Ana Alicia (born Ana Alicia Ortiz on December 12, 1956 in Mexico City) is a Mexican-born
actress, who moved to El Paso, Texas when she was a child.
She is most known for her role as schemer Melissa Agretti on the primetime soap opera
Falcon Crest. She was sometimes credited on Falcon Crest as
Ana-Alicia.
Upon graduating high school in 1973, she earned a scholarship to Wellesley College, but eventually left, instead pursuing her bachelor's degree in drama at the
University of Texas at El Paso to be closer to her mother and siblings.
After she earned her degree in 1977, she moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for roles in various productions. Eventually, she won the part of Alicia Nieves on
Ryan's Hope, and moved to New York City
temporarily for taping. After fifteen months on the serial, she moved back to Los Angeles part-time and kept auditioning while
attending law school at Southwestern University at night back in Texas.
Eventually, her acting opportunities suffered and she decided to pursue acting full-time.
This decision led to a successful audition for Falcon Crest. Ortiz helped Melissa
become the serial's "love to hate" character; she did what she wanted with little regard for others. A very lucrative role for
the actress, Ortiz played Melissa for seven years (1981 to 1988).
In 1989, she appeared in the movie Romero with
Raúl Juliá, and is her most successful film role to date. By and large, since then, Ortiz has
decided to take a sabbatical from acting.
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