Jude Herrera is an American actress. She began her career in theater and made her onscreen debut starring with Ann-Margret and Kris Kristofferson in the television movie, Blue Rodeo, for director Peter Werner.

Early life and education

Herrera was born in central New Mexico to her mother, a kindergarten teacher and former Franciscan nun, and her maternal grandparents (grandmother née Salazar). She was raised in a tight-knit Roman Catholic family in central and northern New Mexico. One of her great grandfathers served as the first chief of police of Española, N.M., also helping nearby communities of Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Fe. Highly educated and well-respected, this grandfather would become a great influence on Herrera. Herrera began formal dance training at age six and was performing publicly at age seven. She was introduced to acting by her mid-school English teacher who also ran the drama club. By her senior year of high school, while performing in a run of Brighton Beach Memoirs at her school's new state of the art theater, Herrera decided to pursue acting as a career. She was working as an engineer intern for a U.S. D.O.E. lab at the time. Herrera graduated from a private performing arts conservatory in Manhattan and also enrolled at the University of New Mexico, majoring in religious studies and minoring in communication. While at UNM, she was inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Career

Herrera's onscreen debut was portraying a deaf youth in Blue Rodeo, a 1996 CBS Sunday Night Movie of the Week based on a novel of the same name by Jo-Ann Mapson. She has since appeared in television shows such as ER, Felicity, and Walker, Texas Ranger, as well as in independent and studio films.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations