Congressman Luis Gutierrez
Tony Plana
Actor Tony Plana, one of the stars of the hit ABC television series Ugly Betty, was the keynote speaker at the Latino Leaders Luncheon Series™ event on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Mickey Ibarra, Founder and Chairman of the Latino Leaders Network, said “As an actor, director, producer and educator, Tony Plana has helped open cultural opportunities for numerous Latinos, both as a role model and an advocate for literacy and the performing arts.”
Tony Plana was born in Havana, Cuba and emigrated to the United States in 1960. Educated at Loyola High School, Los Angeles and Loyola-Marymount University, he earned a Bachelor’s degree through the Honors Program in Literature and Theatre Arts, graduating magna cum laude. He received professional training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England. He has appeared in numerous films and television series, including An Officer and a Gentleman, Three Amigos!, Hill Street Blues, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The West Wing, 24, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, just to name a few.
Most recently, Plana starred as Ignacio Suarez, the widowed father to America Ferrera’s Ugly Betty, in ABC’s landmark, groundbreaking hit series for which he received the 2006 Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy and an ALMA Award nomination for best supporting actor in a television comedy. It is the first Spanish series to be adapted to English for a major American network and has received the highest ratings and the most critical acclaim of any Latino-based show in the history of television.