Karina Ortiz is a Dominican American actress born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She was the middle child and only girl among her two brothers. Due to her younger brother being diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby, her family moved to New York City when she was 4 years old in order to provide him with better care and opportunities. From a young age, Karina was always emotionally drawn to both music and acting resulting in her wanting to connect with the world by performing. Unfortunately, due to financial hardships her parents were not able to afford the training she needed. It was not until college where she was finally able to fully pursue acting and in 2009 she graduated with a BA in Theatre from The City College of New York. Upon graduating she performed on Off-Broadway stages but later focused on TV and film.