez gave to Club Planet in 2011, her mother took her to an audition when she was five years old and she “didn’t want any part” of the industry.
Nonetheless, when she reached the age of 12, she became one of those famous teenagers who were discovered at the mall by a sharp-eyed scout who handed her a business card. She eventually became a print model, then a commercial actress.
Her work took her to Asia, Australia, Africa, and Europe. According to IMDb, she graduated from Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra, California in 1995. She ultimately chose her career over a college education.
She later worked as a host. She has stated on Instagram that one of her first jobs with MTV — and one of her first jobs in general — was hosting the TV show “Senseless Acts of Video,” which aired in 2000. You may have also seen her in the 1997 music video for the Backstreet Boys’ song “As Long As You Love Me,” which is pictured above.
Marisa Ramirez was a character on “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless.”
According to Marisa Ramirez’s official bio, acting classes helped her overcome shyness. She then began her acting career in the world of soap operas, as she told Club Planet “I was 18-19 years old and living on my own. I didn’t like being looked at as an object, a model. I had a personality and wanted to show it. As a result, I decided to pursue a career in acting.”
The former model made early appearances on “Days of Our Lives” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” before joining “General Hospital” for over 100 episodes between 2000 and 2002. She portrayed Gia Campbell, a member of the soap’s teen cadre, on that show.
Soon after, she landed a role as Carmen Mesta, a public relations consultant at Jabot Cosmetics, on “The Young and the Restless” for over 70 episodes in 2006 and 2007. When that character d1ed, she briefly reappeared as Carmen’s cousin, Ines Vargas.
“A part of me thought I could spend the rest of my life watching soap operas. It’s steady work that’s extremely rewarding. It was simple for me to see you wear all of these hats. I’m not sure I’d go back to it now.
With all of the reality shows on the air, the world has shifted slightly “She informed Club Planet. However, when asked if she’d ever return to “”Who knows what could happen?” she recently told PopCulture of “General Hospital.” I’m willing to try anything.”
Marisa Ramirez then moved to primetime, where she was frequently cast as a cop.
Marisa Ramirez eventually made the transition to primetime (per IMDb). She has appeared as a guest star on shows such as “Supernatural,” “Castle,” “The Suite Life on Deck,” “CSI:NY,” “Bones,” and “Rizzoli and Isles.” She also appeared in “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena,” a 2011 miniseries, and “The Extendables,” a 2014 film (no, not “The Expendables”).
Dr. Chloe Artis in 2009’s “Mental,” Detective Lina Flores on Lifetime’s “Against the Wall” for one season, and Officer Riley Dunn in 2013’s “Body of Proof” were some of her other roles. She began to be cast as cops and authority figures on a regular basis.
“It’s almost as if my work was going through phases,” Ramirez explained to Pop Culture. “I went through a phase where I was the crying girlfriend. It was the depressed girlfriend. For a short time, it felt like a slew of guest star roles were being cast.
Then, perhaps, something happened in my personal life where I just kind of evolved as a person and discovered some strength that was being seen in these casting rooms, and I just kept getting cast as a cop.”
Marisa Ramirez’s long-time hobby is kickboxing, which most likely contributed to her landing those roles.
How did Marisa Ramirez get into roles like police officers, which may have led directly to her long-running stint on “Blue Bloods”?
She attributes this, at least in part, to one of her favorite pastimes, kickboxing. When asked where she hangs out in New York after moving to the East Coast for the show in 2014, she told People, “It’s something I’m still working on! Kickboxing, kickboxing, kickboxing!”
Meanwhile, she told PopCulture that she had been teaching kickboxing for six years after having enjoyed the sport for 12 to 15 years prior “Just for fun and fitness. But there was a quality to teaching that I had never had before in my life.
No, that’s not correct because I was also a drill team captain. Okay, so there’s always been this bossy quality, strength, power, women in power sort of thing, and maybe I just like to yell at people, and maybe I was good at it.”
Marisa Ramirez is a married woman with one child who lives in New York.
Marisa Ramirez was reportedly married to Nathan Lavezoli for nearly a decade between 2002 and 2011 (via The Daily Mail), but divorced him (per court documents) before joining the cast of “Blue Bloods.”
According to her Twitter, Ramirez has one child, Violet Rae, who was born on May 29, 2016. She has not revealed who her child’s father is as of this writing, but she frequently posts pictures of her daughter, who is now in kindergarten, on her Instagram feed.
She’s made a second home in New York, where she told People she enjoys the food, particularly Indian food, and the weather: “I mean, it’s cold, but I’m liking it.”
Despite the fact that she is currently far from her California roots, she has found a new family in her “Blue Bloods” castmates.
In September 2021, she and Wahlberg appeared on The Talk to tell fans that, contrary to popular belief, they do not want their characters to become a couple because “if they start a relationship, they won’t have scenes together, and then I’ll miss my friend,” Wahlberg explained. In response to a question, he added, “We do laugh a lot, and there are times when we push it a little too far with our laughter outbreaks, but it makes the day so much fun.”
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