American Carnage's Bella Ortiz On Her Immigration Story And Her Character's Journey
John Castro When some voters talk about immigration in the United States, many may not realize just how difficult it is to become a citizen in this country. The struggle to become a legal citizen is a reality that Bella Ortiz knows all too well, having come to the U.S. at age four. It wasn't until she was 17 that she became a citizen, having been in her home for 13 years.
"The process of becoming a citizen is a very long, expensive, daunting one. That's something that people don't necessarily realize," Ortiz told us. "In terms of my character ... [I began] noticing that we have the same starting point where we're both white Latinx women."
Telling us that how she presents physically has made a huge impact on her career and the environments she can navigate, Ortiz divulged that she's enjoyed opportunities that women in her own family have never experienced. "I can take up spaces that other people can't — other people being my own mother, my own family that is all still in Chile," she shared.