Valerie Cruz was born in Elizabeth, NJ and later attended Florida State University, where her passion for acting led her to pursue a BFA in theater.
Cruz's inaugural leading role as Grace Santiago on the F/X hit series "Nip/Tuck" marked the start of her television career. Since then, she has been a chameleon in the TV and film world. In 2008 she pulled double duty on two different television series, as Maria Nolan on Kevin Williamson's drama "Hidden Palms," and as Connie Murphy in SciFi and Saturn Film's hit series "The Dresden Files." Her performance on "The Dresden Files" earned her a 2008 Alma Award nomination for Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Drama Series.
More recently Cruz can be seen on Showtime's hit series "Dexter," which led to another nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 2009 SAG Awards, and on HBO's hit series "True Blood," which she recently joined in its second season as the vampire Isabel. She has also made numerous guest and recurring appearances on such network shows as "Eleventh Hour," "Dollhouse," "Grey's Anatomy," "Invasion," "LAX," "Crossing Jordan" and "Las Vegas."
In addition to television, Cruz is beginning to make her mark on the independent film circuit with films like "La Linea," opposite Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia, and "The Devil's Tomb," opposite Cuba Gooding Junior, Ray Winstone and Ron Pearlman.
She currently resides in Los Angeles.
