Stephanie Beatriz Is Proud of Being at the Forefront of Queer Latinx Representation
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Screenshot from: Stephanie Beatriz Official Instagram Account

At a time when Latino and queer artists lack representation in movie and television, Stephanie Beatriz hits two birds with one stone. For the Argentine-American actress, the ability to play someone like Detective Rosa Diaz in NBC's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, who came out as bisexual and has a love interest played by Gina Rodriguez, and to then play a lesbian cousin on One Day at a Time , is a reminder of how far conversations about visibility and representation have come, according to an article by Remezcla.

Recently, the actress appeared alongside her co-B99 star Melissa Fumero on an episode of One Day at a Time which showed the various ways queer Latinas decide to present themselves to the world. Beatriz stressed how both her roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and One Day at a Time expand people's notions of what characters and what stories take center stage.

 "In this industry, who the hero is is changing and shifting rapidly," she said. "It's like a kaleidoscope lens: it used to be this certain thing and now we've flipped and turned it, and now it's so many versions of what maybe was once only one thing."

The 38-year-old actress also pointed out that the last decade does feel like the queer and Latinx communities have started to find more shows and movies that provide them with nourishing roles which pave the way for more high-profile roles. For her next project, the actress will be appearing in the big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights musical, where Beatriz plays Carla, one of the girls who works at Daniela's salon.

"I left it all out there," she said. "Like, I did everything that I could to make it the best that I thought it could be. I think that every single cast member feels that way. It's something that we'll never forget."

Meanwhile, as Brooklyn Nine-Nine opens its seventh season next month, Beatriz has no shortage of praise for her co-stars. Considering the actress has been working alongside Terry Crews and Andy Samberg for close to a decade, it's hard not to see in her words a reminder of how she truly admires her co-stars. She particularly tickled when she mentioned how the audiences would be seeing a different side of Andre Braugher's character captain Holt who was recently demoted. Where fans have seen Braugher's pitch-perfect comedy brought by being a stone-faced straight man in contrast to the crazy characters of the 99th Precinct, Beatriz promises they see him loosen up more as he tries to regain his stature. But among all the B99 characters, it's her co-Latina actress Melissa Fumero for whom Beatriz reserves her warmest admiration.

"She's absolutely brilliant," she gushes. "She is like a Latina Lucille Ball. And her face! It's like she has a beautiful rubber mask, almost."

And while Beatriz is eager to see where Rosa's storylines go this season, she told her fans to expect less tidbits about her personal life this time around. She said that she is most excited about audiences getting to see new facets of her co-stars.