Justina Machado Biography

Justina Machado was born in Chicago, Illinois to Alicia Morales Ruiz and Ismael Machado. Growing up, she attended Lane Technical College Prep High School where she was very active in drama and always participated in school plays.

Outside of school, Justina took dance at the Franklin Fine Arts Center and in her spare time she performed with the Latino Chicago Theatre Company. After graduating from Lane Tech Justina moved to New York City.

In 1993 she appeared in an episode of the American anthology television series ABC Afterschool Special and the ABC crime drama series Missing Persons, as Juanita Gonzales. A few years later, Justina made her move to Los Angeles.

Justina made her feature film debut playing the supporting role of Carmen Rodriguez in She’s So Lovely (1997), which starred Sean Penn, Robin Wright and John Travolta. In the years following, Justina bounced around between one-off roles before booking her first lead role in a feature film with Sticks (2001).

A year later she was cast on the HBO series Six Feet Under playing the role of Vanessa Diaz. What originally started as a supporting role in the series' first season evolved into a main role. The entire cast received praise for their performances and were nominated three times at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, winning in 2004.

Justina has become a consistent force on screen. In 2017 she starred in the reboot series sitcom One Day at a Time, which ran for four seasons, ending in 2020. Justina played the lead role of Penelope Alvarez, a single mother raising two children and struggling with PTSD after serving in Afghanistan. For her performance Justina received two Imagen Awards for Best Actress – Television and nominations from the Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. Justina has said she has always wanted to play a woman like Penelope who is consistently taking care of people but also taking care of herself.

In addition to her on-screen work, Justina has also lent her voice to a variety of roles in films such as Scoob! (2020), the television series Elena of Avalor, and video games such as the Gears of War franchise.

Filmography:

The Throwback (2023)
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022)
With/In: Volume 1 (2021)
All Together Now (2020)
Scoob! (2020)
Endgame (2015)
The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
The Call (2013)
A Thousand Words (2012)
In the Electric Mist (2009)
Pedro (2008)
Man Maid (2008)
The Accidental Husband (2008)
I Think I Love My Wife (2007)
Little Fugitive (2006)
Torque (2004)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Full Frontal (2002)
Dragonfly (2002)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Sticks (2001)
Swallows (1999)
The Week That Girl Died (1998)
She’s So Lovely (1997)