Lana Parrilla

"If I told you how I prepared to play the Evil Queen... I'd probably get locked up in an insane asylum."

- Lana Parrilla

Lana Parrilla is the American actress who portrays the Evil Queen and Regina Mills on ABC's Once Upon a Time.

Biography
Lana Marie Parrilla was born on July 15, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York to an Sicilian mother, who is a painter, and Puerto Rican Sam Parrilla, an ex-Major League baseball player. Due to her parents' early separation, she lived with her mother until she was ten years old, and moved into the household of her father. She grew up encouraged into creativity and pursuing one's dreams. Beginning at a young age, she was constantly making home videos with her family, signaling her desire even then to be an actress. After graduating from high school, Lana moved to Los Angeles to study acting and began honing her craft in local theater productions.

One of Lana's earliest on-camera jobs was an appearance in the Steven Spielberg action pilot Semper Fi before being cast on the ABC hit comedy series Spin City. Known for creating distinctive characters, she has been a regular on such critically acclaimed shows as Boomtown (for which she received the Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress), 24 and Swingtown. She also guest starred on various shows such as NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under and Lost.

While in Israel, she became engaged to her boyfriend Fred Di Blasio on April 28, 2013. Some time before Lana began filming Once Upon a Time's fourth season, the couple secretly wedded.

Trivia

 * She learned to speak Spanish in the city of Granada in 2009.
 * Her favorite Disney character is Ursula from "The Little Mermaid".
 * Lana's lip scar, which is visible in some on-screen scenes, is due to a dog attack she experienced at age ten.
 * Lana would most like to play Prince Charming, and then switch to Mr. Gold when she is bored of sword fighting and riding horses, although she loves to do the latter.
 * During her appearance in the Once Upon a Time episode, "The Cricket Game", Lana portrayed Regina Mills as the disguised form of Cora.
 * During her appearance in the Once Upon a Time episode "It's Not Easy Being Green", Lana portrayed the Evil Queen as the disguised form of Rumplestiltskin.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.