Carmen is a Mexican-American actress, dancer and writer. Born and raised in Chicago, she attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television on a full scholarship to study acting.Carmen has starred in several feature films including the HBO TV Movie, Walkout, directed by Edward James Olmos. She also starred across from oscar-nominated actress, Adriana Barraza in Revolucion, a film produced by Canana Film's Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Pablo Cruz. The film was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. In the film, Undocumented (IFC), she played her most dramatic role yet as Maria, an undocumented Mexican mother tortured by a gang of sadistic radicals. She has also starred in a variety of TV shows including The Shield, Brothers and Sisters, Raines, and Crossing Jordan.Most recently, Carmen played the love interest to star, Ben Mckenzie, on TNT's critically acclaimed show, Southland. Carmen is currently finishing production on her dance short film, Clave, which she wrote, produced, directed and starred in.