Biography
Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and raised in Jacksonville, Ala., Rodriguez grew up in a military family that would routinely attend the Soldier Show, an annual song-and-dance production with members of the United States Army. Rodriguez's initial plan was to follow in her family's footsteps and join the military (wanting to be a JAG officer) while also being a Soldier Show member. Continuing her love of the arts in high school, she was a member of the choir and band, playing clarinet, and decided to participate in the school musical her senior year. When it came time to apply for college, she originally planned to join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program but ended up studying art with a concentration in political science and Spanish, minoring in theatre; choosing theatre to obtain a scholarship. Rodriguez graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alabama. After college, she returned to work at the Jacksonville McDonald's (where she'd worked all through high school) to save for a move to New York City. While in New York, she was preparing for a career in public service and planning to take the foreign service test to become an ambassador - wanting to represent a Spanish speaking country. Subsequently, Rodriguez heard about an audition for a national tour of "Dora the Explorer" and auditioned on a whim. She booked the tour and was on the road for nearly two years. After an injury during the tour, she moved back home to Alabama to recuperate. Now having to pay for her medical expenses, she booked a union job in Atlanta and has been working ever since. She appeared in the multicultural comedy film "The Valet" opposite Eugenio Derbez, Samara Weaving and Max Greenfield. Additional film credits include "The In Between" (Paramount+), "Night Teeth" (Netflix), "The Suicide Squad" (Warner Bros.) and her feature film debut in "Pitch Perfect 3" (Universal Pictures). On the television side, Rodriguez starred on the long-running crime-drama series "The Blacklist" alongside James Spader. Joining the series in the ninth season, she played Weecha Xiu, Raymond 'Red' Reddington's bodyguard. Additional television credits include Amer Rose on "Twisted Metal," ADA Maria Delgado on NBC's "Law & Order: Organized Crime," CBS's "Bull" and "NCIS: New Orleans," BET's "Bigger" and "Long Slow Exhale," Amazon's "Tell Me Your Secrets," HBO's "The Outsider," USA Network's "The Purge," Showtime's "Ray Donavan," AMC's "Lodge 49" and IFC's "Stan Against Evil." Rodriguez supports local causes in Atlanta and politics including The Arc Georgia, Planned Parenthood of Georgia, B.L.A.C.T. ATL, Latinas in Media Atlanta and Out of Hand Theater Atlanta to name a few. She is also a founding member of the social justice organization, Coalition for Racial Equity (CREAT), which strives to remove barriers that prevent full and equitable inclusion of Black, Indigenous and people of color from participating in all aspects of theater-making. Their goal is to fundamentally reshape the Atlanta theater community so that it prioritizes opportunities for the historically underserved and underrepresented. In her free time, Rodriguez enjoys bike riding, watching television and film, and studying her craft. In addition, she continues to have a passion for the law and public service and plans to pursue that career path as well.
