Wanda De Jesus (born August 26, 1958) is an American character actress.
Early life De Jesus was born and raised in the Little Italy neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of parents who came to New York from Puerto Rico. She attended the High School of Performing Arts and earned a degree in performing arts in 1981 from the City College of New York.
Career In 1986, De Jesus made both her stage and television debuts: starring opposite Robert De Niro in the Broadway play Cuba and His Teddy Bear and playing a recurring role on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World. In 1987, De Jesus starred in the short-lived ABC prison drama series, Mariah. She later made guest starring appearances on L.A. Law, Tales from the Darkside and Matlock.
In 1990, De Jesus had supporting roles in the action comedy film Downtown and the science fiction film RoboCop 2. She was the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara from 1991 to 1992. In 1994 she returned to the big screen, starring in the crime drama The Glass Shield, and appeared alongside Jimmy Smits in Death and the Maiden at the Mark Taper Forum. The following year she was a regular cast member in the short-lived drama series Live Shot. She guest-starred on Babylon 5, Touched by an Angel, NYPD Blue and Nash Bridges. She later appeared in films The Insider (1999), Flawless (1999), Once in the Life (2000) and Ghosts of Mars (2001). In 2002, De Jesus starred opposite Clint Eastwood in the mystery thriller film Blood Work playing Graciella Rivers, a Latino woman still enraged over the murder of her sister. From 2002 to 2003, she had a recurring role on the CBS crime series CSI: Miami as MDPD Detective Adelle Sevilla. In 2007, De Jesus starred in the crime drama film, Illegal Tender.
In 2010, De Jesus had a recurring role as Iris Blanco, the mayor of Pine Valley in the ABC soap opera, All My Children. Later in 2010, De Jesus was cast as the head of the police squad on the NBC series Law & Order: Los Angeles, but the role – which had already been changed significantly before De Jesus joined – was changed again and reshot with a different actress after two episodes had been filmed. In 2012, she had a recurring role in the FX crime drama series, Sons of Anarchy. In 2022, she had a recurring role in the Paramount+ psychological thriller Fatal Attraction.
Personal life De Jesus has been in a relationship with actor Jimmy Smits since 1986. They live together in Los Angeles.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1990DowntownLuisa Diaz1990RoboCop 2Estevez1994Carmen Munoz1995Captain Nuke and the Bomber BoysLeslie Moore1997Executive PowerDebra SkellyVideo1999Time to PayMagdalena ScanlonVideo1999FlawlessKaren2000Once in the LifeJackie2001Ghosts of MarsAkooshay2002Blood WorkGraciella Rivers2007Illegal TenderMillie De Leon2009Capt. Diaz2013Water & PowerOfficer Siler
Television Year Title Role Notes1986Another WorldGomezTV series1987MariahLeda CervantesRegular role1987L.A. LawMs. Santiago"The Wizard of Odds"1988The Pursuit of HappinessMrs. Lopez"That Pair of Eyes"1988Tales from the DarksideTelephone (voice)"Payment Overdue"1990Singer & SonsMary Garza"Our's Not to Reason Why Shmy"1990Lucky ChancesSuzitaTV miniseries1990LifestoriesDr. Duran"Frank Brody"1990MatlockAlana Leon"The Fighter"1991Equal JusticeSuzanne Garner"Opening Farewell"1991Fatal FriendshipDarleneTV film1991–1992Santa BarbaraSantana AndradeMain role1992Civil WarsLinda Rodriguez"Tape Fear"1995Babylon 5Sarah"Hunter, Prey"1995SeaQuest DSVComm. Pamela Lopez"Chains of Command"1995Live ShotLiz VegaRegular role1996Touched by an AngelSue Cheney"Jacob's Ladder"1996NYPD BlueDet. Martina Escobar"Girl Talk"1996Spider-Man: The Animated SeriesDr. Sylvia Lopez (voice)"Sins of the Fathers Chapter 12: The Spot"1996Diagnosis: MurderDet. Emma Lopez"Murder in the Family"1996ProfilerCatherine Evers"Cruel and Unusual"1997Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every ChildXochitl (voice)"The Shoemaker and the Elves"1997Gold CoastVivian OnzolaTV film1997Brooklyn SouthDet. Marina McConnell"A Reverend Runs Through It"1997Nash BridgesAgent Janet Reynolds"Bombshell"1998Vengeance UnlimitedDistrict Atty. Rosalie Hanson"Dishonorable Discharge"1999Promised LandNina Charles"Finale"2000Pensacola: Wings of GoldAli"At Poverty Level"2002Almost a WomanMamiTV film2002ThievesKatrina Epstein"The Green and the Black", "Home Is Where the Heist Is"2002–2003CSI: MiamiDet. Adell SevillaRecurring role2005DetectiveSanchezTV film2010Law & Order: LALt. Arleen Gonzalez"Hollywood"2010All My ChildrenIris BlancoRecurring role2012Sons of AnarchyCarlaRecurring role2013BlueCynthia"Everything Is a Test"2015Letter Never SentEdithTV film2020GentefiedDelfinaRecurring Role2023Fatal AttractionMarcella LevyaRecurring Role
Awards and nominations Year Group Award Result Film/Show 1996 NCLR Bravo Award Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Live Shot 2003Imagen Award Best Actress in a Television Film Almost a Woman 2007 Best Actress in a Film Illegal Tender
References
External links