Paula Garcés


Paula Garces is a Colombian American film and TV actress, known for her appearance in films such as Clockstoppers, Man of the House and the Harold & Kumar series, and on TV shows such as ', On My Block, The Shield, ', The Sopranos, Oz, Devious Maids, Guiding Light and All My Children.

Early life

Paula Garcés was born on March 20, 1974 in Medellin, Colombia. At a very early age she moved to East Harlem in New York City.

Career

Acting

She played Alvina in 1995's Dangerous Minds with Michelle Pfeiffer.
Garcés co-starred in Paramount Pictures' 2002 teen sci-fi adventure Clockstoppers, starring opposite Jesse Bradford. She was then cast in Richard Benjamin's hip-hop comedy Marci X opposite Lisa Kudrow and Damon Wayans.
Garcés was next seen opposite Academy Award-winner Tommy Lee Jones in the Revolution Studios feature Man of the House. In 2004, she starred in National Lampoon's Pledge This!. She was featured on ' and starred in a four episode arc on NBC's ', as well as guest spots on HBO's hit series The Sopranos and Oz. Garcés then landed a role as a cast member on The Shield.
Garcés appeared in New Line Cinema's 2004 feature film Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, its 2008 sequel Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and the 2011 sequel A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as Maria, the love interest and later wife of John Cho's character.
Garcés was a series regular on the ABC drama series Defying Gravity, playing documentarian Paula Morales during its single 2009 season.
She was also featured in the video "Imagínate" with Wisin & Yandel, and rapper T-Pain.
Garcés has also co-starred on Guiding Light as Pilar Santos, and had a recurring role as Dr. Kelly Hernandez in season two of the Syfy TV series Warehouse 13.
In May 2011, Garcés appeared in "Off the Beaten Path", the 11th episode of season one of Breakout Kings.
In February 2013, Garcés appeared on the CBS series Elementary, playing villainous police officer Paula Reyes in season one's episode "Details".
Garcés also plays Ruby’s mom in “On my Block” a super popular Netflix series.

Aluna Comics

While attending a Comic-Con to promote one of the Harold & Kumar films, Garcés noted the sizeable Latino audience for superheroes, despite the low number of Latino characters in the genre. She created Further Lane Productions to issue a limited run comic book featuring the Latina superhero Aluna, later working with S2 Games to create, and voice, Aluna as a 2011 playable hero added to Heroes of Newerth, S2's multiplayer online battle arena video game. In time for the 2014 Comic-Con, she worked with sekretagent Productions and Allegory Media to produce a four issue Aluna comic book series.

Personal life

Garcés's first child is daughter Skye Mahoney, was born in 1992. In 2002 she married Antonio Hernandez, an entrepreneur and producer. Garcés and Hernandez have a son born in 2013.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Hangin' with the HomeboysHarassed Sister
1993Life with MikeyJanice
1995Dangerous MindsAlvina
1998HarvestMina Fuentes
2002ClockstoppersFrancesca
2003'Cashier
2003Marci XYolanda Quinones
2003SpinFrancesca
2004Harold & Kumar Go to White CastleMaria
2005Che GuevaraAleida
2005'Tina
2005Man of the HouseTeresa
2006National Lampoon's Pledge This!Gloria Torrez
2007Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of ViolencePrincess Short film
2008Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo BayMaria
2008Harold & Kumar Go to AmsterdamMariaShort film
2011A Very Harold & Kumar 3D ChristmasMaria
2011DeceptionKatrina Mendoza
2013The Maid's RoomDrina
2014Adult BeginnersBlanca

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991Law & OrderLucy RiversEpisode: "The Secret Sharers"
1994New York UndercoverAria NuriezEpisode: "School Ties"
1999OzIsabella Episode: "The Truth and Nothing But..."
Episode: "Napoleon's Boney Parts"
1999–2001Guiding LightPilar SantosTV series
2002'MilagrosEpisode: "West Side Stories"
2003'Carmen AbregonEpisode: "Simple Man"
2004'Felicia GalanEpisode: "Unidentified Black Males"
2005'CSU Tech Millie Vizcarrondo4 episodes
2006–2008'Officer Tina Hanlon32 episodes
2007'Anna SivarroEpisode: "A Grizzly Murder"
Episode: "Bloodline"
2008Knight RiderKelli HaddiganEpisode: "A Knight in Shining Armor"
2009Defying GravityPaula Moralesmain series cast
2010Warehouse 13Dr. Kelly Hernandez5 episodes
2010ChaseTia ArcherEpisode: "Betrayed"
2011The Good WifeAida RiosEpisode: "Foreign Affairs"
2011Breakout KingsDebbie MyeraEpisode: "Off the Beaten Path"
2013ElementaryPaula ReyesEpisode: "Details"
2013All My ChildrenLea Marquez
2013Devious MaidsFlora Hernandez
2018–presentOn My BlockGeny Martinez