Selenis Leyva

Selenis Leyva (born May 26, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Gloria Mendoza in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black.

Leyva was born and raised in The Bronx as she stated in her article on Latinousa.org. She is of Cuban and Dominican descent. She has appeared in a number of Off-Broadway productions. On television, Leyva had a recurring role of Detective Mariluz Rivera in Law & Order, and also appeared in different roles on the show and on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has guest-starred on Third Watch, The Sopranos, The Good Wife, Girls, and Elementary.

In 2013, Leyva began starring as Gloria Mendoza, a Latina leader in the jail, in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black. Her character was recurring for the first two seasons and she was promoted to series regular in Season 3.Along with cast, she received three Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also received ALMA Award for Outstanding Special Achievement in Television in 2014. The series ended in 2019, after seven seasons. During her time in Orange Is the New Black, Leyva co-starred opposite Viola Davis and Catalina Sandino Moreno in the 2016 courtroom drama film Custody directed and written by James Lapine, and played Monica Warren in 2017 superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming. In 2018, she had supporting role in the Netflix miniseries Maniac.

In 2019, Leyva was cast in the Disney+ comedy-drama series Diary of a Female President produced by Gina Rodriguez.

Leyva is the co-author, with her sister Marizol, of the book My Sister: How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both (Bold Type Books, March 2020).

Leyva has one daughter, Alina. She is a supporter of the LGBT community and revealed in June 2015 that her sister Marizol is transgender.