Born and raised in the island of enchantment, bi-lingual actress Cynthia Santiago is a true performing artist. She is trained in Meisner and the Chubbuck Technique, but her journey began with the study of classical ballet. Training form the age of seven, she auditioned for Ballet Concierto, the largest ballet company in Puerto Rico, and was accepted into the program on scholarship. She was taught by many world renowned dancers. When senior year in high school came, she dreamed of moving to America and performing on Broadway. This dream seemed to move closer as her father’s transfer at work brought her family to Texas. She joined the dance program at the University of North Texas with hopes to later get into musical theater.

After illness forced an extended break from the program, she realized her opportunity to rejoin ballet had passed. She tried her hand at acting and found a new passion. Her discipline as a dancer and love of acting has resulted in a successful career in a relatively short time. She is constantly training and perfecting her craft. Santiago is not only interested in just becoming a top actress but breaking the stereotypes of what kind of roles Latinas in the industry play.

“Studios and producers and directors have this idea all Latinas look a certain way.  We come in every color; every size in the world, and it’s just really hard sometimes to say look just because I look like this I have to be a Latina maid so it’s just breaking that stereotype worldwide.”

With her passion for creating multidimensional characters, Santiago is well on her way to push through Hollywood and crack the mold for Latina actress everywhere. She has been cast in several films, shorts, TV shows and many commercials and print ads. Director Ramin Bahrani mentioned her as one of the “great actors” he worked with on the film “99 Homes” at its Sundance’15 premiere in Park City, Utah.