Biographie
Cassie Benavidez grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she began creating one-woman shows at age five for neighborhood children, showcasing her flute playing, record pantomiming, dancing, and acting. In high school, she joined the drama team, traveling to nearby towns to compete in one-act plays and improvisation, earning numerous trophies. At 17, Cassie moved to Los Angeles and performed in community theatre before earning a BA in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University, motivated by a desire to understand herself and her culture. Fascinated by Latin American migration to the U.S., she visited every town along the Mexico-U.S. border and spent time living as a squatter in Honduras to experience life in a third-world country, driven by determination and hope for a better future.
After returning to the U.S. and working as an insurance investigator, Cassie shifted her focus to acting full-time, drawing on her diverse experiences to portray mothers and other Latina characters in over 50 film and television projects. Her TV appearances include popular series such as "The Shield," "Veronica Mars," "Lincoln Heights," and "Saints & Sinners." She has been featured in pilots directed by Guy Ritchie, Adam Shankman, and producer Barry Schindel, and appeared in independent films like "Clipping Adam" with Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher, "The Exorcist Chronicles," and "Stone & Ed." Additionally, she starred in the award-winning short film "Begleiter," directed by Dan Margules, with whom she co-wrote the feature screenplay "The Fifth Direction," a psychological thriller exploring the mystical realm of curanderismo. The script has received acclaim from Josephina Lopez ("Real Women Have Curves"), Stuart Gordon ("Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"), and Academy Award nominee Edward James Olmos, and is currently represented by The Firm.
