Evelina Martinez
- Actress
Evelina Martinez was born a free bird. As a child she loved going with the flow and wanted to learn all that she could. She began her dancing career at the age of 4 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she was born as Tomiko Ly-Martinez. Her mother Carmen Rita Martinez was born in Puerto Rico and her father Juan Ly is Cuban-Chinese. Her Japanese name came from a soap-opera title at the time in Puerto Rico. Evelina lived in Puerto Rico until the age of 8. From one day to the next her family moved to Miami, Florida where she began to learn English. She continued dancing and shortly was introduced to her father's sport, Table Tennis. Juan and her uncle Jose Ly where Table Tennis champions in Puerto Rico and Evelina shortly followed under her father and uncle's steps. She played competitively for the U.S national Team. While training for the Olympics at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
After her Table Tennis years, Evelina moved away for college to major in Child Psychology at Iowa State University. As her mom she got a degree in nursing and once again flapped her wings and moved to New York. After years in NYC she one day found herself flipping through the yellow pages and she came across an acting school not in New York. She drove 3 hours to Hartford, CT. She remembers the teacher saying "eventually you'll want to be in Los Angeles." So, once again she packed her bags and moved to LA, where she got a job as an Assistant Interior Designer. It was then that Evelina was finally pushed to give acting a try by her own boss. Shortly after, she quit and began her career as an actor. Appearing on ER, House, CSI, Dexter and other great shows. Evelina considers herself extremely fortunate her travels and competition days through her dancing, or Table Tennis have given her the tools to keep achieving anything she puts her mind too. That once little 8 year old Spanish girl that did not speak English, is now fluent in French and Portuguese and has incorporated her languages not only into her acting but also into her writing. Evelina Martinez will always have a part of being a free bird, flapping her wings away and discovering what more life has in store for her.
