Natalie Morales (actress)

Early life

A native of Miami, Florida, Morales is of Cuban descent. She attended St. Agatha Catholic School and Southwest Miami Senior High School. She participated in the University of Miami's Dow Jones Minority High School Journalism Workshop.

Career

Acting

Morales had a guest appearance on CSI: Miami in 2006, and played a character in Pimp My Ride that year, a video game version of the MTV television series Pimp My Ride. Her first major role was in The Middleman, a sci-fi dramedy which aired on the ABC Family network for one season. She starred as Wendy Watson; the series was adapted from the comic book, The Middleman. Morales also starred in and executive produced a Web series, titled Quitters. The series was an official selection of the 3rd annual ITVFest (Independent Television Festival) in Los Angeles in August 2008.

In 2009, Morales joined the cast of the USA Network television series White Collar for the first season. She portrayed Lauren Cruz, a junior FBI agent. In May 2010, after her dismissal from the White Collar cast, Morales began recurring on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, as Lucy, the girlfriend of Aziz Ansari's character Tom Haverford and bartender at The Snakehole Lounge. Morales appeared in Oliver Stone's 2010 film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, a sequel to his 1987 film Wall Street. She was cast as Chelsea Handler's best friend in Are You There, Chelsea?. She left the series when the cast was replaced for creative reasons. Morales also appeared on Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama, The Newsroom, guest-starring as Kaylee, the girlfriend of Dev Patel’s character, Neal. In 2013, Morales joined the cast of Trophy Wife as Meg, Kate's best friend. In 2015, she joined the cast of the Fox series The Grinder. In 2017, she appeared in some episodes of the NBC series Powerless. Morales appeared as Detective Anne Garcia in the Netflix horror comedy series Santa Clarita Diet.

Morales was in the television series Abby's, an NBC multi-camera sitcom created by Josh Malmuth and executive produced by Parks and Recreation creator Michael Schur. Their third series for the network, it premiered on March 28, 2019. Later that year, Morales was cast as Michelle in the Netflix black comedy series Dead to Me, appearing in seasons 2 and 3.

In 2022, Morales was cast as Kate Danton in season 3 of The Morning Show. The following year, Morales was cast as pediatric surgeon Dr. Monica Beltran on Grey's Anatomy, appearing in a recurring role for two seasons. Her final appearance was in the show's season 22 premiere.

In 2025, Variety ranked Morales-lead movie My Dead Friend Zoe as one of the 10 Best Movies of the year. That same year, she was part of the main cast of the miniseries The Beast in Me, portraying the estranged wife of Claire Danes's character. She was also cast as Cassie in the Amazon MGM Studios rom-com You Deserve Each Other.{{Cite web | date=July 9, 2025 | title=Amazon MGM Studios Rom-Com 'You Deserve Each Other' Adds Natalie Morales, Justin Long, Kyle MacLachlan, Ana Gasteyer & More|url=https://deadline.com/2025/07/you-deserve-each-other-natalie-morales-kyle-maclachlan-justin-long-1236453713/

Directing

In 2021, Morales directed teen comedy Plan B starring Victoria Moroles and Kuhoo Verma. The story revolves around two teens looking for the Plan B pill after a regrettable first sexual encounter. The film earned critical acclaim with critics praising Morales' direction including Linda Holmes of NPR who wrote, "The creators and the cast deserve enormous credit for how deftly the broader comedy here is balanced with genuine fear and frustration, and how unexpectedly parts of the film unfold. A lot of it is somehow structurally familiar but specifically surprising."

That same year she also directed the drama film Language Lessons (2021) which she co-wrote with writer-director Mark Duplass. They both star in the feature, which they filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is set over Zoom as a Spanish teacher (Morales) communicates with her student (Duplass). Katie Erbland, critic of IndieWire praised Morales' work on the film writing "Morales’ winning Language Lessons offers one of the best uses of the format yet, a 'Zoom film' that utilizes its constraints to craft an intimate, expressive two-hander, no fatigue in sight". The film had its debut at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in March 2021 to positive reviews, and was released in September 2021.

Personal life

In January 2010, Morales fell down approximately 20 steps at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, landing face-first on a balcony wall. She sustained major facial injuries and underwent emergency reconstructive surgery following the accident.

On June 30, 2017, Morales stated on social media that she is queer.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. "Natalie Morales".
2. Hernandez, Lee. (March 25, 2010). "'White Collar' Fires Natalie Morales, 'Parks and Recreation' Hires Her!".
3. (June 23, 2008). "From Kidnap Victim to Kicking Butt". [[Miami Herald]].
4. "Miami Montage".
5. (June 5, 2008). "Slice of SciFi Interview With "The Middleman" Star Natalie Morales".
6. "Independent Television Festival 2008 : Quitters".
7. Andreeva, Nellie. (September 8, 2009). "Actress joins USA crime series". [[Reuters]].
8. "Who's that Girl? Natalie Morales Goes from TV to "Wall Street"".
9. Ausiello, Michael. (July 3, 2011). "Exclusive: Chelsea Handler's New NBC Sitcom Cuts Three Castmembers in Overhaul". [[TVLine]].
10. (July 3, 2011). "White Collar Alum Joins Sorkin Show, X Factor Finale Beats The Voice and More!". TVLine.
11. (November 26, 2012). "'White Collar' Alum Joins ABC Comedy Pilot 'Trophy Wife'". The Hollywood Reporter.
12. Gerding, Stephen (February 2, 2017). [http://www.cbr.com/dc-comics-nbc-powerless-justice-league/ "NBC’s Powerless Adds Justice League Member to Cast"]. [[CBR.com]].
13. Reiher, Andrea. (February 9, 2017). "Deputy Anne brings the heat to Santa Clarita Diet". AV Club.
14. Andreeva, Nellie. (May 8, 2018). "'Abby's' & "I Feel Bad' Comedies Picked Up To Series By NBC". Deadline.
15. Otterson, Joe. (October 17, 2019). "'Dead to Me' Season 2 Casts Natalie Morales (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
16. (September 8, 2023). "The Morning Show Season 3 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning Character".
17. (October 19, 2022). "'The Morning Show' Season 3 Casts Natalie Morales (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
18. (August 24, 2023). "The Trailer for The Morning Show's Third Season Is Finally Here". Town & Country.
19. (March 25, 2024). "How Natalie Morales Personalized Her 'Grey's Anatomy' Guest Role".
20. Venable, Malcolm. (October 15, 2025). "Natalie Morales on the Joys of Playing a Doctor, Learning New Skills, and More".
21. (June 26, 2025). "The 10 Best Movies of 2025 (So Far)".
22. (May 28, 2021). "'Plan B' Is A Winning Comedy With Some Painful Truths".
23. (March 2021). "'Language Lessons' Review: Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales Shine in Intimate Exploration of Platonic Love".
24. Jamil, Jameela. (May 28, 2021). "Natalie Morales Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil".
25. Scharf, Lindzi. (July 15, 2025). "In Conversation: Natalie Morales & Kimmy Erin".
26. (June 30, 2017). "Natalie Morales would like you to know nothing about her, except for one thing…". Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls.