Sara Ramírez (ˈsaɾa raˈmiɾes; born August 31, 1975) is a Mexican-American singer/songwriter and actress. She is known for her role as
Callie TorresCalliope Iphegenia "Callie" Torres, M.D., is a fictional character from the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actress Sara Ramírez...
in
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
(2006–present) and as the original
Lady of the LakeThe Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father...
in the 2005 Broadway musical
SpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Early life
Ramírez was born in
MazatlánMazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
,
SinaloaSinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
, a beach resort on the
Pacific coastThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
of
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Her father was Mexican and her mother was half
MexicanMexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
and half Irish-American. Ramírez moved with her mother at age eight to Tierrasanta, in San Diego, California. After graduating from the
San Diego School of Creative and Performing ArtsThe San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, known as SCPA, is a public arts magnet school in southeastern San Diego, California, USA. Most of the students in grades 6-12 are bussed to the school from throughout the San Diego Unified School District...
in San Diego, California, she graduated from the
Juilliard SchoolThe Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
(B.F.A. '97, drama) in New York City, where she refined her skills as an actress. Ramírez speaks both Spanish and English fluently.
Personal life
On June 23, 2011, Sara announced via her spokesperson that she and longtime partner, Ryan Debolt, got engaged on June 17, 2011, in Paris, France. .
Career
She debuted on
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
playing Wahzinak in
Paul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's
The CapemanThe Capeman is a musical play written by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott based on the life of Salvador Agrón. The play opened at the Marquis Theatre in 1998 to poor reviews and had an initial run of only 68 performances....
(1998). In 1999, she appeared in
The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm (1999) and received an
Outer Critics Circle AwardThe Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
nomination for her role. She has also appeared in
A Class ActA Class Act is a musical with a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price and music and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The musical is based on the life of composer-lyricist Ed Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987...
(2001) and
Dreamgirls (2001), and she performed in
The Vagina MonologuesThe Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
with
Tovah FeldshuhTovah Feldshuh is an American actress, singer and playwright.-Early life:Terri Sue Feldshuh was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of Lillian and Sidney Feldshuh, who was a lawyer. She was raised in Scarsdale, New York, an affluent community in Westchester County and graduated...
and
Suzanne BertishSuzanne C. Bertish is an English actress.A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bertish has appeared in many productions with them, including their marathon eight-and-a-half hour version of Charles Dickens's The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, in which she played three roles...
.
In 1998, she played the voice of Lammy in the video game
UmJammer Lammyis a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony for the PlayStation video game console. UmJammer Lammy is a spin-off of PaRappa the Rapper, also released for the PlayStation...
, a spin-off of
PaRappa the Rapperis a rhythm video game for the Sony PlayStation created by Masaya Matsuura and his NanaOn-Sha company....
, both on Sony's
PlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
console. She later reprised her role as Lammy in the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
video game sequel
PaRappa the Rapper 2is a PlayStation 2 rhythm video game and the sequel to PaRappa the Rapper, although it is actually the third game in the series following UmJammer Lammy...
, and has a smaller role, unlike the game that preceded it.
In 2004, Ramírez was cast as the Lady of the Lake in the
Eric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
/
John Du PrezJohn Du Prez is a musician, conductor, and composer. Du Prez was a member of the 1980s multi-hit Salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several Film scores including Oxford Blues and the final Carry On film, Carry On Columbus...
musical
SpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
, based on the 1975 film
Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
. The musical opened on Broadway in 2005 to widespread acclaim, and Ramírez in particular was singled out for her performance, winning several awards including the 2005 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Following her success on Broadway, Ramírez joined the cast of
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
in a recurring role as Dr. Calliope 'Callie' Torres in the show's second season. For the third season she became a series regular. On a special
Grey's Anatomy-themed episode of
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, she revealed that top executives from
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
loved her performance in
Spamalot so much that they offered her a role in any ABC show she wanted. She picked
Grey's, of which she was a fan. Ramírez provided
a cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
vocals in the song "
Silent Night"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
" for the soundtrack of the show's sixth season episode "Holidaze," airing November 19, 2009. On December 21, 2009, this version of the song was released as a
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on
iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. Ramirez's voice was also showcased in the musical episode of
Grey's Anatomy, Ep. 718 "Song Beneath the Song", which aired 31 March 2011. Her solo music debut was an
extended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
released on March 27, 2011 through the
iTunes StoreThe iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. It included three original songs, as well as a recording of "The Story", performed on the musical episode of
Grey's Anatomy.
Filmography
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1998 |
You've Got Mail You've Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It was written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the play Parfumerie by Miklós László. The film is about two letter-writing lovers who are completely unaware that their sweetheart is in...
|
Rose |
|
| 1999 |
UmJammer Lammyis a rhythm video game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony for the PlayStation video game console. UmJammer Lammy is a spin-off of PaRappa the Rapper, also released for the PlayStation...
|
Lammy |
voice |
| 2000 |
Spin CitySpin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
|
Carol |
1 episode |
| Third Watch Third Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....
|
Gwen Girard |
1 episode |
| Welcome to New York Welcome to New York was a television sitcom that aired on CBS. The show starred Jim Gaffigan, who played a weatherman from Fort Wayne, Indiana, who then moved to New York and worked as a meteorologist for fictional morning news show called "AM New York"...
|
Linda |
1 episode |
Law & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
|
Mrs. Barrera |
1 episode |
| 2001 |
PaRappa the Rapper 2is a PlayStation 2 rhythm video game and the sequel to PaRappa the Rapper, although it is actually the third game in the series following UmJammer Lammy...
|
Lammy |
voice |
| 2002 |
Spider-ManSpider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
|
Police officer at carjacking |
|
| Washington Heights Washington Heights is a 2003 Lions Gate film directed by Alfredo De Villa and starring Manny Perez, Tomas Milian, and Danny Hoch. It concerns a young comic book artist and his struggle to deal with his father's paralysis following a robbery of his shop in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New...
|
Belkis |
|
| Baseball Wives |
Gabriella Martinez |
|
Law & Order: Special Victims UnitLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
|
Lisa Perez |
1 episode |
ChicagoChicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
|
Female ensemble |
|
| 2003 |
As the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
|
Hannah |
1 episode |
| When Ocean Meets Sky |
Peggy Fears |
voice |
| 2004 |
NYPD BlueNYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
|
Irma Pacheco |
1 episode |
| 2006–present |
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
|
Dr. Callie Torres |
Regular |
Stage productions
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Theatre |
| 1998 |
The Capeman The Capeman is a musical play written by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott based on the life of Salvador Agrón. The play opened at the Marquis Theatre in 1998 to poor reviews and had an initial run of only 68 performances....
|
Wahzinak |
Marquis Theatre The Marquis Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 1535 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan.Situated on the third floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the 1611-seat venue was designed by developer/architect John C. Portman, Jr...
|
| 1999 |
The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm |
|
Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 220 West 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.-Theatre History:Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts in 1912, it was named for Longacre Square, the original name for Times Square...
|
The Vagina MonologuesThe Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
|
|
Westside Theatre __notoc__The Westside Theatre is an off-Broadway venue located at 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses two auditoriums: the Upstairs theater, which seats 299, and the Downstairs theater, which...
|
| 2001 |
A Class ActA Class Act is a musical with a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price and music and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The musical is based on the life of composer-lyricist Ed Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987...
|
Felicia |
Ambassador TheatreThe Ambassador Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 219 West 49th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp for the Shuberts, the structure is unusual in that it is situated diagonally on its site to fit the maximum number of...
|
DreamgirlsDreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio...
|
|
Ford Center for the Performing Arts Ford Center for the Performing Arts can refer to:*Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, Chicago*Ford Center for the Performing Arts, New York City, renamed the Hilton Theatre, and then the Foxwoods Theatre...
|
| 2005 |
SpamalotMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
|
The Lady of the Lake |
Shubert Theatre Shubert Theatre or Shubert Theater may refer to:Theatres*Shubert Theatre , New York City, built in 1913.*Shubert Theatre , Connecticut, built in 1914.*Shubert Theatre , California, demolished in 2002....
|
Extended plays
Other charted songs
Soundtracks
| Year |
Title |
Chart positions |
| US The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
|
US
IndieThe Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
|
| 2005 |
Monty Python's Spamalot [Original Broadway Cast RecordingMonty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
]
- Released: May 3, 2005
- Label: Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
- Format: Compact disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, digital downloadA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
|
69 |
- |
| 2011 |
Grey's Anatomy: The Music Event
Released: March 31, 2011
Label: ABC Studios
Format: digital download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
|
24 |
5 |
Awards and nominations
| Year |
Ceremony |
Category |
Film or series |
Result |
| 2005 |
Tony Awards |
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical |
Monty Python's Spamalot |
|
| Outer Critics Circle Awards |
Outstanding featured Actress in a Musical |
|
| 2007 |
Imagen Foundation Awards |
Best Supporting Actress - Television |
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
|
|
| Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
|
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
|
| ALMA Awards |
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Television Series |
|
| 2008 |
Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
|
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
|
| ALMA Awards |
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Television Series |
|
| 2011 |
Image Awards |
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
|
External links