Sophia Martinez

Sophia Martinez is a New Orleans native. When she was seven-years-old, Martinez's grandmother, Mildred, took she and her sister to a New Orleans production of The Nutcracker. Her childhood was shaped by her grandmother's support of her love of the arts: She learned modeling from Barbizon Modeling school and acting, dance, piano attending New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. The actress attended Louisiana State University and was a successful scholar-athlete, running the 800 meter event (she was third on her team). Two years into her education, her world began to change. She injured her knee while competing in track and field and was left unable to run. She decided then to move to Houston and focus on her academic and professional pursuits, earning a degree in accounting. It was the film Pain (2003)-the story of two young drug dealers whose lives are changed by a young Christian-that spurred her return to acting. "It was a very poignant role," she says. "I had so many built-up emotions that shined through in that performance." Since then, she has worked diligently at guiding her budding career. Her first leading role was in the 2006 film, Color of Blood; thereafter other lead roles followed in The Maestro and The SheCzar. Martinez, who is of Creole heritage, says her ultimate goal is to use her success as an actress to inspire positive change in her community and, eventually, the world. While pursuing her acting, Martinez is owner of sOsOmega Productions in which she is writing screen plays and progressively establishing her directorial and executive producer credits.