Biography
A Tony-Award winning actress and singer originally from Mexico, talented beauty Sara Ramirez was on stage playing the Lady of the Lake in the monster Broadway hit, "Spamalot," when they landed the plum role of their career, as orthopedic surgeon Dr. Callie Torres on the hit medical drama, "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2004- ). Born on Aug. 31, 1975 in Mazatlan, Mexico, Ramirez moved to the United States when their parents divorced in 1983. Born to an oceanographer father and an actress/singer mother, Ramirez grew up in San Diego, CA, where they enrolled in a school for the performing arts. After high school, Ramirez moved east to attend the prestigious Julliard School in New York. There, the young performer shined; first as an ingénue, then later, as an alto singer. Ramirez made their debut on Broadway in Paul Simon's 1998 pop-operatic spectacle, "The Capeman." A critical and financial dud, "The Capeman" took a severe beating in the press, but Ramirez was singled out for work done as Wahzinek, the sensitive girlfriend of Ruben Blades. In 1999, Ramirez followed up with another electrifying performance in the musical "The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm," a role which garnered them an Outer Circle Critics Award nomination. In the early millennium years, Ramirez continued earning raves for work in such post-modern classics as "A Class Act" and 2001's "The Vagina Monologues." Ramirez's crowning moment on stage, however, came in 2004 when they were cast as Lady of the Lake in the Tony Award-winning musical comedy, "Spamalot." Based on the comedic opus film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975), "Spamalot" broke Broadway box office history with nearly $20 million in advance ticket sales. For their part, Ramirez's show-stopping turn as Lady in the Lake won them the 2005 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. A relative newcomer to film and television, Ramirez had a gone-in-a-blink cameo as a New York City police officer in 2002's smash film, "Spider-Man." In 2005, however, Ramirez continued to align themself with hits by landing a larger, recurring role on ABC's golden egg, "Grey's Anatomy" as the outgoing Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres. After their initial six episodes, Ramirez's character proved so popular that the role was expanded significantly. By the start of the series' third season, Ramirez was promoted to series regular in 2006. Ramirez added voiceover artist to their resume with the animated series "Sofia the First" (Disney Junior 2012- ), on which they costarred as Queen Miranda, the mother of the title character (Ariel Winter). In a surprise move, Ramirez announced departing from "Grey's Anatomy" at the end of the series' 12th season in May 2016.
