Daphne Rubin-Vega

Daphne Rubin-Vega ( Vega; born November 18, 1969) is an American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is best known for originating the roles of Mimi Marquez in the 1996 premiere of the Broadway musical Rent and Lucy in the 2007 premiere of the Off-Broadway play Jack Goes Boating. Rubin-Vega also appeared as Bombshell publicist Agnes in the second season of the TV series Smash (2012) and as Luisa Lopez in the TV series Katy Keene (2020). In 2021, Rubin-Vega starred as salon owner Daniela in the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights. Early life Rubin-Vega was born in Panama City, Panama, the daughter of Daphine Corina, a nurse, and José Mercedes Vega, a carpenter. Her stepfather Leonard Rubin was a writer. She also has Afro-Barbadian ancestry on her mother’s side. Her mother moved from Panama to the United States with her children when Daphne was only two years old, and died eight years later. Rubin-Vega studied theater at the New LAByrinth Theater Company as well as with William Esper Studio. She also performed with the comedy group El Barrio USA.