Wonder Woman of the Week: Diane Guerrero
- Sep 9, 2020
- 2 min read
The Wonder Woman this week is an incredible actress, author, and civil rights activist who uses both her on screen and off screen personas as an advocate for immigrant rights. Diane Guerrero was born in New Jersey to immigrant parents, and- at an early age- her parents and brother were deported back to Colombia while she was forced to stay behind because she was the only member of her family born in the United States. Guerrero spent her formative years under the guardianship of fellow Colombian immigrants in the US and initially started college to become an immigration lawyer. Guerrero later switched career paths to become an actress so that she could bring the diverse range of Hispanic stories to life.
Diane Guerrero's breakout role came in the Netflix television show Orange Is the New Black portraying much of her own life through her fictional character. Guerrero then joined the cast of CW's Jane the Virgin as well as several small films. In 2016, Guerrero published her memoirs of growing up without her family following their deportation with a follow-up book aimed for child audiences to help them learn more about the experiences of immigrant children and how to deal with the trauma of deportation in the United States. In 2018, Guerrero joined the cast of the DC Comic's live-action Doom Patrol television show. Guerrero portrays a character with dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder)- meaning Guerrero would need to portray dozens of different personalities while on screen.
Diane Guerrero is also a staunch advocate for immigrant rights. Guerrero volunteers with several immigrant assistance non-profits and is an ambassador for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center which educates the public on immigration issues. In 2015, President Barack Obama named Guerrero a Presidential Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization. In 2018, Guerrero earned the Philip Burton Immigration & Civil Rights Award for her ongoing work on improving the rights of immigrants in the United States.
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