Scrubs

Background:

“Television is opening up to a lot of new avenues as it gets competition from cable and reality so any (genre) offers a challenge.” Judy Reyes

Actress Judy Reyes was propelled toward stardom playing the no-nonsense nurse Carla Espinosa on the NBC acclaimed sitcom “Scrubs” (2001-present), from which she was handed an ALMA award and Imagen nominations. She had previously guest starred in a number of popular series, including “Law & Order” (1992), “NYPD Blue” (1996), “Cosby” (1997), “The Sopranos” (2000) and “Third Watch” (2001). She also had a recurring role on HBO's “Oz” (1999), playing Tina Rivera. On the movie front, Reyes appeared in “Jack and His Friends” (1992), “Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five” (1998), “Godzilla” (1998), Martin Scorcese's “Bringing out the Dead” (1999), “Home Invaders” (2001), “Washington Heights” (2002), “Dirty” (2005), “Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee” (2005) and “Our House” (2006, TV). She also produced and acted in the short film “Taino” (1999) and directed “The Passion,” a 2007 short starring and written by Candice Coke.

In 2008, Reyes appeared in the dramatic movie “The Poker Club” and 2009 brought episode roles in the series “Scrubs Interns,” “Castle” and “Hawthorne.” In addition to her role in “Scrubs,” Reyes appeared in the thriller “Buried” (2010) and is currently filming the comedy “Without Men.”

Reyes is noted as the founder of the Manhattan-based Labyrinth Theatre Company, where she has served as an actor and producer on countless productions since 1992. Other members include Eric Bogosian, Sam Rockwell, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Judy’s twin sister Joselin Reyes.

Bronx Girl

Childhood and Family:

One of four daughters, Judy Reyes was born on November 5, 1967, in the Bronx, New York. Judy has a twin sister named Joselin Reyes, who is also an actress. Another sister, Fidias Reyes, also pursues an acting career. Judy attended Hunter College in Manhattan, New York.

Judy is divorced from writer/director Edwin M. Figueroa. She has a daughter named Leila with her boyfriend George Valencia. Leila was born on November 27, 2009.

Labyrinth Theatre

Career:

Discovering a love for the performing arts while a student at Hunter College, Judy Ryes co-founded the Labyrinth Theatre Company, a multi-cultural acting group based in Manhattan in 1992 with 12 other founding members that included Sam Rockwell, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz and Lauren Velez. She maintained her affiliation with the group by working as an actor and producer on a number of their productions.

It was also in 1992 that Reyes got her first taste in front of the film camera when she was cast in the role of Rosie in the independent comedy “Jack and His Friends.” Her Labyrinth collaborator Sam Rockwell also acted in the film. Shortly after, she could be seen making guest appearances in a series of shows like NBC's “Law & Order” (1992), USA's “Street Justice” (1993), NBC's “The Cosby Mysteries” (1994), “New York Undercover” (1994), CBS’ “Schoolbreak Special” (1995), ABC's “NYPD Blue” (1996) and CBS' “Cosby” (1997). She made her television film debut in “The Prosecutors” (1996), costarring with Stockard Channing and Michelle Forbes and directed by Rod Holcomb.

Reyes next supported Marlene Forte and Gary Perez n “Lena's Dream” in 1997 and in 1998 played Maria Lentini in “No Exit.” Also in 1998, she appeared as a waitress in the Richard Schenkman directed “Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five,” opposite Jon Cryer, Rick Stear and Ione Skye. She also had an unaccredited part in the sci-fi thriller “Godzilla” (1998), which was directed by Roland Emmerich. After portraying a detective in a TV film helmed by D.J Caruso called “Mind Prey” (1999), Reyes landed the role of an ICU nurse on the Martin Scorcese drama “Bringing out the Dead” (1999). In the movie, Reyes worked with such big names as actors Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette and John Goodman. The same year, she received a recurring role on the HBO prison series “Oz,” where she portrayed Tina, the wife of correctional officer Eugene Rivera. “Taino” (1999), a 30 minute short directed by Edwin M. Figueroa, marked her debut as a producer. It was screened at the 1999 New York International Latino Film Festival.

In 2000, Reyes landed a spot on the hit HBO series “The Sopranos,” where she played Paulie Walnuts' girlfriend. She followed it up with a part in the short term series “Madigan Men” (2000), a recurring role on two episodes of the popular NBC show “Third Watch” (2001) and a guest stint in an episode of “100 Centre Street” (2001). She also portrayed Maria Cruz in the TV film “WW3” (2001), opposite Timothy Hutton and Lane Smith, and acted in the independent film “Home Invaders” (2001), which was written and directed by Gregory Wilson.

However, Reyes did not score a huge breakthrough until she landed the role of Carla Espinosa on the NBC comedy series “Scrubs.” Debuting on October 2, 2001, the sitcom won Emmys and Reyes earned a 2006 ALMA award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Series. In 2007, she was nominated for an Imagen Award in the category of Best Actress - Television.

Despite her busy TV schedule, Reyes also appeared in the film “Washington Heights” (2002), which starred Manny Perez as a young illustrator named Carlos Ramirez, worked with Peter Riegert and Isabella Rossellini in the comedy “King of the Corner” (2004), shared the screen with Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the drama “Dirty” (2005) and portrayed Vanessa Dupree on “Glow Ropes: The Rise and Fall of a Bar Mitzvah Emcee” (2005). “Glow Ropes” picked up a 2005 HBO New York Latino Film Festival award for Best Film. In 2006, she starred with Doris Roberts in the Hallmark Original Movie “Our House” and played Tyler in Neil LaBute's staging of “Some Girl(s).”

In 2007, Reyes made her directorial debut with “The Passion,” a short film in which she starred with Candice Coke and Richard Collins. She also starred as Detective Patterson in the thriller “The Poker Club” (2008), which was based on a novel by Ed Gorman and directed by Tim McCann. In 2010, Reyes portrayed a 411 operator in “Buried” and will appear as Magnolia in director Gabriela Tagliavini’s upcoming “Without Men.”

Awards:

• ALMA: Outstanding Actress in a Television Series, “Scrubs,” 2006