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IMDbPro

Olga Merediz(I)

  • Actress
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Olga Merediz
Watch Olga Merediz - Cinema Reel (2023)
Play demo reel8:01
Olga Merediz - Cinema Reel (2023)
11 Videos
35 Photos
Olga Merediz is an American actress who most notably originated the role of Abuela Claudia in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical "In the Heights", for which she received a 2008 Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Merediz reprises the role in the film adaption of "In the Heights", directed by Jon M. Chu, released in 2021 by Warner Brothers. Olga also notably starred as the singing voice of Abuela Alma for the Disney animated film "Encanto" and reprised this role for "Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl" streaming on Disney+. Most recently she can be seen as a supporting role in "Somebody I Used To Know", which became the #1 streamed movie in the US on Prime Video.

Merediz was born in Guantánamo, Cuba. She left Cuba with her family when she was five years old to Miami, Florida. Thereafter, she relocated with her family to Puerto Rico where she grew up and attended American schools. Merediz graduated with a bachelor's degree from Newcomb College, the former female counterpart to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

On Broadway, Merediz had leading and supporting roles in "The Human Comedy", "Les Miserables", "Mamma Mia!", "Man of La Mancha", "Reckless" and "In the Heights". On film, she has acted with Meryl Streep in both "Marvin's Room" (1996) and "Music of the Heart" (1999), worked with Sidney Lumet in both the film "Q & A" (1990) and the TV series "100 Centre Street", and played Blanca Duarte, Eva Peron's sister, in the movie of "Evita" (1996) directed by Alan Parker.

In other film and television roles she has worked alongside Ryan Gosling, Jim Carrey, Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Lopez, Edie Falco, John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Barry Levinson, and the late great Robin Williams.

As a series regular on FX's "Saint George", playing George Lopez's feisty mother, Merediz also has recurring television roles on "Orange is the New Black", "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", "Diary of a Future President", "Bull", "Law & Order SVU", the British action comedy "Bounty Hunters", and "New Amsterdam" now streaming on Netflix. Olga will be featured in the upcoming Apple TV series "Jane" based on Jane Goodall.

Merediz produced a documentary based on her real life events, and penned a television pilot script also based on her Cuban-American heritage.
BornFebruary 15
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    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornFebruary 15
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations total

    Photos35

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    Known for

    Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Corey Hawkins, Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Barrera, Dascha Polanco, Leslie Grace, and Anthony Ramos in In the Heights (2021)
    In the Heights
    7.2
    • Abuela Claudia
    • 2021
    Michael Weatherly and Darrin Hickok in The Necklace (2016)
    Bull
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Judge Ollis
    Dirk Blocker, Andre Braugher, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Joel McKinnon Miller, Andy Samberg, and Stephanie Beatriz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)
    Brooklyn Nine-Nine
    8.4
    TV Series
    • Julia Diaz
    Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, and Eva Mendes in The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
    The Place Beyond the Pines
    7.3
    • Malena
    • 2012

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Final Hour
      • Aunt Marta
      • Post-production
    • Eternity
      • Completed



    • Aimee Comes First
      Short
      • 2025
    • Jane (2023)
      Jane
      5.7
      TV Series
      • Adriana
      • 2025
    • Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
      Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Judge Roberta Martinez
      • Veronica Nash
      • 2003–2025
    • Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Dee Bradley Baker, and Rachel Zegler in Spellbound (2024)
      Spellbound
      5.5
      • The General (voice)
      • 2024
    • Pupstruction (2023)
      Pupstruction
      6.0
      TV Series
      • Grandma Dee
      • 2023–2024
    • Alma's Way (2021)
      Alma's Way
      7.2
      TV Series
      • Dona Carmen
      • Dana Carmen
      • 2022–2024
    • Jay Ellis and Alison Brie in Somebody I Used to Know (2023)
      Somebody I Used to Know
      5.7
      • Joanne 'JoJo'
      • 2023
    • Randall Park, J.B. Smoove, Madeleine Arthur, Tyler Alvarez, and Kamaia Fairburn in Blockbuster (2022)
      Blockbuster
      5.1
      TV Series
      • Connie
      • 2022
    • Stephanie Beatriz, Olga Merediz: The Family Madrigal (2021)
      Stephanie Beatriz, Olga Merediz: The Family Madrigal
      8.3
      Music Video
      • Abuela Alma (voice)
      • 2021
    • Wilmer Valderrama, Angie Cepeda, María Cecilia Botero, Carolina Gaitan, Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero, Adassa, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Rhenzy Feliz, Jess Darrow, and Mauro Castillo in Encanto (2021)
      Encanto
      7.2
      • Abuela Alma (singing voice)
      • 2021
    • Diary of a Future President (2020)
      Diary of a Future President
      6.7
      TV Series
      • Francisca
      • 2020–2021
    • Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Corey Hawkins, Stephanie Beatriz, Melissa Barrera, Dascha Polanco, Leslie Grace, and Anthony Ramos in In the Heights (2021)
      In the Heights
      7.2
      • Abuela Claudia
      • 2021
    • Michael Weatherly and Darrin Hickok in The Necklace (2016)
      Bull
      7.1
      TV Series
      • Judge Ollis
      • 2019–2020
    • Isla Fisher and Jillian Bell in Godmothered (2020)
      Godmothered
      6.1
      • Beth
      • 2020
    • Nature (1982)
      Nature
      8.9
      TV Series
      • Narrator
      • 2016–2020

    Director



    • Olga Merediz and Magdalena Oconor in My Two Moms - A Story of Separation (2022)
      My Two Moms - A Story of Separation
      • Director
      • 2022

    Producer



    • Olga Merediz and Magdalena Oconor in My Two Moms - A Story of Separation (2022)
      My Two Moms - A Story of Separation
      • producer
      • 2022

    Videos11

    Olga Merediz - Cinema Reel (2023)
    Demo Reel 8:01
    Olga Merediz - Cinema Reel (2023)
    Evita: 15th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:17
    Evita: 15th Anniversary Edition
    Evita: 15th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:17
    Evita: 15th Anniversary Edition
    Evita: 15th Anniversary Edition
    Clip 1:29
    Evita: 15th Anniversary Edition
    Trailer #3
    Trailer 1:31
    Trailer #3
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:24
    Official Trailer
    UK Trailer
    Trailer 1:01
    UK Trailer

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Born
      • February 15
      • Guantánamo, Cuba
    • Other works
      Played "Housekeeper" in "Man of La Mancha", a musical by Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion and Dale Wasserman (National Theater, Washington, District of Columbia, USA).

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Nominated for the 2008 Tony Award (New York City) for Supporting or Features Actress in a Musical for "In the Heights".

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