New York native Roma Maffia began her acting career on-stage, appearing in all sorts of Broadway and off-Broadway plays, from musicals to Shakespeare. She only made occasional appearances in movies until a director asked her to audition for Ron Howard's upcoming comedy drama The Paper. When she won the role of Carmen in the film, she began investing real time and energy in her onscreen acting career. She continued to make appearances in several films a year until she was cast as Grace Alvarez, forensic pathologist for the NBC series Profiler; she stayed with the show from 1996-2000. Following that, it wasn't long before she picked up another role in a series; this time she signed on to play the part of Dr. Liz Cruz on the controversial series Nip/Tuck. She had a major role in the showbiz comedy The Blue Tooth Virgin.
Roma Maffia
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- Is of West Indian, English and German descent, though she has an Italian last name from her stepfather.
- Began her acting career in the early 1980s, appearing in a number of Broadway and off-Broadway plays.
- Made her film debut with a bit part in Susan Seidelman's Smithereens (1982).
- Credits director Ron Howard with "discovering" her when she was cast in his 1994 big-screen drama The Paper.
- Subsequently joined the cast of the NBC crime drama Profiler, followed by the FX medical drama Nip/Tuck.
- Is an accomplished ping-pong player.