Liza Colón-Zayas has dedicated over three decades to her craft, and she is finally receiving the recognition she deserves. After memorable performances in iconic TV shows like Law & Order: SVU, Dexter, and Sex and the City, and powerful stage roles in Broadway productions such as Othello and Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, Colón-Zayas landed the role that would define her career: Tina Marrero in the award-winning series The Bear.
At 51, and following three seasons of The Bear, the Puerto Rican actor earned her first-ever Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, making history as the first Latina to win in this category. Just two weeks later, she was honored with the HOLA José Ferrer Tespis Award at the twenty-third Hola Awards Gala Benefit in New York, hosted by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.
Liza Colón-Zayass at the 23rd Hola Awards Gala Benefit at HK Hall on September 30, 2024 in New York City.
¡HOLA! USA caught up with Colón-Zayas at the awards ceremony, where she reflected on the role that transformed her career, the legacy she hopes to leave behind, and what it means to be recognized by her own community.
What does receiving the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors Award mean to you?
This is my family, this is my people. That's the highest level of pride and honor, to be recognized by my own.
You have been working in this business for so long, and you are finally getting the recognition you deserve. How do you feel at this point in your career?
I still feel like I'm just starting out. I don't think I'll ever reach a point where I feel like I've done it all. I always feel like there's a new chapter in me, and hopefully, there's more to come.
What does Tina Marrero’s character in “The Bear” mean to you?
It means that people who are often ignored are finally being seen, recognized, and appreciated. And that is my hope as an artist—to do work that is impactful, so people who feel invisible are seen.
What similarities do you find between you and Tina?
I connect with her in her fight to live, to move forward in her work and prove her worth.My life wasn't easy either. Not like hers, but it wasn't easy for me to get here either.
Liza Colón-Zayas and husband David Zayas, who plays her TV husband as well in The Bear.
What makes you decide to accept or reject a role?
When I first start reading the script, if it feels like I can do something with it, then yeah.
On special occasions, you wear a medal that your grandmother gave you. What does it mean to you?
Well, my grandfather, when they moved back to Puerto Rico, to Caguas, he was able to buy her a medallion. One side has the baby Jesus, the other has the Virgin Mary. She wore it all the time. And then when she got sick, she had a stroke, and she had to come back to New York. It was passed on to my mother, and then my mother gave it to me.
When was the last time you used it?
I wore it a few days ago, for an event. You know, I want to use it sparingly; it’s not a prop, it means something special.
Who is going to use it next? Who would you pass it on to?
I don't know who it's going to. I just feel like it should go to one of the women in our family.
Interview: Fernanda Garcia
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