Luna Lauren Velez is an American actress of Puerto Rican descent. Her career began in film with *I Like It Like That* (1994), which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She became known to television audiences for her role as Detective Nina Moreno in the series *New York Undercover*, followed by her role as Dr. Gloria Nathan in the prison drama *Oz*. However, her most celebrated role is that of Lieutenant María LaGuerta in the Showtime series *Dexter*, for which she, along with the cast, received several Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. For her performances, she has won the ALMA Award multiple times, an honor dedicated to Latino artists. More recently, she has voiced the character of Rio Morales, the mother of Miles Morales, in the successful animated film series *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse* and its sequels, further solidifying her artistic versatility across both television and film.