Linara Washington- Talks Taking Her MCAT Money To Buy Headshots & Eventually Pursuing Her Dreams Of Becoming An Actor

Linara Washington was born in the little town of Beaufort, SC to a beautiful Brazilian woman and an American son of a preacher man. Her mother spoke no English at the time, which has given Linara the added benefit of being fluent in Portuguese. She attended the prestigious University of Chicago where she started her courses as a Pre-med Biology major. But, as with all things that are meant to be, she soon found herself participating in the campus’s theater productions and eventually took her MCAT money and purchased headshots, and did not tell her parents until graduation day that she was going to pursue acting. Linara’s gutsy move proved to be the right one; she has had the pleasure of working at a number of Chicago’s most acclaimed theaters including The Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, Northlight, and the Tony Award winning Victory Gardens. She has appeared in over 50 commercials nationally and internationally. A supporting role as Keisha, the cute and sassy receptionist in Barbershop 2 motivated her move to Los Angeles where she immediately landed recurring roles on American Dreams and E.R. Linara has since guest starred on hit shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Madame Secretary, NCIS, Station 19, Code Black, CSI, The Defenders, Touch, Ghost Whisperer, and many others. Feature film credits include working with Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and acclaimed director Marc Forster on Stranger Than Fiction, and performing opposite Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini in Killing Them Softly. She also starred in the award winning, Kings of the Evening with Lynn Whitfield, Glynn Turman, and Tyson Beckford. Linara is currently working on Casting The Net, an original series for a new streaming service due to debut in November. When she’s not on set, Linara enjoys spending time with her 5 year old daughter, director/writer/producer husband Andrew P. Jones, and their two crazy cats.