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Zoey Roommate Dana
Background:
"Yes, look is one of the things they look for in acting, but
it's not just that. You can have someone that is absolutely
beautiful, but they could not act at all. When it comes to look-wise,
I personally don't think they should go for look because there are so
many people out there that are amazing actors and they're like, 'Oh
wait, you can't play the part because you don't look a certain way.'
I think look-wise shouldn't be a big deal in acting." Kristin
Herrera.
Starting out in commercials at age 6, Kristin Herrera got her big
break at age 15 when she was cast as Zoey's (played by Jamie Lynn
Spears) sarcastic roommate Dana Cruz (2005), on Nickelodeon's Emmy
Award-nominated live-action sitcom, "Zoey 101," which
earned her a Young Artist Award for Best Young Ensemble Performance
in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama).
"I think I am my worst critic. I feel like I can always
improve." Kristin Herrera.
Meanwhile, the 5' 4" Latin/Hispanic with brown eyes and
naturally dark brown hair has guest-starred in such TV shows as "NYPD
Blue," "7th Heaven," "The Division," "The
Bernie Mac Show," "ER," "General Hospital,"
and "Without a Trace." She also appeared in the 2007 films
"Freedom Writers" and "Resurrection Mary."
"Honesty, being loyal, just loving you for who you are and
just always being there for you. That's my perfect idea of
boyfriend." Kristin Herrera.
Latin/Hispanic Lineage
Childhood and Family:
A Latin/Hispanic descendant, Kristin Lisa Herrera was born on
February 21, 1989, in Los Angeles, California, where she attended
Hillcrest Christian School in Granada Hills, California. She has two
older brothers, Ryan and Justin.
"Everyone's so much fun to work with. Jamie Lynn's - she's a
very, very sweet girl, she's very down to earth, she's just fun to be
around." Kristin Herrera.
The oldest teenage girl on “Zoey 101,” Herrera is good
friends with co-star Jamie Lynn Spears and learned how to surf with
her. She is also friends with Brenda Song and Ashley Tisdale.
"I would like to give my friend Brenda Song acknowledgment
and sincere thanks. She been my inspiration and coaching me ever
since I started going out theatrically. I owe my acting career to
her. Brenda this is from my heart to yours!!! I luv ya & having
the greatest time of my life. Your more like the sister I never had."
Kristin Herrera.
Herrera, who won West Coast National Tap Champion, spent several
years mastering ballet, jazz, and hip-hop dancing. She also enjoys
basket ball, surfing, and snowboarding. She played basketball for
Hillcrest.
"I love California. Everything out here is fun. There's so
many things to do, like go to the mall, go down Melrose. So many
places - to the beach. You can basically go anywhere and you'll have
fun." Kristin Herrera.
Keep Improving
Career:
"I was walking in the market one time with my mom, and a
manager came up because - well now I always straighten my hair, but
then I had big brown curly hair and she's like, 'Oh you should be in
acting. She seems like she'd be good in doing commercials.' So my mom
looked into it and got me into an agent." Kristin Herrera.
Entering the show biz in commercials since she was six, Kristin
Herrera began acting on television at age 11 when she played an
uncredited guest role on the longest-running ABC Daytime American
soap opera, "General Hospital." She followed it up with
more guest appearances in such TV shows as ABC's Emmy Award-winning
police drama "NYPD Blue," the CW family drama "7th
Heaven," Lifetime cop/crime drama "The Division," FOX
sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," and the hit NBC medical drama
"ER."
Recalling her appearance on "The Bernie Mac Show,"
Herrera said, "The day we shot it was Halloween so everyone was
dressed up — just like Bernie Mac was so fun to work with,
along with his costars. I think that was the most fun."
After returning as a guest in a December 2004 episode of "General
Hospital," Herrera snagged her most popular role to date, as
Zoey's (played by Jamie Lynn Spears) sarcastic roommate Dana Cruz,
who constantly fights with another roommate, Nicole (played by Alexa
Nikolas), on Nickelodeon's Emmy Award-nominated live-action sitcom,
"Zoey 101." She stayed on the show during its first season
(2005) and left after her character was accepted by a Europian
student exchange program. Along with the show's cast members, Herrera
won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Ensemble Performance in a TV
Series (Comedy or Drama) in 2006.
About her character in the teen show, Herrera said, "Dana and
I are two completely different people. Dana is very sarcastic, she's
not afraid to say anything, if she has something on her mind, she'll
say it. Basically everyone would call her 'bossy'. In real life, I'm
completely not like that. I'm nice, I make people laugh; I make a
fool out of myself. One thing we might both have in common is that we
both like basketball."
She also commented about her co-star Jamie Lynn Spears and her pop
star sister Britney, saying "I thought Britney Spears was
beautiful and gorgeous, but I didn't really listen to that type of
music because I'm not a really big pop, r&b, and rap person, I'm
a rock girl! I was so excited to work with Jamie Lynn."
Herrera subsequently guest-starred in a May 2006 episode of CBS
FBI missing persons unit drama, "Without a Trace." In the
following year, Herrera, who has said she wanted to work with Jessica
Alba, Brittany Murphy, Jennifer Lopez, and Reese Witherspoon, began
appearing in films. She was cast in Richard LaGravenese-directed
crime/drama starring Hilary Swank, "Freedom Writers," which
based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary by teacher Erin Gruwell,
and in Sean Michael Beyer's thriller starring Kevin Schmidt and
Pamela Noble, "Resurrection Mary" (both in 2007).
"When I'm working with people that are really, really big and
everyone knows their name I'm like, 'Oh my gosh,' I hope I do good, I
hope I don't mess up.' Usually I worry before I go in, but once I'm
in there I'm like, 'You know what, I can do this.'" Kristin
Herrera.
Awards:
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