Dascha Polanco

ABOUT DASCHA POLANCO

Became known for her role as Dayanara Diaz in Orange Is the New Black . She went on to be cast in the 2013 independent film Gimme Shelter and the 2014 comedy film The Cobbler .

She aspired to be an actress at an early age, with Orange is the New Black being her first full-time acting job. She graduated from Hunter College with a bachelor's degree in psychology and then worked as a hospital administrator while studying nursing.

Her first acting credits were in the television shows Unforgettable and NYC 22.

She moved to the US from the Dominican Republic when she was a child, and was raised in Brooklyn and Miami by parents Rubén Darío Polanco and Janet Polanco. She had her daughter Dasany at aged 17. She also has a son named Aryam.

Elizabeth Rodriguez played her mother in Orange is the New Black.