Loraine Vélez



Loraine Vélez (born November 2, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent and the twin sister of actress Lauren Vélez.

Early years
The twins' parents emigrated from Puerto Rico in the early 1950s and lived in the Brooklyn section of New York where the twins were born. Their father was a New York City police officer who eventually bought a house in the middle class neighborhood of Queens and moved there with his wife and eight children. The sisters enjoyed setting up improvised plays and acting for the family ever since childhood. After graduating from high school, the twins both received scholarships to attend The Alvin Ailey Dancing School. They also studied acting at The Acting Studio and Lauren studied Shakespeare with Michael Howard. Lauren landed her first job performing in the national touring company of the musical "Dreamgirls". Loraine would often step in for her sister in Dreamgirls.

Career
Loraine participated in Broadway's Dreamgirls, and also in the Off-Broadway production of "Does A Tiger Have A Necktie".

In 1997, Loraine went to London, United Kingdom. There she participated in the production of "RENT" where she was cast as "Mimi" the understudy. Loraine also starred in the debut of "Fame" in London. She returned to the United States in 2000. There, she performed the role of Mimi on Broadway for almost two years. That same year Loraine was cast as "Tutu" in the film "Piñero", starring Benjamin Bratt and Talisa Soto. In 2002, she played the role of "Abby Bishop" in the TV series "Law & Order" and in 2002 she played "Valentina Minola" in the episode: "Worse Things I Could Do" of the TV series "Casualty". Loraine has since moved back to London and recently starred in a new stage production of "Porgie and Bess".

Currently
Currently both sisters continue to make TV and stage appearances.