Latina actress Alex Meneses went from dancing to modeling to acting

Alejandra Meneses – her stage name is Alex Meneses – dreamed of becoming a dancer since her childhood in her native Chicago.

“My aunt had the local dance studio. Everyone in the neighborhood went there,” said the 56-year-old Latina actress, the daughter of a Ukrainian father and Mexican American mother.

She took ballet, tap, jazz, pointe and eventually became an instructor. “I wanted to be a ballerina my whole childhood,” said Meneses during a recent Zoom interview. “But I didn’t have the self esteem.”

She had two other obstacles: a) her mother “was old fashioned and didn’t drive,” and b) her father had no time because he worked all day.

“I was too young to go by myself,” she explained. “So, it just didn’t happen.”

The result was a road that led to modeling and then acting because of her aunt.

“My aunt started taking me downtown to the great schools, and I enjoyed that a lot,” said Meneses. “She also got me an agent. She was a bit of a stage mom.”

Meneses – known to television audiences for her role in The CW’s ‘Walker,’ an offshoot of ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ – began modeling.

“I just kind of fell into the business that way.”

Meneses moved to Italy after high school to launch her modeling career, which eventually led to acting.

Her credits include the Showtime comedy series ‘Sherman Oaks’ in 1995; the role of Teresa Morales in the CBS western series ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman;’ and, Robert Barone’s Italian girlfriend, Stefania, in the CBS comedy series ‘Everybody Loves Raymond.’

Q: How did you make the transition from modeling to acting?

A: “In modeling you have to have an agent. It’s a business and you have to have a certain height, a certain size, a certain look to be a real model. So that was more of an easier transition into acting. I was all about the business when I was in modeling. I just wanted to travel and make money. So, I got as many agents as I could.

“I was very professional. It was really good training for me to get into acting.”

Q: Do you remember your first acting gig?

A: “When I was modeling, I did tons of commercials. In Los ángeles and New York and in Italy. In Germany. In Greece. I did a lot of commercials, so I don’t really consider that acting.

“I got acting through my modeling agency. My first job was when I was studying at the Lee Strasberg Institute. I sent my headshots to like 50 agencies, signed with an agent, and then came out here. I didn’t like pack up my car and just came here. I’m not that girl.”

Q: Let’s fast forward to your role as Dr. Adriana Ramírez in ‘Walker.’ How did you wind up there?

A: “What attracted me to the part was the fact that Adriana is a doctor, she’s a psychologist. I love playing an educated, wealthy, Mexican woman. That was very attractive to me.

“And Adriana is the mother of Micki, who plays one of the first Mexican Rangers. There’s a very long history with the Rangers in Texas, and it’s very controversial. The fact that my daughter becomes a Ranger, for Adriana, is a big problem.

“That’s where the drama comes in. I love the part because of that. I loved it because Adriana is a very well-educated woman. She’s a wealthy woman. She’s not a little mamacita making (claps her hands as if making tortillas). I love the fact that we’re showing different aspects of an American Mexican-American now.”

Q: What was it on set with Lindsay Morgan, who plays Micki?

A: “We just hit it off. We’re just buds. I don’t know how that happened. I just love her to death. She’s a cutie patootie and she’s my buddy.

“She’s very down to earth and very generous as an actor and professional. I really lucked out with this part.”

Q: You worked with Eva Longoria in ‘Telenovela.’ What was that like?

A: “It was brilliant. I’ve known Eva for many years and we really wanted to work together. She offered me this part and I really wasn’t working at that time because I had retired when I had my daughter. I was just sort of semi-retired. She said, ‘We’re working at Universal. It’s 15 minutes from your house. You can bring the baby whenever you want. It’s very baby friendly.’

“She’s so uber talented as an actress and as a director and as producer. It was a joy. She’s fantastic. I just spoke with her. She just came out with a new tequila. Casa del Sol, so you need to buy it and drink it.”

Q: What’s the current state of affairs for Latino actors?

A: “I see a lot more that needs to be done, as far as being behind-the-scenes producers, writers and people who are writing the stories, the people that are directing our stories. I’m trying to get that done, and so is Eva. And so are just a load of other Latinas who have been in the business for a long time.

“It’s not just about getting the part and being an actor. I want to create a project, and it’s hard. You know, I tried a few times and almost got there. We’ve got two projects that are still in the running and actually a brand new one that I hope will go.

“Latinos need to get together. You know, it’s like the Black community; everyone’s together, you know. The Latinos are like the Mexicans, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans. The Venezuelans. Let’s just be together as Latinos.”

Q. What project are you working on?

A: “The one that has the most heat under it, I’m a producer in it but I’m not the lead. There are other parts that are much bigger than mine. I’m a writer/producer on this project called ‘Arena.’ It’s very important for me to have representation in front of the screen. So have Latinos in the show. It’s a basketball show.

“I want to get women on the writing team as well. Good ones, they can’t just be Latina. They have to be really good.”

Q: How has the access to platforms changed over the years? Do more platforms translate in more opportunities for Latinos?

A: “There’s so much more going on. I mean, back in the day, back in the 90s when I started auditioning, there would be some guest stars and then you would have pilot season that started in January and there was ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. And that was it.

“You had to get a pilot. You had to get a show or else you wouldn’t make your year. But now there’s so many platforms. There’s a lot more opportunity. There are a lot more actors and actresses and producers and everything, but there’s a lot more opportunity as well.”

Q. Final question. How do you celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month?

A: “It’s important to acknowledge your roots. We’re so inundated with so much news and things that are going on and COVID and this crisis and that crisis; and I feel that to for my sanity, I have to come back to my roots and come back to who I am and and remember how important that is in my life and in my mental health.

“It’s a beautiful thing to celebrate who you are. You live it every single day. When my father was alive, we celebrated the holidays and Saint’s Day and this and that, and I don’t do it as much. I just don’t. And we’d have tortillas with every meal. I just had eggs in a tortilla this morning, but he had jalapenos and tortillas with everything. Everything.

“So now that he’s not here, I’ve sort of lost it a little bit just because I get so wound up in my life. But it’s great to just come back and say, ‘Hey, this is Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s do something!”