Daniella Pineda

Early life

Daniella Pineda was born on February 20, 1987, in Oakland, California, the daughter of Eric Klein and Patricia Pineda. Daniella has two siblings, Anneliese and Elliot. She is a third-generation Mexican American. She graduated from Mills College with a sociology and radio journalism degree. She acquired a fellowship at KALW, where topics she discussed included racism and poverty in the Bay Area.

Career

Pineda's first acting role was in a 2010 episode of Men of a Certain Age, although she created a larger image online; she appeared in several CollegeHumor comedy sketch videos between 2010 and 2011, as well as fashion tutorials on YouTube. Her first appearance in film was the 2011 comedy drama Newlyweds, directed by Edward Burns. It received mostly positive reviews from critics.

Pineda later appeared in an episode of The CW's The Vampire Diaries, which functioned as a backdoor pilot for the spin-off series The Originals, which began airing in 2013. In the episode "Crescent City", her character, Sophie Deveraux, was killed off, eliminating Pineda from the cast. In 2021, she expressed a desire to return to the show. In 2015, Pineda starred in NBC's American Odyssey, which follows a team of American soldiers trying to expose a conspiracy. She played a character named Ruby Simms. The show was cancelled after one season. In October 2017, Pineda had a main role in Mr. Roosevelt, a comedy directed by and starring Noël Wells. It was a critical success, receiving a full 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 34 reviews.

In July 2018, Pineda played Zia Rodriguez in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, her first film role for a major studio. Rodriguez, a veterinarian, is part of a mission to rescue dinosaurs from a volcanic eruption. Pineda commented on how realistic the dinosaurs in the movie were, with pulsing veins and dilating eyes. In another interview, she explained how her character was originally going to have a conversation with Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) in which she revealed she was a lesbian; the dialogue was cut for time reasons.

In 2019, Pineda starred in the horror film Mercy Black as Marina Hess, a woman who has spent 15 years institutionalized after partaking in a ritual to appease the entity Mercy Black, finally becoming convinced that the creature is not real, allowing her to go live with her family. In May of the same year, Pineda portrayed Cassidy in the Netflix neo-noir series What/If. The show has one ten-episode season to date.

In April 2019, Pineda was cast as Faye Valentine in a live-action version of the Cowboy Bebop series. It was released in 2021. Pineda described her character, who is ethnically Singaporean-Romani, as "a smart-ass" and "fun". Unlike in the original anime, the series' version of the character is LGBT. In August 2021, Pineda was cast in Plane, with Gerard Butler in the lead.

In 2022, she reprised her role as Zia Rodriguez in Jurassic World Dominion, appearing in the opening sequence; however, travel restrictions and quarantine requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Pineda, who was in New Zealand, from showing up in another planned scene. She was replaced in her second scene with Varada Sethu. Director Colin Trevorrow was satisfied with the change. Later that year, Pineda was cast as Bess, a saloon proprietress, in the comedy pilot Western.

Personal life and activism

Pineda was adopted by her aunt and uncle at age 16; she has said that her biological parents are "not really in the picture".

She has pushed for greater recognition of Mexican actors, saying that they are "often relegated to obscurity" in scripts and casting, and that Latin America is underrepresented in general. She has also spoken out about being told by casting directors that she does not look or seem "Mexican enough", despite being of Mexican heritage.

In January 2025, Pineda's home in Altadena, California was destroyed by the Eaton Fire; the only things she was able to save were her dog and a laptop computer.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (19 June 2018). "How Daniella Pineda Went From NPR Aspirations to 'Jurassic World' Sequel Breakout".
2. (15 October 2021). "Daniella Pineda on Mexican-American Roles in Hollywood: 'We Are Often Relegated to Obscurity'".
3. Sauers, Jenna. (October 26, 2012). "You Need To Be Watching This Woman's Videos".
4. "Daniella Pineda {{!}} Jurassic World".
5. "Daniella Pineda". [[Fandango Media]].
6. "Newlyweds". [[Fandango Media]].
7. (25 December 2021). "The Originals star Daniella Pineda says if she would ever return".
8. "American Odyssey". [[Fandango Media]].
9. (1 July 2015). "NBC Cancels 'American Odyssey' After One Season".
10. "Mr. Roosevelt". [[Fandango Media]].
11. (1 July 2018). "Jurassic World 2 Easily Wins the Weekend Box Office; Sanju Debuts Strong".
12. Kroll, Justin. (23 January 2017). "''Jurassic World'': ''The Detour'' Actress Daniella Pineda Lands Key Role in Sequel". [[Variety (magazine).
13. (7 June 2022). "Jurassic World Dominion's Daniella Pineda Recalls Being Shocked by Sweating Dinosaur on Set".
14. (19 June 2018). "'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' Cut Lesbian Reveal".
15. "What/If". [[Fandango Media]].
16. Otterson, Joe. (April 4, 2019). "''Cowboy Bebop'': John Cho, Mustafa Shakir Among Four Cast in Netflix Live-Action Series". [[Variety (magazine).
17. "Netflix's Cowboy Bebop Trailer Reveals Spike's Tragic Past".
18. (19 November 2021). "Daniella Pineda on Bringing Faye to Life and Representation in 'Cowboy Bebop'".
19. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (2021-08-09). "Daniella Pineda Boards Gerard Butler's 'Plane' For Lionsgate".
20. Sneider, Jeff. (7 November 2019). "''Jurassic World 3'' bringing back Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda".
21. (7 June 2022). "Jurassic World Dominion replaced character after filming delays".
22. (14 October 2022). "Guy Burnet, Luca Diaz & Daniella Pineda Join 'Western' Freevee Comedy Pilot From Lord Miller".
23. Carson, Lexi. (January 10, 2025). "'Jurassic World' Franchise Actress Daniella Pineda "Grateful to Be Alive" After Losing Home in L.A. Fires: "I Have 1 Pair of Shoes to My Name"".
24. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (12 January 2025). "Daniella Pineda Expresses Wishes After Losing Home To Wildfires: Fight Climate Change & "Keep Altadena Black"".
25. Bui, Hoai-Tran. (February 6, 2018). "''Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' Viral Website Reveals What Claire Has Been Doing". [[/Film]].
26. Orvino, Rachel. (June 30, 2025). "Daniella Pineda: From Ben Affleck to Dora the Explorer".