The Immigrant Magazine, The Immigrant Heritage, Feature

If you’re a fan of “Grey’s Anatomy” you were probably first a fan of “ER” and most certainly have seen Michelle Bonilla burst through the doors of County General shouting something like “BP 100 over 80 pulse ox”; or if you’re a hardcore Trekkie you know her as  a Klingon dubbed “Bu’kaH” on Star Trek Enterprise; And if you watched Dr.Quinn, Medicine Woman you remember her as Teresa Morales, the first Mexican-American School Marm – because Michelle C. Bonilla has played them all!

Now, this Alma Award-Winning, multi-talented spit-fire of a Latina, who has successfully made her acting marks in both mainstream films and television shows, is extending her craft wearing for the first time two additional new hats as Executive Producer and scriptwriter to deliver her debut short film, “Slip Away” – a short film involved with “The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Project” (LAWTP), an institution committed to helping women in the arts.

“Slip Away” sees Bonilla, herself, in the shoes of  ”Jane” ( the challenging antithesis role she didn’t play in her real life story), but also Thea Gill (“Queer As Folks”), April Grace (ABC “Lost”) and newcomer Latina thespian Lauren Birriel. Of course Bonilla didn’t leave out the boys and called upon her gentlemen friends Wilson Cruz (“My So-Called Life”, “He Just Not That Into You”) and Hal Sparks (“Queer As Folk”)

Indeed, Bonilla is the sexy, sassy and go-getter actress who has successfully overcome the stereotypical barriers of her ethnicity (Mexican/Aztec heritage) and proven Hollywood wrong … And it surely wasn’t without the inspiration and support of her cultural heritage!
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How did your parents come to the US?
My mother was born and raised in Marfa, TX . On the other hand, my father is from Sinaloa, MX. I’m not sure how he came to the United States. However, I’m sure that my father was brought over by his sister, who raised him, as a young adult.

What do you think their roles as immigrants was/is?
I believe my father strove to make something out of his life. He has always been a hard worker and has always worked from ‘the bottom up’ to achieve all of his successes in his life. When I was very young, my father worked as a busboy, at a restaurant on the Sunset Strip called ‘Scandia’. He worked his way up, from busboy,  to achieve working there, as a Chef! I always like reiterating that story to others because it is the epitome of what ‘immigrants’ achieve when they come to the States. Many people come because they have opportunities that their native countries could never allow them. And, when given that freedom of opportunity, many of those immigrants become successful.

How do you think they succeeded in raising you here?
I was raised by my mother, who was born in the United States, but came from a town, in a State, that (at the time) only had ‘Mexican’ people and ‘white’ people. My mother went to segregated schools up until high school. But, newly, segregated schools back in the late 50’s early 60’s, still suffered from prejudice and emotional segregation. So, when my mother came to Los Angeles, it was like another world! It is in that respect that you could consider her an ‘immigrant’ who fled her circumstances and came to California for the opportunities. It was a different time back then. Jobs were plenty and so were the opportunities. She quickly got a job in the health care industry and it was there where more opportunities presented themselves to her and she was able to take advantage of them. She was able, as a single mother, to put food on the table, clothes on my back, and provide me with an education. She did the best she could, at all times, not only for me, but for my brothers and sister.
And, it is in her story, that she succeeded in raising me and the rest of my family. A family of three that grew into five.

What do you believe has been their contribution to your success?
I am very proud of my father and my mother, who instilled an underlying element of hard work and perseverance, in me. I have witnessed my mother’s hardships, losses, and triumphs. I have learned that you don’t get anything without trying and that I can do anything that I set my mind to do.
My successes are my own but the base on which they were formed I owe to my mother. And, I will never lose sight of where I came from, who helped me get there, and where I am going. I plan on going nowhere but up and have a line of descendants, of Mexican origin, to thank for that.

She made her big screen debut in “Above Suspicion” with Christopher Reeve and Kim Cattral; worked opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest names including Halle Berry in “The Rich Man’s Wife”, Charleze Theron in “Trial and Error”, Billy Bob Thorton in “Homegrown”, Richard Dreyfuss in “ Lansky”, Jimmy Smitts in “The Price of Glory”, and Faye Dunaway in “ Dunston Checks In”. She was also seen in “True Friends (Winner Gold Jury Award – Best Independent Film – Charleston International Film Festival) and most recently in “Sexual Life” (official selection at the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival and now airing on Showtime) with Tom Everett Scott and Anne Heche. In addition to sharing the screen with A-list celebrities, Bonilla has also been captured by the prestigious lenses of top-notch directors such as Jonathan Lynn, Ken Kwapis, Amy Holden Jones, Stephen Gyllenthal, and John Mc Naughton.

Always remaining grounded and giving back to the community, Bonilla is never afraid to always go the extra mile to give a charitable & activist hand to not only help promote great causes but also stand up for what she believes in. She ran a 5K marathon at the 11th Annual Komen Race for the Cure, walked along side LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the LA Aids Walk and contributed to the “The Hollywood Bag Ladies Lupus Luncheon” event benefiting the Lupus Research Institute. Bonilla is also one of the proud recipients of the Inaugural Gift of Life Entertainment Media Award from the National Kidney Foundation presented to the cast of ER; and  the winner of The ALMA (American Latino Media Arts Award) Award, for her portrayal in PBS’s, Award Winning Foto-Novelas Series, Seeing Through Walls.

To learn more about Michelle Bonilla visit: www.michellecbonilla.com