Raquel Castro - Biography

Raquel Castro (born November 17, 1994) is an American teen actress and singer. She is best known for her role in the 2004 film Jersey Girl as Gertie Trinké, the daughter of Ollie Trinké (Ben Affleck) and Gertrude Steiney (Jennifer Lopez), the role for which Castro won the Young Artist Award for the Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger. She was a contestant in the American version of The Voice.

Early life

Castro, the fourth of five children, was born in New York City to a Puerto Rican father, Albee Castro, and Kathy, an American mother of Italian American and Jewish descent. She has two older sisters, an older brother and a younger brother and currently lives in Long Island, New York. Raquel was named after her mother's favorite actress, Raquel Welch.

Castro made her acting debut in an episode of the television series, Third Watch. She was subsequently cast as the daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's characters in the 2004 film Jersey Girl, directed by Kevin Smith. She appeared in a 2005 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit entitled "Alien" and in the independent film, Little Fugitive. In 2006, she was cast as Nicole in the music video for the Ludacris song "Runaway Love" with Mary J. Blige, where she plays an abused self-conscious girl who runs away. She later was featured in the 2007 independent film, Tracks of Color. She has a role in The Ministers (2009), starring John Leguizamo. Raquel also spent quite a few years at a dance studio with her younger brother.

She was a contestant on the first season of The Voice and she was selected in the Blind Audition round and was coached by Christina Aguilera. She progressed to the first round of the Live shows before being eliminated with Lily Elise in favor of Frenchie Davis and Beverly McClellan.

Castro recorded a cover of Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man and posted it on YouTube.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Jewish immigration to Puerto Rico

External links

• Official Website
• JoBlo interview (March 25, 2004)