Francia Raisa — Biography

Born on July 26, 1988, Francia Raisa Almendarez is an American performer. She is recognized for her work in productions such as Bring It On: All or Nothing, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and Grown-ish. Raisa spent her upbringing in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Virginia Almendárez, whose maiden name was Pelayo, and Renán Almendárez Coello, a well-known American radio personality. Her heritage includes both Mexican and Honduran roots. Following Francia's birth, her father adopted the popular Latin radio persona known as "El Cucuy." She was a student at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California, where she was also involved in cheerleading. Raisa began her acting career during her junior year of high school, taking on print modeling assignments and appearing in commercials. She made guest appearances on the sitcoms American Family: Journey of Dreams and Over There. In 2004, she was featured in Lil' Romeo's music video for "My Girlfriend," playing the character Tamy, and later appeared in Iyaz's video for "So Big." Within a month of starting her senior year, she secured a significant leading role, starring alongside Hayden Panettiere in Bring It On: All or Nothing. She also played the character Isabel in the Nickelodeon film Shredderman Rules, and portrayed Alexandra Delgado in The Cutting Edge: Chasing the Dream and The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice. From its debut in July 2008 until its conclusion in early June 2013, Raisa portrayed Adrian Lee in the popular ABC Family drama, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. As of December 2023, her Instagram account has garnered a following of 1.7 million individuals.