Judy Reyes has spent more than three decades building a career. From New York theater to beloved television roles in Scrubs, Devious Maids, and Claws, and now High Potential, she is nothing short of a true success story. At the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Cinema & Television: Honoring Latino and Hispanic Achievements, the Dominican-American actress had a chance to stop and look at just how far she has come.
© GettyReyes was honored with the Trailblazer Award, a recognition that brought her back to where her story began – the Bronx, her Dominican family, and the people who made it possible for her to dream bigger.
“I come from a long line of trailblazers, Dominican immigrants who could resist the risk and the temptation to live the dream and make a better life in the Bronx,” Reyes said during her acceptance speech.
© GettySpeaking with us on the red carpet, Reyes reflected on what she hopes the next generation of young Latinas won’t have to struggle with in the same way she did.
“I would say I don’t want them to be afraid,” she said. “I don’t want them to let fear stop them or hold them back, or rejection convince them that they don’t belong here because we do.”
That message is personal for Reyes, who recalled that her own mother initially worried about the risks of pursuing acting. Reyes ultimately trusted herself and built a career that has taken her from theater to some of television’s most recognizable shows.
Her son is now following his own creative path, preparing to pursue musical theater, and he was right there to celebrate his mom’s milestone. “He’s here, and he’s beside himself,” Reyes told us. “He’s so excited because he’s seeing all the people that he loves and all the people that he grew up with. And he’s so proud of me. And he’s like a super fan of everything.”
© Rodin EckenrothThe proud mom also gave him a special shoutout from the stage, thanking her “obscenely supportive son” alongside her husband George Valencia and the people who have stood by her throughout her career.
Reyes went on to share that representation has always been about more than simply seeing a Latino face on screen. It is about recognizing yourself as someone who belongs in the story.
In her speech, she remembered growing up surrounded by music and performance, from her mother singing at church, Thanksgiving and Christmas to her father building speakers, collecting records and encouraging the family to sing, dance and put on performances. Then she saw an Afro-Latina performer and something clicked. “I was like, oh snap, I can do this,” Reyes recalled.
© GettyThat realization helped push her toward acting. At 19, after performing in a seven-hour talent show filled with Latinos, she had what she described as an epiphany. She didn’t know if she would become an actor, “but nothing was going to stop me from trying.”
After spending so much of her career “keeping it moving,” Reyes admitted during her speech that she hadn’t always stopped to appreciate the body of work she had created. “I’ve been so busy keeping it moving that I haven’t really noticed the body of work that I’ve built,” she said. “I’m standing here being proud of myself.”
© GettyThat pride extended beyond her own career. Reyes used the moment to make a larger statement about why representation matters, particularly for immigrant communities.
“Being a trailblazer is to me being part of the story, and as success begets a platform, telling our own stories, whatever it takes, as we are blatantly being arrested and abused and deported and disappeared and violated and murdered,” she said passionately. “Art is important. Art is a legacy. Art is history, and as immigrants, especially art is how we tell our stories.”
