Lana Parrilla is the American actor and director who portrays the Evil Queen, Regina Mills, the Evil Queen (serum), Roni and the Evil Queen (Wish Realm) on ABC's Once Upon a Time.
Biography
Lana Maria Parrilla was born on July 15, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York[1] to an Sicilian mother, who is a painter,[2] and Puerto Rican Sam Parrilla, an ex-Major League baseball player.[3] Due to her parents' early separation,[3] she lived with her mother until she was ten years old, and moved into the household of her father.[4] She grew up encouraged into creativity and pursuing one's dreams. Beginning at a young age, she was constantly making home videos with her family, signaling her desire even then to be an actor. After graduating from high school, Lana moved to Los Angeles to study acting and began honing her craft in local theater productions.
One of Lana's earliest on-camera jobs was an appearance in the Steven Spielberg action pilot Semper Fi before being cast on the ABC hit comedy series Spin City. Known for creating distinctive characters, she has been a regular on such critically acclaimed shows as Boomtown (for which she received the Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress), 24 and Swingtown. She also guest starred on various shows such as NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under and Lost.[5]
While in Israel, she became engaged to her boyfriend Fred Di Blasio on April 28, 2013.[6] Some time before Lana began filming Once Upon a Time's fourth season, the couple secretly wedded.[7] On April 14, 2019, Lana announced she was no longer married.[8]
She made her directorial debut during the seventh season with the episode "Chosen".[9]
Trivia
- Lana appears in more episodes than any other cast member.
- She and Robert Carlyle are the only two cast members to appear as a series regular in every season.
- She learned to speak Spanish in the city of Granada in 2009. [citation needed]
- Her favorite Disney character is Ursula from "The Little Mermaid".[10]
- Lana's lip scar, which is visible in some on-screen scenes, is due to a dog attack she experienced at age ten.[11]
- Lana would most like to play Prince Charming, and then switch to Mr. Gold when she is bored of sword fighting and riding horses, although she loves to do the latter.[12]
- During her appearance in the Once Upon a Time episode, "The Cricket Game", Lana portrayed Regina Mills as the disguised form of Cora.
- During her appearance in the Once Upon a Time episode "It's Not Easy Being Green", Lana portrayed the Evil Queen as the disguised form of Rumplestiltskin.
- During her appearance in the Once Upon a Time episode "The Dark Swan", Lana portrayed Regina Mills as the disguised form of Zelena.
- During her appearance in the Once Upon a Time episode "Sisterhood", Lana portrayed Regina Mills as the disguised form of Gothel.
- Her former[8] stepson is Jack di Blasio,[13] who played one of the Lost Boys in several episodes of Once Upon a Time.
- Her favorite Once Upon a Time episode is "Page 23", along with "The Stable Boy" and "Pilot".[14]
- Considers the outfit she wore[15] as the Evil Queen during the Once Upon a Time episode, "Lost Girl", her favorite.[16]
- She later stated that the crinkled rubber dress that she wore in the final confrontation between Snow White and the Evil Queen made her feel "like I was wrapped up in a fashionable garbage bag".[17]
- After the announcement that the seventh season would be the final season of the series, she wrote the following on Instagram:
- I’ll never forget the day I walked in to audition as Evil Queen Regina for Eddy and Adam. I was wearing all black (of course) and had this crazy, dreadlock looking wrap draped over my shoulders. I had no idea where this pilot was going to go but I knew it was something special. I walked out of the audition room and down the hall was an old photograph of the OG Evil Queen herself. I knew then, something magical was about to begin. It’s been 7 years now and I couldn’t be prouder of what we all have created. Adam and Eddy had this crazy idea in their minds years ago and it turned into a fantastical phenomenon. This show has touched so many people’s lives, changed them for the better, has inspired us to grow in ways we never could’ve imagined. It’s brought hope, joy, friendships and love to so many. I am lucky and blessed to have been a part of it for 7 years. I want to thank the cast, our incredibly, hard working crew and the writers for your dedication and hard work over the years. Thank you to the studio and network for believing in us, supporting us and giving us a home to tell our stories. But most importantly, I want to thank our fans. We honestly wouldn’t be here without your love, support and loyalty to ONCE. Thank you for standing by us all of these years. We hope we’ve made you proud and that the magic this show has brought in to your lives never dies. Thank you for all you’ve given back to us in return and always remember to keep that magic alive. Signed with love, respect, gratitude and honor, Lana ❤️ #OUAT 🙏[18]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | Very Mean Men | Teresa | Movie |
2000 | Spiders | Marci Eyre | Movie |
2001 | Replicant | Marci | Movie - Uncredited role |
2003 | Frozen Stars | Lisa Vasquez | Movie |
2005 | One Last Ride | Antoinette | Movie |
2020 | The Tax Collector | Favi | Movie |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Grown Ups | Waitress | 2 episodes |
2000–2001 | Spin City | Angie Ordonez | 21 episodes |
2001 | Semper Fi | TV movie | |
2002 | JAG | Lt. Stephanie Donato | 1 episode |
2002 | The Shield | Sedona Tellez | 1 episode |
2002–2003 | Boomtown | Teresa Ortiz | 24 episodes Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress (2003) |
2004 | NYPD Blue | Officer Janet Grafton | 3 episodes |
2004 | Six Feet Under | Maile | 2 episodes |
2005 | 24 | Sarah Gavin | 12 episodes |
2006 | Windfall | Nina Schaefer | 13 episodes |
2006 | Lost | Greta | 2 episodes |
2008 | The Double Life of Eleanor Kendall | Nellie | TV movie |
2008 | Swingtown | Trina Decker | 13 episodes |
2010 | Miami Medical | Dr. Eva Zambrano | 13 episodes |
2010 | Covert Affairs | Julia Suarez | 1 episode |
2010 | Medium | Lydia Halstrom | 1 episode |
2010 | The Defenders | Betty | 1 episode |
2011 | Chase | Isabella | 1 episode |
2011–2018 | Once Upon a Time | The Evil Queen / Regina Mills / Evil Queen (serum) / Evil Queen (Wish Realm) / Roni | Lead role TV Guide Award for Favorite Villain (2012) ALMA Award for Outstanding TV Actress in Drama (2012) NHMC Impact Award (2013) |
2021 | Why Women Kill | Rita Castillo | Lead role; season 2 |
Appearances
Once Upon a Time: Season One | ||||||||||
"Pilot": | "The Thing You Love Most": | "Snow Falls": | "The Price of Gold": | "That Still Small Voice": | "The Shepherd": | "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter": | "Desperate Souls": | "True North": | "7:15 A.M.": | "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"Skin Deep": | "What Happened to Frederick": | "Dreamy": | "Red-Handed": | "Heart of Darkness": | "Hat Trick": | "The Stable Boy": | "The Return": | "The Stranger": | "An Apple Red as Blood": | "A Land Without Magic": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Two | ||||||||||
"Broken": | "We Are Both": | "Lady of the Lake": | "The Crocodile": | "The Doctor": | "Tallahassee": | "Child of the Moon": | "Into the Deep": | "Queen of Hearts": | "The Cricket Game": | "The Outsider": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Credit Only | Appears | Credit Only | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"In the Name of the Brother": | "Tiny": | "Manhattan": | "The Queen Is Dead": | "The Miller's Daughter": | "Welcome to Storybrooke": | "Selfless, Brave and True": | "Lacey": | "The Evil Queen": | "Second Star to the Right": | "And Straight On 'Til Morning": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Three | ||||||||||
"The Heart of the Truest Believer": | "Lost Girl": | "Quite a Common Fairy": | "Nasty Habits": | "Good Form": | "Ariel": | "Dark Hollow": | "Think Lovely Thoughts": | "Save Henry": | "The New Neverland": | "Going Home": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"New York City Serenade": | "Witch Hunt": | "The Tower": | "Quiet Minds": | "It's Not Easy Being Green": | "The Jolly Roger": | "Bleeding Through": | "A Curious Thing": | "Kansas": | "Snow Drifts": | "There's No Place Like Home": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Four | ||||||||||
"A Tale of Two Sisters": |
"White Out": |
"Rocky Road": |
"The Apprentice": |
"Breaking Glass": |
"Family Business": | "The Snow Queen": |
"Smash the Mirror": |
"Fall": | "Shattered Sight": |
"Heroes and Villains": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"Darkness on the Edge of Town": |
"Unforgiven": | "Enter the Dragon": | "Poor Unfortunate Soul": |
"Best Laid Plans": | "Heart of Gold": | "Sympathy for the De Vil": |
"Lily": | "Mother": | "Operation Mongoose Part 1": |
"Operation Mongoose Part 2": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Five | |||||||||||
"The Dark Swan": | "The Price": | "Siege Perilous": | "The Broken Kingdom": | "Dreamcatcher": | "The Bear and the Bow": | "Nimue": | "Birth": | "The Bear King": | "Broken Heart": | "Swan Song": | |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Credit Only | Appears | Appears | |
"Souls of the Departed": | "Labor of Love": | "Devil's Due": | "The Brothers Jones": | "Our Decay": | "Her Handsome Hero": | "Ruby Slippers": | "Sisters": | "Firebird": | "Last Rites": | "Only You": | "An Untold Story": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Six | ||||||||||
"The Savior": | "A Bitter Draught": | "The Other Shoe": | "Strange Case": | "Street Rats": | "Dark Waters": | "Heartless": | "I'll Be Your Mirror": | "Changelings": | "Wish You Were Here": | "Tougher Than the Rest": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
"Murder Most Foul": | "Ill-Boding Patterns": | "Page 23": | "A Wondrous Place": | "Mother's Little Helper": | "Awake": | "Where Bluebirds Fly": | "The Black Fairy": | "The Song in Your Heart": | "The Final Battle Part 1": | "The Final Battle Part 2": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Season Seven | ||||||||||
"Hyperion Heights": | "A Pirate's Life": | "The Garden of Forking Paths": | "Beauty": | "Greenbacks": | "Wake Up Call": | "Eloise Gardener": | "Pretty in Blue": | "One Little Tear": | "The Eighth Witch": | "Secret Garden": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Credit Only | Appears | Appears |
"A Taste of the Heights": | "Knightfall": | "The Girl in the Tower": | "Sisterhood": | "Breadcrumbs": | "Chosen": | "The Guardian": | "Flower Child": | "Is This Henry Mills?": | "Homecoming": | "Leaving Storybrooke": |
Appears | Appears | Appears | Appears | Credit Only | Appears | Appears | Credit Only | Appears | Appears | Appears |
Once Upon a Time: Specials | ||||||||||
"Magic is Coming": |
"The Price of Magic": | "Journey to Neverland": | "Wicked is Coming": | "Storybrooke Has Frozen Over": | ||||||
Archive | Archive | Archive | Appears | Archive | ||||||
"Secrets of Storybrooke": | "Dark Swan Rises": | "Evil Reigns Once More": | "The Final Battle Begins": | |||||||
Appears | Appears | Archive | Appears |
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.
Credits
Director
Once Upon a Time: Season Seven | ||||||||||
"Hyperion Heights": | "A Pirate's Life": | "The Garden of Forking Paths": | "Beauty": | "Greenbacks": | "Wake Up Call": | "Eloise Gardener": | "Pretty in Blue": | "One Little Tear": | "The Eighth Witch": | "Secret Garden": |
No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit |
"A Taste of the Heights": | "Knightfall": | "The Girl in the Tower": | "Sisterhood": | "Breadcrumbs": | "Chosen": | "The Guardian": | "Flower Child": | "Is This Henry Mills?": | "Homecoming": | "Leaving Storybrooke": |
No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | Credited | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit | No Credit |
External links
- Lana Parrilla on Internet Movie Database
- Lana Parrilla on Wikipedia
- @TheLanaParrilla (Lana Parrilla) on Facebook
- @lparrilla (Lana Parrilla) on Instagram
- @LanaParrilla (Lana Parrilla) on X, formerly Twitter
References
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