Dascha Polanco was born on December 3, 1982, and she is an actress from the Dominican Republic who now lives in the United States. You might know her as Dayanara “Daya” Diaz from the Netflix show Orange Is the New Black and as Cuca in the 2021 movie In the Heights.
She was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and came to the United States when she was young. She grew up in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and Miami. Her dad is a mechanic, and her mom is a cosmetologist. Dascha is the oldest of three kids, with a brother and a sister.
Dascha always wanted to be an actress, but she doubted herself because of her weight. She got a degree in psychology from Hunter College. After college, she worked in healthcare, planning to become a nurse. While working at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, she gained the courage to pursue acting. She went to BIH Studios in New York and got signed by the talent agency Shirley Grant Management. Her first acting gigs were small roles in TV shows like Unforgettable and NYC 22.
In 2012, Dascha got a big break when she was cast as Dayanara “Daya” Diaz in Orange Is the New Black. She also appeared in the movie Gimme Shelter and later returned to Orange Is the New Black for its second season. She became a series regular for the third season.
She’s been in other projects too, like The Cobbler, Joy, and The Perfect Match. In 2018, she had a role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. In 2019, she was in Netflix series Russian Doll and When They See Us.
In 2021, Dascha played Cuca in the movie In the Heights. From 2021 to 2022, she voiced Ms. Camilla Torres in the animated series Karma’s World.
In her personal life, Dascha has two kids, a daughter, and a son. Her daughter even played a younger version of Dascha’s character in the fifth season of Orange is the New Black.