Sara Elena Ramirez (born August 31, 1975) is a talented Mexican-American actor, singer, songwriter, and advocate for social justice. Originally from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Ramírez relocated to the United States at the age of eight and later earned a fine arts degree from the prestigious Juilliard School.
Ramírez's career began on Broadway, where they debuted in Paul Simon's The Capeman before transitioning to film and television. Their significant breakthrough came with the role of the Lady of the Lake in the 2005 Broadway musical Spamalot, which earned them a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Ramírez was subsequently given the opportunity to choose a show from several ABC offerings and opted for Grey's Anatomy. In this series, they portrayed Dr. Callie Torres, noted for being the longest-running LGBT character on U.S. television, appearing in 11 seasons and 239 episodes. Ramírez's decision to incorporate the character's bisexuality was groundbreaking, marking one of the first series regular roles for a queer character. After leaving the show, Ramírez publicly came out as bisexual and later identified as nonbinary, using they/them pronouns. They have since taken on bisexual, nonbinary characters such as Kat Sandoval in Madam Secretary and Che Díaz in the reboot of Sex and the City, And Just Like That…
In addition to their acting career, Ramírez has lent their voice to projects like the 1999 video game UmJammer Lammy and the animated series Sofia the First (2012–2018), where they voiced Queen Miranda. They released their debut single, "Silent Night," in 2009, and their self-titled EP peaked at no. 37 on the Billboard 200 in 2011.
A passionate advocate for LGBT rights, Ramírez was honored with the Ally for Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation in 2015. They have received numerous accolades
