Constance Marie

Hailing from the world of dance, Constance Marie emerged from the global concert stage - which included a stint on David Bowie's 1987 Glass Spider Tour - and forged a successful acting career. Though she struggled for a few years to find her footing, Marie landed her first break on the television remake of the hit film, "Dirty Dancing" (CBS, 1988-89) and had a recurring role as Nikki Alvarez on the daytime soap "Santa Barbara" (NBC, 1984-1993). From there, she developed a creatively fruitful collaboration with director Gregory Nava, who cast her in "My Family, Mi Familia" (1995) and "Selena" (1997), both of which helped raised Marie's profile considerably. She went on to a number of television guest spots, before returning to films with roles in "Dancing in September" (2000) and "Tortilla Soup" (2001). But it was her main role on "The George Lopez Show" (2002-07) as the titular star's pampered and chiding wife that exposed her to a much wider audience who were only just becoming aware of her talent. After spending seven years on the show, Marie was a popular small screen star who found further success on other series and in features, showing that she had come quite a long way since her dancing days.