Diane Guerrero came to the spotlight with her breakout role of Maritza Ramos in Orange Is the New Black in 2013. She has since worked on dozens of productions and made a name for herself with her part in Jane the Virgin and Doom Patrol.

Guerrero is recognized for her efforts towards social justice, just as much as she is recognized for her acting projects like playing Crazy Jane in DC’s Doom Patrol.

Born in America to two Colombian immigrants, she found herself utterly alone at the age of fourteen when her parents and her brother were deported. 

Diane Guerrero Separated From Her Family At The Age Of 14

Diane Guerrero was born on July 21, 1986, in New Jersey, USA. Her parents and older half-brother had fled Colombia when the country was going through violent turmoil.

The family had overstayed their temporary visas and were deported back when Guerrero was 14 years old. The actress recounted when talking to NPR:

So I was walking home from school. I went inside. My parents’ cars were outside. And food was on the stove, but it wasn’t done. Lights were on. My mom’s sweater was on the chair, and - but they were gone. And then a neighbor came and told me that immigration services had come and taken them.

Separated from her family, Guerrero relied on the hospitality of a friend’s family to survive until high school.

Diane Guerrero Advocates For Immigration Reforms

After her family was deported, Guerrero wasn’t checked on by the authorities a single time. And the stigma that came with the deportation of her family led to a difficult phase in her life because she couldn’t open up about it.

The Doom Patrol star has spoken on multiple occasions about the feeling of isolation she went through because of the unjust immigration policies. She shared her experience with NPR’s Michel Martin.

We didn’t talk about it [immigrant issues] like we do now. We weren’t learning about it in school. There was a huge stigma around it. Even though a lot of people were experiencing this, there was a great shame that went along with it.

Guerrero struggled with alcohol abuse, severe depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts because of her repressed emotions. She overcame them eventually and is now an advocate for immigration reforms.

She was even nominated as the White House Ambassador for Citizenship and Naturalization by former President Barack Obama in 2015. In June 2018, she gave a speech in front of 30,000 protestors at the ‘Families Belong Together Rally’ in Washington, D.C.