Ana Alicia
| Ana Alicia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Ana Alicia Ortiz December 12, 1956 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Citizenship | American, Mexican |
| Alma mater |
Wellesley College University of Texas at El Paso Southwestern University |
| Occupation |
Actress Voice actress Singer Producer |
| Years active | 1977–1997 |
| Known for |
Ryan's Hope Falcon Crest |
| Spouse(s) | Gary R. Benz (1994-present; 2 children) |
Ana Alicia (born December 12, 1956) is a Mexican-born American actress. She is best known for her role as scheming heiress Melissa Agretti on the long-running primetime soap opera Falcon Crest.
She was born as Ana Alicia Ortiz in Mexico City to Carlos Celestino Ortiz and Alicia Torres Ortiz, who ran businesses in Acapulco, Mexico. She was the third of four children. Her family moved to El Paso, Texas when she was a child of 6 years old after the passing of her father. There, she lived with her grandmother, widowed mother, her uncle Louie and three siblings in a house her father had purchased for her grandmother. Upon graduating high school in 1972, Ortiz earned a scholarship to Wellesley College. Upon arrival at Wellesley College, Ana Alicia auditioned and won the lead role for Jules Feiffer's "Crawling Arnold". On summer break after her freshmen year, Ana Alicia auditioned for The Adobe Horseshoe Dinner Theatre outside El Paso, Texas. The theatre offered her a position as a recurring actress in all feature productions. The opportunity would allow her to work with name actors from Hollywood and New York and receive a large weekly salary. She accepted the offer and also acquired her actor's equity card through her term. She left Wellesley College, instead pursuing her bachelor's degree in drama at the University of Texas at El Paso to be closer to her mother and three brothers. Her first professional role under an AEA contract was as one of the Pigeon Sisters in a production of The Odd Couple starring Bob Denver at The Adobe Horseshoe Dinner Theater in El Paso.
Ana Alicia spent the next three years, performing in main stage productions at UTEP as well as having significant roles in the Adobe Horseshoe repertoire.
After earning her degree in 1977, Ortiz moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for roles in various productions. She won the part of Alicia Nieves on Ryan's Hope, a daytime soap opera, moving to New York City for taping. After fifteen months on the show, Ortiz moved back to Los Angeles part-time and kept auditioning while attending law school at Southwestern University at night back in Texas. Eventually, her acting opportunities suffered and she decided to pursue acting full-time.
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