Justina Machado

02 Sep, 1972 | Chicago, Illinois

Actress

Biography

Justina Machado is a Puerto Rican-American actress. She is perhaps best known for role as Vanessa Diaz in the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. Early life Machado was born in Chicago, Illinois, where her family moved to from Puerto Rico. There her parents met and were married. The couple had two children and subsequently divorced. Her mother remarried and had three children. Machado was very active in drama, always participating in her school plays. In 1986, she attended Lane Technical College Prep High School ("Lane Tech") and during her spare time performed with the Latino Chicago Theater Company. In 1990, she graduated from Lane Tech and 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. She moved to Los Angeles and in 1996, Machado 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. Career - Six Feet Under On June 10, 2001, Machado auditioned for the TV series Six Feet Under and was cast as "Vanessa Diaz", a supporting role character which evolved into a "regular" character in the series. Machado and her castmates were honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series". The series entered its fifth and final season in 2005. Machado has also appeared in the Canadian television series 1-800-Missing as "Sunny Estrada". Films Machado has participated in over 14 films. Amongst her most notable roles so far have been Carmen Rodriguez in She\'s So Lovely starring John Travolta and Sean Penn, a supporting role in Full Frontal, Isabella Hudson in Final Destination 2 with director David R. Ellis, Agent Herderson in Torque starring Ice Cube, Natalia in Little Fugitive, and she is currently cast as Teresa in Man Maid which is in its post-production stages and as "Sofia" in The Accidental Husband which is currently being filmed. Theatre She has also made appearances on stage. Neil LaBute\'s Some Girl(s) at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles. She participated in the productions of Blade to the Heat and Black Butterfly at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.