Mariel Molino | |
|---|---|
 Molino in 2024 | |
| Born | Mariel Chantal Oberwager 1992 (age 32–33) San Diego, California, U.S. [1] |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2015–present |
| Website | marielmolino |
Mariel Molino (born 1992) is an American actress. She has performed in both Spanish-language and English-language theatrical productions. She starred in Amazon's first original film for Mexico. She is currently cast in a main role as Agent Lala Dominguez in NCIS: Origins .
Molino has Mexican, Catholic and Jewish heritage. [2] Her mother's family has Mexican and Spanish heritage. Her father's parents were Jewish Austrians who fled The Holocaust to Mexico because it had the most affordable travel visas. [3] Her parents moved from Mexico City to San Diego. [2] She has described herself as a "white Latina". [4] She was born in San Diego, California, as the youngest of four, [1] [3] including two older brothers. [5] Molino was raised in Coronado, California. [6] Her earliest stage play appearance was at age 6. [2] An elementary school production of The Wizard of Oz in which she was cast as Crow Number 6, cemented her interest in acting. [3] At The Academy of Our Lady of Peace Molino appeared in school musicals such as Grease and Hairspray . [7] [8] Her father, who supported her creativity, died when she was 15. [3] Among her early television experiences was earning an invitation to a birthday party aired on MTV's My Super Sweet 16 , in which she did get some screen time at age 19. [3] Molino did some early modeling jobs. [7] [8] She attended Loyola Marymount University. [9]
Born Mariel Chantal Oberwager, Molino changed her name to honor her Mexican heritage using the name of her family's bakery, El Molino. [7] [8] Her mother's bakery is in Tijuana. Molino and her mother operated it during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide sustenance to its community. [2] In 2021, she split time between San Diego and Mexico City. [7] [8] By the beginning of 2023, she was able to afford to move out of her mom's house. [10] As of 2024 [update] , she split time between Los Angeles and Mexico City. [11]
Molino has heterochromia iridum. [12]
Molino had to overcome the catch-22 of needing an agent to get work and needing work to get an agent even though her parents both worked full-time limiting her transportation options for Hollywood auditions. The family even endured fraudulent scams in her pursuit. [3] She auditioned for many roles by travelling between San Diego and Los Angeles, eventually landing a spot as an extra on Glee (season 6, March 20, 2015 episode 12, entitled "2009"). [10] She earned her first credits in Spanish language works, including appearances in Muy padres , El juego de las llaves , and La negociadora. [11] When she did her one-line role on Entre correr y vivir donned with a Marilyn Monroe–esque wig, she impressed the producer enough to earn a second (wigless) role on the same episode. [3] She has also appeared on Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico and Luis Miguel: The Series . [11] In November 2020, [13] she starred in the Amazon Prime Video's first original film for Mexico, Locas por el cambio. [7] [8] [14] [15] She has appeared in the main cast of the 2022 ABC series Promised Land , her first American show, [10] [6] and the 2023 Freeform series The Watchful Eye , [11] which was her first thriller genre role. [16] On March 15, it was announced that she was cast as female lead in the role of Agent Lala Dominguez in the original cast of the NCIS 2024 prequel spinoff NCIS: Origins . [17] [11]