11 Latina Actresses Who Have Spoken Out on Hollywood Stereotypes and Lack of Diversity

It is no secret that Latinos have been grossly underrepresented in Hollywood. And when Latino actors are included, they are often portraying criminals and domestic workers. Back in the earlier days of film and television, we were “greasers,” “banditos,” immoral and/or angry women, and comedically dim-witted individuals.

Today, however, the tides are changing, with a variety of roles being interpreted by Latinas, and people of our ethnicity and culture(s) are creating those projects which are absent. But we still have a long way to go. Here are 11 actresses in Hollywood who are holding it down for Latinos everywhere have spoken out about both the stereotypes assigned to us as a people, as well as the notion that all we look, act, and are the same.

8Camila Mendes

Camila Mendes, who was chosen to represent Archie Comics character Veronica Lodge on the show Riverdale, is Brazilian. She, too, has talked about people’s perception of her appearance and how Latina she appears to be. “I often hear things like, ‘You don’t look Latina enough,’ and that mentality is so backwards,” Mendes has shared. “The fact is, I am Latina, so how are you going to tell me that I don’t look Latina?”

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