Justina Machado

Justina Machado
Machado at the 2014 Alma Awards
Born	(1972-09-06) September 6, 1972 (age 44) Chicago, Illinois U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present

Justina Machado (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Vanessa Diaz on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under, and as Brenda on the drama Queen of the South. In 2017, Machado appeared on the Netflix show, One Day at a Time, in her first starring TV role.

Machado was born in Chicago, Illinois. Machado's parents are from Puerto Rico, though Machado's paternal grandmother was from Cuba. Machado's parents had two children but subsequently divorced. Her mother remarried and had three children. Machado had a traditional quinceañera. She said her family was poor, and that she grew up in the Northwest Side neighborhood of Chicago. Machado said she was raised Catholic.

Machado was very active in drama, always participating in her school plays. She also took dance at Franklin Fine Arts Center. In 1986, Machado attended Lane Technical College Prep High School. During her spare time performed with the Latino Chicago Theater Company.

In 1990, after graduating from Lane Tech, Machado moved to New York City. The experience which she had gained as a performer with the Latino Chicago Theater Company helped open the doors for her in that city. Soon, she was offered a job as a professional actress in Los Angeles, California. Machado moved to Los Angeles and in 1996, she landed her first two acting roles. She was cast as "Elsa" in the TV series NYPD Blue episode #311, and she was also cast as "Val Cho" in the movie made for television No One Would Tell.

On June 10, 2001, Machado auditioned for the TV series Six Feet Under and was cast as Vanessa Diaz, originally a supporting character, later evolving into one of the series' main characters. Machado and her cast mates were honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series". The series completed its final season in 2005.