Natalie Morales (actress) - Wikipedia

American actress

Natalie Morales
Morales in 2009
Born	(1985-02-15) February 15, 1985 (age 40)[1]Miami, Florida, U.S.
Occupations	Actress director
Years active	2005–present

Natalie Morales (born February 15, 1985) is an American actress and director. She is known for her role as pediatric surgeon Dr. Monica Beltran on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2024–2025). She starred in the ABC Family series The Middleman, the ABC sitcom Trophy Wife, the Fox legal series The Grinder, the NBC sitcom Abby's, the first season of White Collar, and the Netflix miniseries The Beast in Me. Morales also had recurring roles on Parks and Recreation, Santa Clarita Diet, Dead to Me and The Morning Show.

Her directorial debut film, the teen comedy Plan B, was released May 28, 2021, on Hulu. She also directed Language Lessons, a film she co-wrote with Mark Duplass. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was released in September 2021.

Early life

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A native of Miami, Florida, Morales is of Cuban descent.[2][3] She attended St. Agatha Catholic School and Southwest Miami Senior High School. She participated in the University of Miami's Dow Jones Minority High School Journalism Workshop.[4]

Career

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Acting

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Morales had a guest appearance on CSI: Miami in 2006, and played a character in Pimp My Ride that year, a video game version of the MTV television series Pimp My Ride.[5] Her first major role was in The Middleman, a sci-fi dramedy which aired on the ABC Family network for one season. She starred as Wendy Watson; the series was adapted from the comic book, The Middleman. Morales also starred in and executive produced a Web series, titled Quitters. The series was an official selection of the 3rd annual ITVFest (Independent Television Festival) in Los Angeles in August 2008.[6]

In 2009, Morales joined the cast of the USA Network television series White Collar for the first season. She portrayed Lauren Cruz, a junior FBI agent.[7] In May 2010, after her dismissal from the White Collar cast, Morales began recurring on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, as Lucy, the girlfriend of Aziz Ansari's character Tom Haverford and bartender at The Snakehole Lounge. Morales appeared in Oliver Stone's 2010 film, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, a sequel to his 1987 film Wall Street.[8] She was cast as Chelsea Handler's best friend in Are You There, Chelsea?. She left the series when the cast was replaced for creative reasons.[9] Morales also appeared on Aaron Sorkin's HBO drama, The Newsroom, guest-starring as Kaylee, the girlfriend of Dev Patel’s character, Neal.[10] In 2013, Morales joined the cast of Trophy Wife as Meg, Kate's best friend.[11] In 2015, she joined the cast of the Fox series The Grinder. In 2017, she appeared in some episodes of the NBC series Powerless.[12] Morales appeared as Detective Anne Garcia in the Netflix horror comedy series Santa Clarita Diet.[13]

Morales was in the television series Abby's, an NBC multi-camera sitcom created by Josh Malmuth and executive produced by Parks and Recreation creator Michael Schur.[14] Their third series for the network, it premiered on March 28, 2019. Later that year, Morales was cast as Michelle in the Netflix black comedy series Dead to Me, appearing in seasons 2 and 3.[15]

In 2022, Morales was cast as Kate Danton in season 3 of The Morning Show.[16][17][18] The following year, Morales was cast as pediatric surgeon Dr. Monica Beltran on Grey's Anatomy, appearing in a recurring role for two seasons.[19] Her final appearance was in the show's season 22 premiere when her character was killed off.[20]

In 2025, Variety ranked Morales-lead movie My Dead Friend Zoe as one of the 10 Best Movies of the year.[21] That same year, she was part of the main cast of the miniseries The Beast in Me, portraying the estranged wife of Claire Danes's character. She was also cast as Cassie in the Amazon MGM Studios rom-com You Deserve Each Other.[22]

Directing

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In 2021, Morales directed teen comedy Plan B starring Victoria Moroles and Kuhoo Verma. The story revolves around two teens looking for the Plan B pill after a regrettable first sexual encounter. The film earned critical acclaim with critics praising Morales' direction including Linda Holmes of NPR who wrote, "The creators and the cast deserve enormous credit for how deftly the broader comedy here is balanced with genuine fear and frustration, and how unexpectedly parts of the film unfold. A lot of it is somehow structurally familiar but specifically surprising."[23]

That same year she also directed the drama film Language Lessons (2021) which she co-wrote with writer-director Mark Duplass. They both star in the feature, which they filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is set over Zoom as a Spanish teacher (Morales) communicates with her student (Duplass). Katie Erbland, critic of IndieWire praised Morales' work on the film writing "Morales’ winning Language Lessons offers one of the best uses of the format yet, a 'Zoom film' that utilizes its constraints to craft an intimate, expressive two-hander, no fatigue in sight".[24] The film had its debut at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in March 2021 to positive reviews, and was released in September 2021.

Personal life

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In January 2010, Morales fell down approximately 20 steps at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, landing face-first on a balcony wall. She sustained major facial injuries and underwent emergency reconstructive surgery following the accident.[25][26]

On June 30, 2017, Morales stated on social media that she is queer.[27]

Filmography

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Film

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	The Time Machine	Natalie	Short film
	Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps	Churchill Schwartz Trader (Laura)
	Going the Distance	Brandy
2011	6 Month Rule	Sophie
2012	Freeloaders	Red Dot Girl
2017	Battle of the Sexes	Rosie Casals
2018	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	Miss Calleros (voice)
2019	Stuber	Nicole Manning
2021	The Little Things	Detective Jamie Estrada
	Language Lessons	Cariño	Also co-writer and director
	Happily	Patricia
	Plan B	—N/a	Director
2022	I'm Totally Fine	Jennifer
2023	Self Reliance	Theresa
	If You Were the Last	Savannah Gherrity
	No Hard Feelings	Sara
2024	My Dead Friend Zoe	Zoe
	Thelma the Unicorn	Penelope Pizzaz (voice)
2025	Summer of 69	Robin Goode
TBA	Brian †	TBA	Post-production
TBA	You Deserve Each Other †	Cassie	Post-production

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

Television

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	CSI: Miami	Anya Boa Vista	Episode: "Darkroom"
2008	Quitters	Natalie	Web series
2008	The Middleman	Wendy Watson	Main role, 12 episodes
2009	Boldly Going Nowhere	Ruby	TV movie
2009	Rockville CA	Isabel	Web series, episode: "Shoegazed"
2009–2010	White Collar	Lauren Cruz	Main role, 9 episodes
2010	The Subpranos	Beatrice Ramirez	Web series, episode: "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves"
2010–2015	Parks and Recreation	Lucy	Recurring role, 12 episodes
2011	The Cape	Kia	Episode: "The Lich (Part 1)"
2012	The Newsroom	Kaylee	2 episodes
2012–2013	90210	Ashley Howard	5 episodes
2013–2014	Trophy Wife	Meg Gomez	Main role, 14 episodes
2014–2015	Girls	Clementine	3 episodes
2015–2016	The Grinder	Claire Lacoste	Main role, 21 episodes
2017	Grace and Frankie	Melissa	Episode: "The Musical"
2017	Powerless	Green Fury	2 episodes
2017	Crashing	Stephanie	Episode: "The Baptism"
2017	Imaginary Mary	Rebecca	Episode: "In a World Where Worlds Collide"
2017	Making History	Mona	Episode: "The Duel"
2017–2019	Santa Clarita Diet	Anne Garcia	11 episodes
2017–2018	BoJack Horseman	Yolanda Buenaventura (voice)Mindy Buenaventura (voice)	4 episodes
2018	Alex, Inc.	Serena Bans	Episode: "The Rube Goldberg Contraption"
2018	Room 104	Jess	Episode: "A Nightmare"
2018	Dream Corp, LLC	Patient 6	Episode: "Woomba"
2019	Abby's	Abby	Main role, 10 episodes
2019	Sunnyside	Celeste	Episode: "Pants Full of Sandwiches"
2019–2025	Harley Quinn	Lois Lane (voice)	8 episodes
2020–2022	Dead to Me	Michelle Gutierrez	Recurring (seasons 2-3)
2020	Home Movie: The Princess Bride	Inigo Montoya	Episode: "Chapter Ten: To the Pain!"
2020–2025	Solar Opposites	Mrs. Perez / various (voice)	14 episodes
2021–2022	Mr. Mayor	Susan Alvarez-Craw	2 episodes
2021–2023	Rugrats	Betty DeVille (voice)	Recurring role
2022–2025	Firebuds	Val Vega-Vaughn (voice)	6 episodes
2022	The Young and the Restless	Talia Morgan	Episode #1.12500
2023	History of the World, Part II	Cavewoman	Episode: "I"
2023	The Morning Show	Kate Danton	4 episodes (season 3)
2024–2025	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Monica Beltran	Recurring (seasons 20–21); Guest (season 22)13 episodes
2025	The Beast in Me	Shelley	Main role; 8 episodesGolden Globe Award for Best Limited or Anthology Series or, Motion Picture Made for Television — Nominated (2026)

Music videos

Year	Title	Role	Artist	Notes
2024	Penny & Me	Director	Hanson	Moonlight version

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Pimp My Ride	Aiyan	Video game

References

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1. ^ "Natalie Morales". Retrieved January 6, 2025.
2. ^ Hernandez, Lee (March 25, 2010). "'White Collar' Fires Natalie Morales, 'Parks and Recreation' Hires Her!". Latina. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
3. ^ "From Kidnap Victim to Kicking Butt". Miami Herald. June 23, 2008. p. 8a.
4. ^ "Miami Montage". Archived from the original on July 19, 2011.
5. ^ "Slice of SciFi Interview With "The Middleman" Star Natalie Morales". June 5, 2008.
6. ^ "Independent Television Festival 2008 : Quitters". Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 8, 2009). "Actress joins USA crime series". Reuters. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
8. ^ "Who's that Girl? Natalie Morales Goes from TV to "Wall Street"".
9. ^ Ausiello, Michael (July 3, 2011). "Exclusive: Chelsea Handler's New NBC Sitcom Cuts Three Castmembers in Overhaul". TVLine. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
10. ^ "White Collar Alum Joins Sorkin Show, X Factor Finale Beats The Voice and More!". TVLine. July 3, 2011. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
11. ^ "'White Collar' Alum Joins ABC Comedy Pilot 'Trophy Wife'". The Hollywood Reporter. November 26, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
12. ^ Gerding, Stephen (February 2, 2017). "NBC’s Powerless Adds Justice League Member to Cast". CBR.com.
13. ^ Reiher, Andrea (February 9, 2017). "Deputy Anne brings the heat to Santa Clarita Diet". AV Club. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 8, 2018). "'Abby's' & "I Feel Bad' Comedies Picked Up To Series By NBC". Deadline. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
15. ^ Otterson, Joe (October 17, 2019). "'Dead to Me' Season 2 Casts Natalie Morales (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
16. ^ Lealos, Shawn S. (September 8, 2023). "The Morning Show Season 3 Cast Guide: Every New & Returning Character". ScreenRant. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
17. ^ Hailu, Selome (October 19, 2022). "'The Morning Show' Season 3 Casts Natalie Morales (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
18. ^ "The Trailer for The Morning Show's Third Season Is Finally Here". Town & Country. August 24, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
19. ^ "How Natalie Morales Personalized Her 'Grey's Anatomy' Guest Role". Shondaland. March 25, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
20. ^ Venable, Malcolm (October 15, 2025). "Natalie Morales on the Joys of Playing a Doctor, Learning New Skills, and More". Shondaland. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
21. ^ Debruge, Peter; Gleiberman, Owen (June 26, 2025). "The 10 Best Movies of 2025 (So Far)". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
22. ^ "Amazon MGM Studios Rom-Com 'You Deserve Each Other' Adds Natalie Morales, Justin Long, Kyle MacLachlan, Ana Gasteyer & More". Deadline. July 9, 2025.
23. ^ Holmes, Linda (May 28, 2021). "'Plan B' Is A Winning Comedy With Some Painful Truths". NPR. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
24. ^ "'Language Lessons' Review: Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales Shine in Intimate Exploration of Platonic Love". June 12, 2021. March 2021.
25. ^ Jamil, Jameela (May 28, 2021). "Natalie Morales Wrong Turns with Jameela Jamil". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
26. ^ Scharf, Lindzi (July 15, 2025). "In Conversation: Natalie Morales & Kimmy Erin". The Retaility. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
27. ^ "Natalie Morales would like you to know nothing about her, except for one thing…". Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls. June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.

External links

[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natalie Morales.

• Natalie Morales at IMDb
• Natalie Morales on Instagram

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