Stephanie Beatriz

The Origin of an Unexpected Voice

Stephanie Beatriz was born in Neuquén, but her story truly began in Webster, Texas. She arrived in the United States at age two, with a family heritage split between Colombia and Bolivia. In high school, she discovered that theater was the only refuge where her shyness was not an obstacle to connecting with others.

She studied at Stephens College in Missouri and soon after moved to New York to try to make a living on stage. Those were years of failed auditions and supporting roles in regional productions that barely paid the bills. But the discipline of classical theater gave her a technical foundation that many actors of her generation lack.

In 2013, she landed a small role in Short Term 12. That independent film was the launching pad for names that now dominate the film industry. Beatriz was not seeking social drama as her ultimate goal, but that shoot changed her view of what she could bring to the screen.

And the gamble paid off.

The 99 Precinct Experiment

She auditioned for Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the role of Amy Santiago. The producers were looking for a Latina face, and she fit the profile. But they ended up giving the character to Melissa Fumero. Beatriz thought her chance had slipped away because sitcoms on television in 2013 rarely had two Latina actresses in the main cast.

Michael Schur saw something different in her. He created Rosa Diaz specifically to take advantage of the dry, sharp energy that Beatriz projected in camera tests. The character became a pillar of the series over eight seasons. Rosa Diaz was the opposite of the real Stephanie, who has a naturally high voice and an outgoing personality.

During the filming of the fifth season in 2017, Beatriz proposed that her character come out as bisexual. She had made it public on social media a year earlier herself. It was a risky move for a high-rated series on NBC that was looking to keep its laugh-track ratings up.

But Beatriz didn't get stuck in family movies.

The Sound of Disney and the Peacock Desert

In 2021, she voiced Mirabel Madrigal in Encanto. It was a complete change of register that required her to sing and show a vulnerability that a police uniform never would have allowed. The film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and the soundtrack broke sales records across much of the world thanks to the songwriting of Lin-Manuel Miranda.

That same year, she took part in the film adaptation of In the Heights, directed by Jon M. Chu. She played Carla and proved that her musical theater training was still intact despite years dedicated to procedural television. The production cost 55 million dollars and was shot entirely on the streets of Washington Heights.

In 2023, she joined the cast of Twisted Metal to play Quiet. The series, based on the PlayStation video game, allowed her to explore pure physical action in a post-apocalyptic setting. She also worked as an executive producer on parts of the show's creative development.

And she did it again.

The industry values her ability to work in voice booths with the same intensity as in front of the camera. In 2024, she lent her voice to the series Hazbin Hotel, playing Vaggie. It's an adult animated project that has gained a massive following on digital platforms for its boundary-pushing style.

Stephanie Beatriz has severe astigmatism that forces her to wear glasses or contact lenses constantly. On the set of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, she could not wear her glasses because the character did not wear them in the script. That is why Rosa Diaz always seems to be squinting with suspicion in every scene.

The contract for the second season of Twisted Metal was signed with a tight budget for practical outdoor effects during the first quarter of 2024.