Sara Ramirez was born on August 31, 1975 in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. She moved to San Diego, California when she was 8 years old. She attended the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts then Julliard in New York City. She first played on Broadway, earning a Tony Award in 2005 for her performance in Monty Python's Spamalot. ABC loved her in this role and offered her a spot on any show on ABC of her choosing. She chose Grey's Anatomy because she was a fan of the show (according to an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show). She has also received a Screen Actor's Guild Award along with the entire cast of Grey's Anatomy. She is fluent in both English and Spanish.

Filmography:

1. You've Got Mail (1998) as Rose, Zabras Cashier

2. UmJammer Lammy (1999) voice of Lammy

3. Star Patrol (2000) as Lt. Vena

4. Spin City (2000 - 1 episode) as Carol

5. Third Watch (2000 - 1 episode) as Gwen Girard

6. Welcome to New York (2000 - 1 episode) as Linda

7. PaRappa the Rapper 2 (2001) voice of Lammy

8. Law and Order:Special Victim's Unit (2000) as Lisa Peres

9. Washington Heights (2002) as Belkis

10. Baseball Wives (2002) as Gabriella Martinez

11. Law and Order:Special Victim's Unit (2002 - 1 episode) as Mrs. Barera

12. Chicago (2002) female ensemble

13. Spiderman (2002) as cop at carjacking

14. As the World turns (2003 - 1 episode) as Hannah

15. Naked Hotel (2003)

16. NYPD Blue (2004 - 1 episode) as Irma Pacheco

17. Grey's Anatomy (2006 - present) as Calliope (Callie) Torres

selected Broadway performances:

The Capeman (1998)

Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm (1999)

Vagina Monologues

Monty Python's Spamalot (2005)

 information obtained from wikipedia.org, imdb.com