Ana Ortiz made a name for herself playing a loving mother to a gay child on
Ugly Betty over a decade ago – but her new role on
In
Ugly Betty, Ortiz played Hilda, a vivacious single mother who shows unconditional love and support to her gay son, Justin. In
Love, Victor, she plays Isabel Salazar, a staunchly Catholic Puerto Rican mother who is not exactly a champion of gay rights, complicating life for her young gay son, Victor.
Tapping into that experience was not easy for Ortiz. “It’s so interesting, because I’ve played a lot of mothers of gay children in my career, which I love, it’s like my happiest place,” Ortiz tells