Francia Raisa is a Gracie Award and La Femme Film Festival Rising Star Award recipient and a 2012 Teen Choice, IMAGEN and an ALMA award nominee for her portrayal of Adrian Lee on ABC Family's critically acclaimed series La vie secrète d'une ado ordinaire (2008) and she continues to prove herself as a star on the rise. She was featured on the August cover of "Backstage" magazine as one of Young Hollywood's top Latinos in American TV and film, further cementing her status as a star to watch.
Francia was born and raised in Southern California to mother Virginia Almendarez of Mexico and father Maximo Renán Almendariz Coello of Honduras (one of the most recognized radio personalities and #1 Latino DJs in Los Angeles). At age five Francia began taking dance lessons in all styles from tap to jazz to acrobatics to hip-hop and Polynesian. She also trained in karate and ice skating. Looking to expand her talents during her junior year of high school, she decided to take up both acting and modeling. She started to get noticed and soon began to model for print ads and national commercials. A month into her senior year of high school Francia booked her first lead role, starring opposite Hayden Panettiere in American Girls 3 (2006).
Not long after wrapping "Bring it On," Francia booked the lead female role of MGM's made-for-TV movie shown on ABC Family, Le feu sur la glace 3 (2008) before ultimately landing her breakout role as Adrian Lee in ABC Family's award-winning "The Secret Life of the American Teenager." Created by Brenda Hampton (7 à la maison (1996)), the program broke all records for an original series on the network, including taking the #1 spot in its time slot for cable TV when it premiered in summer of 2008. The show is on its fifth season, and continues to be one of the most popular teen TV shows.
In addition to her success on television, Francia made her return to the big screen in Chastity Bites (2013), a horror film. She has also wrapped production on Shéhérazade: Au-delà du paradis (2016), alongside Daphne Zuniga and Ryan Guzman.
She resides in the Los Angeles area and continues to stay true to her dancing roots with weekly advance classes at a dance studio in Hollywood. She strives to be a role model for all her female fans. In her spare time she works to raise awareness on important causes such as hunger, domestic violence, sex trafficking and female empowerment.
