Actress, author Diane Guerrero to deliver 2023 John J. Rhodes Lecture presented by Barrett, The Honors College at ASU

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University has named actress and author Diane Guerrero the 2023 John J. Rhodes Chair.

As chair, Guerrero will deliver the Rhodes Lecture, “A Conversation with Diane Guerrero,” at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the Galvin Playhouse at the ASU Nelson Fine Arts Center on the Tempe campus. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required for seating. Register here.

Guerrero, who is Columbian-American, is known for her roles as inmate Maritza Ramos on the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” and Lina on “Jane the Virgin.”

Guerrero was born in New Jersey to Colombian parents and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She is the author of "In The Country We Love: My Family Divided," a memoir about her parents and brother being detained and deported when she was 14 years old.

In a Los Angeles Times op-ed, Guerrero said of that time, "I came home from school to an empty house. Lights were on and dinner had been started, but my family wasn't there. Neighbors broke the news that my parents had been taken away by immigration officers, and just like that, my stable family life was over."

Guerrero attended the Boston Arts Academy, a performing arts high school. At age 24, she decided to pursue a career in acting, and in 2011, she moved to New York City to study acting at the Susan Batson Studios.

She currently stars as Jane in the HBO Max action-drama series “Doom Patrol” and recently starred in “Blast Beat” for Sony Pictures. She also recorded voiceover for the role of Isabella in Disney’s animated feature “Encanto” with Lin Manuel Miranda.

She is a passionate human rights activist and served as the host and executive producer of an NPR podcast titled "Yeah No, I’m Not OK," where she candidly discussed mental health issues affecting communities of color.