Lela Loren was born and raised in Los Angeles, California to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. She pursued an acting career after graduating from UCLA and landed her first role in the 2002 film The Battle of Shaker Heights. She has since gone on to star in television shows such as Third Watch, Dexter, and The Glades, and films like Brooklyn’s Finest and They Call Me Jeeg Robot. More recently, she was cast as Angela Valdes on the Starz series Power, a part she says came at just the right time in her career. The Unstoppable Lela Loren: How She Went from The Shield to Power
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Lela Loren has had an extensive acting career that includes various roles in television and film. Best known for her role as Angela Valdes on the TV series, Power, which airs on Starz, she has also made appearances in The Shield, Gang Related, and Hawthorne. In 2016 she was featured in a PSA campaign with noted activist and scholar Dr. Cornell West highlighting the disproportionate numbers of young black males who are incarcerated. The Unstoppable Lela Loren: How She Went from The Shield to Power
Bio
Lela Loren is an American television and film actress. Known for her leading role as Angela Valdes on the Starz television series, Power, Loren notes in interview that it took time to land her first audition, and that her early roles were in The Shield, Gang Related, and 24. Then starring alongside Dwayne Johnson in Hercules where she played Marcella who was betrothed to him by the god Hades (Loren is fluent in Spanish), the movie grossed over $109 million globally.
Family
Growing up, my family always wanted me to be a lawyer. My dad was a lawyer and my mom is an elementary school teacher so they figured I would do well in that field as well. I am the youngest of four siblings. My brother plays football and my sister is in her last year of nursing school and has been doing great. But I never found a path that felt right for me so I chose acting instead.
Physical info
At the age of three, Lela and her family moved to England. At the age of eight, they relocated back to the United States. Prior to acting, she was a competitive gymnast at the elite level. A member of USA Gymnastics on scholarship, she went on to become a State Champion in Michigan and went on to be an Alternate for Team USA at the Pan American Games in Mexico City.
Career
In the early 2000s, a woman by the name of Lela Loren had just graduated high school and decided to enroll in Long Beach City College. Living with her family in South Central Los Angeles, she had big dreams that involved becoming an actress. She landed her first audition, but it wasn’t until five years later when she landed a role on FX’s The Shield. It was then that she knew this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Awards
Loren’s first award was a Young Artist Award for best performance in a television series or movie – guest starring young actress for her role in the TV show The Shield. Her latest win was an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her lead role as Angela Valdes on the Starz hit series, Power.
Net worth
Lela Loren was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In her teens, she won a scholarship and moved to France, where she attended the International Lycée Marie Curie-Skłodowska. After graduating high school in 2007 with honors in English and French, she studied for two years at the University of Southern California, before deciding that she wanted a more hands-on education and left USC in 2009 for study at the Stella Adler Academy.
In 2010 and 2011, Ms.
sweetest time
Lela Loren may be best known for her role as Angela Valdes on the popular Starz television series, POWER. But, the Miami-born beauty has had a long career in the entertainment industry that began when she was just two years old. In 1987, Lela’s father died unexpectedly of a heart attack when she was only 8 years old.
secrets of beauty
Lela Lauren’s beauty is so notable, it seems only natural that she would want to share her secrets. So what are her top three?
1) Keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate your routine. I never use too many products, Loren tells Elle. I wash my face with Cetaphil twice a day, I use the Lucas Papaw Ointment as a night cream, and I use Almay Age Essentials Mascara. That’s it.
first love
At a very young age, I was taught by my family that you work for what you want and deserve. Â Growing up in a small town with a father who never let me forget how unimportant he thought women were in the household made me realize I would have to earn my worth and place no matter what. Â Despite this upbringing, as soon as I became a teenager and began embracing my sense of femininity, I loved dressing up in heels and putting on makeup so much that all bets were off.
first success
In 2002, she landed a lead role in the TNT series Soul Food and in 2004, she was offered the chance to audition for The Shield. After three callbacks, she got her big break and shot her first episode for the third season of the show.
dearest person
Lela is most well known for her leading role as Angela Valdes on the Starz television series, Power. It took time for her to land her first audition, and that she has played characters in The Shield, Gang Related, and Blue Streak.
Her very first auditions
With over 100 credits in her career, a variety of genres and high-profile productions, Lela notes that her early work took time. This could be attributed to the fact that she started off as a theatre actress for a number of years before making the leap into television and film.
First bit parts
Lela Loren admits that it took time for her first audition, as well as some struggle for her early roles. Starting out, she found work in the shows The Shield and Gang Related before hitting it big with Starz’s Power.
Her breakthrough role on The Shield
Soon after, she was cast in the HBO drama series, The Wire, as Detective Maritza Cruz. After that show ended in 2008, she had a starring role on the FX crime drama, Terriers. This was followed by two seasons on NBC’s Third Watch; and recurring roles on CBS’s Numb3rs and ABC’s Women’s Murder Club. In 2014 she played AUSA Angela Valdes in the first season of Starz TV series Power.
From The Shield to Power – then what?
Loren began her acting career in the late 1990s, with a stint on Law & Order and other early roles on shows like NYPD Blue and Third Watch. However, it took more than a decade for the then 36-year-old actress to land her first break. In 2012, after being out of work for two years following the end of Prison Break, she auditioned for and won the role of Angela Valdes on Starz’s hit show Power.
What happens next?
In the interview, she told us that it was a long road until she landed her first audition and had to be very patient with Hollywood. Her early roles included guest appearances on popular TV shows like The Shield, Gang Related, and Bones before her big break on FX’s TV series Sons of Anarchy in 2010.
Interesting Facts About Actors
Lela was always very athletic, which led her and her sister (Sasha Barrese) to be successful in swimming in high school. To this day, she enjoys biking and going on long runs.
Lela’s favorite film is Twelve Angry Men.
She is a fan of fashion designers like Donna Karan, Stella McCartney, Helmut Lang, and Isabel Marant.
On April 8th 2015 she wed filmmaker Tomer Sisley after 5 years of dating.
Q.&A.
Lela, what was it like transitioning from series television to film? What was your first big break into the industry? I feel incredibly fortunate that I made a seamless transition. It took me years before I landed my first audition, and then when they called back saying they wanted me in their movie, I thought it was too good to be true.
What happens to Lela Loren in Power?
Lela Loren is one of the central characters in Starz’s hit series, Power. Based on the 2008 film, Little Boy, the series follows Jay James’ transformation into a feared drug kingpin after being released from prison. In Season 3 of Power, Angela Valdes has left her FBI agent gig and returned home to Miami. Taking up her father’s old job as a judge, she tries to rebuild what she sees as broken lives.
What race is Angela from Power?
A native of Miami, Florida, Angela was born of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent. After graduating with a degree in political science, she became an assistant district attorney before going into private practice as a lawyer. A corrupt DA causes her life to spiral out of control and prompts her addiction to crack cocaine.
How tall is Angie from Power?
At 5 feet, 4 inches tall, Angela Valdes is the shortest of the main characters on the show. One thing that sets her apart is that she wears three-inch heels at all times. Her heels are usually her only clear giveaways that she’s a crime boss in hiding because they provide extra height and make her look in control.
How old is Angie from Power?
Power is one of the best, most binge-worthy shows currently on the air. It’s a television show that exudes intelligence and style, taking you through a political world where money, power, sex and drugs are all that matters. Some of my favorite characters on the show include Angela Valdes (played by actress Lela Loren), who is not only one of the most bad ass women in Hollywood right now but also someone with a whole lot of secrets.