America has appeared in several well-received independent features, including her first award-winning role as Ana in the Sundance hit Real Women Have Curves (2002). Subsequent film roles include How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), Lords of Dogtown (2005), and Steel City (2006). Her breakthrough role, however, arrived in 2006 when she was cast as Betty Suarez in ABC's smash “dramedy” Ugly Betty. America Ferrera may play ”ugly Betty" on TV, but under the shaggy wig, thick glasses and braces, she's a fine-looking woman with a mission to modify perceptions of beauty.

America Georgine Ferrera was born on April 18, 1984, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are from Honduras and, following their divorce, she and her five elder siblings were raised by their single mom in suburban Woodland Hills. She caught the acting bug early on as she began performing in plays at school as well as in local community theater at the age of 8, and she continued to hone her craft during her school years.

After a decade or so as an amateur actress, Ferrera appeared in her first feature film in 2002. She played Ana Garcia, a first generation Mexican-American teen in East LA, in the indie movie Real Women Have Curves. The role earned her positive notice as well as a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. That same year, she played Yolanda in the made-for-TV movie Gotta Kick It Up! and Lillian Rivera in the stage play The Have Little. In addition to her work on the big screen and on stage, Ferrera guest-starred on a 2002 episode of Touched by an Angel, and she also had a small part in the "Fighting Fridas" episode of American Family.

Later that year, Ferrera went to New York City to costar in the off-Broadway play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead at the Century Center for the Performing Arts. She kicked off 2006 with the Sundance premiere of Steel City, a drama in which she had the supporting role of Amy Barnes.