Date of Birth

26 December 1988, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Francia Raisa Almendárez

Height

5' 3" (1.6 m)

Mini Biography

Francia Raisa is a bilingual first generation Mexican and Honduran actress, born and raised in Los Angeles. Francia began her acting career in 2005 at the young age of 17 and has made quite a name for herself. In the last 6 years she's become a leader and catalyst for change within the LatinX community and she strives to raise awareness for organizations that fight against sex trafficking and family separation at the border. She is also an advocate for women's health and wellness.

Francia can currently be seen in the Freeform's original series Grown-ish (2018), the spin-off of ABC's award-winning hit series Black-ish (2014).

Trivia

• She is the daughter of L.A. radio announcer, Renán Almendariz Coello, also known as El Cucuy.
• She is of Honduran and Mexican descent.
• Nominated for a 2009 ALMA Award for Best Actress.
• Sister of Irlanda Almendarez and Italia Almendárez.
• Working on The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008). [September 2008]
• In the summer of 2017, Raisa donated a kidney to her friend, actress and singer Selena Gomez who is battling lupus.
• She gets frequently confused with Kim Kardashian West.

Quotes

• It was hard at school because, growing up, some people wanted to be friends with me just because they wanted to get to my dad and say that they had met him and had gone to our house. I didn't understand it at the time, but the older I got and the more aware of it I became, it started becoming hard.
• I was a dancer when I got discovered, and I started working immediately. I started being in commercials and doing guest star roles. My first big thing, which happened maybe six months after being discovered, was 'Bring It On: All or Nothing.'
• I'm glad I went through all the normal teenage dramas that a lot of people go through. I can really relate to 'Secret Life' because I witnessed those similar struggles.
• I really like Neutrogena for skin care and CoverGirl makeup. I can't stand heavy makeup. I feel like my skin can't breathe, and CoverGirl is really light.
• I still have a lot of my friends from high school. You just know who is there for you for real, and who is trying to get something out of you.
• I love Clinique. Their moisturizer is amazing. My skin tends to be really oily, but then at times I'm dry, and that's the perfect amount of moisturizer.
• Find a type of exercise that you love - whether it's dance, soccer, softball, anything - just as long as it keeps you active. If you love it, you'll dedicate yourself to it and stay involved.
• I like to carry a concealer palette that has a green, a yellow, and a tan color. I like to carry the green one because when I have a pimple, it's good to use that to contrast the red. Then you put the yellow over it, and it helps it disappear.
• My eyelashes are divas, so they will like a mascara brand one week or for a month, and then they'll just stop working for it. I go back and forth between Maybelline and Cover Girl, and then I carry around a primer, too.
• Even though I'm Hispanic, I'm so white.