Biography
Charlie Alejandro was born Shirley Jaudicia Cordero in San Jose, Costa Rica. Her birth mother abandoned her at age 2, and she was raised by her godmother’s family. In 1969, her adoptive mother, Maria Otilia Mainieri-Guerrero, brought 7-year-old Charlie to the United States. After years of her birth name being mispronounced as "Charlie" by the predominantly Latino community, she changed the spelling to match the pronunciation.
Charlie was always passionate about acting and the stage. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., she was cast as Lucy in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Since her English was limited, the nuns taught her to memorize her lines phonetically. She received widespread praise and was invited to audition for WBGH’s local kids’ show "Zoom." Her mother refused to take her to the audition, so her brother-in-law took her with her mother’s knowledge. When she received a callback, her dreams of acting ended as her mother refused to take her or sign consent forms, discouraging her from pursuing acting further.
Growing up in a low-income, dysfunctional home, Charlie left at 17 after the birth of her first son, Derek. She and her first husband had four sons: Derek, Eric, J. Alexander, and Christopher. Charlie earned her GED after Derek’s birth, obtained her medical assisting certificate after her second son was born, and became a Metropolitan Police officer in Boston after her third son’s birth. She was the first female on the tactical unit (SOU) in Massachusetts and one of the few women on the team. She served as an entry team member, trainer, search and rescue, and intel officer until the Metropolitan Police merged with the State Police, Capitol Police, and Registry Police in 1992 under Governor Wells’ cost-cutting measures.
After the merger, she served as an alternate on the STOP team and was assigned to the State Police’s Weed and Seed program in Chelsea, MA, which was under state receivership and investigation for police corruption. Charlie divorced her first husband in 1994 and remarried Mel Alejandro in 1996. Mel brought four children into the marriage—two boys and two girls—and they later fostered a son, making a family of nine. She took early retirement from the state police to raise their blended family.
During this time, Charlie worked as a community organizer for the City of Lowell, MA, a criminal justice instructor, security adviser, and motivational speaker. She was cast as a lead in several independent films, but funding issues prevented their completion. She also did voice-over work and instructional videos in both English and Spanish.
