Ivonne Coll
Coll at the 2015 PaleyFest presentation forJane the Virgin
Born	Ivonne Coll Mendoza (1947-06-18)June 18, 1947 (age 78) Fajardo,Puerto Rico
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1971–present
Title	Miss Puerto Rico 1967
Website	www.ivonnecoll.com

Ivonne Coll Mendoza (born June 18, 1947) is a Puerto Rican actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crownedMiss Puerto Rico 1967 and competed in theMiss Universe 1967 pageant but did not place. She later became an actress, appearing in films such asThe Godfather Part II andLean on Me and television series includingSwitched at Birth,Glee, andTeen Wolf. From 2014 to 2019, Coll starred as Alba Villanueva in theCW comedy-drama seriesJane the Virgin.^[1][2][3]

Coll was born on June 18, 1947, inFajardo, Puerto Rico, where she received her primary and secondary education. Her mother, Rosita Mendoza, was a celebrated hairstylist in Puerto Rico. She also has a sister, Millie.^[4][5] After Coll was born, her father left Puerto Rico forNew York City, leaving Coll and her mother behind. When Coll was 10, she and her family moved to the capital ofPuerto Rico,San Juan; they lived in theRío Piedras andHato Rey municipalities of the city.^[6] Coll was an honor student and graduated from Nuestra Señora del Pilar school. She then enrolled in theUniversity of Puerto Rico (Universidad de Puerto Rico) where she studiedSocial Sciences.^[7][8][9] Coll started her career as afashion model. In 1966, she representedFajardo in theMiss Puerto Rico pageant and won. Coll remained the only representative from Fajardo to win the national title untilAshley Cariño won in2022.^[7][8][9]

External audio
You may listen toIvonne Coll narrating in Spanish her experiences in the show "Una chica llamada Ivonne Coll" onYouTube

At the end of 1971, the owner of televisionchannel 11 in Puerto Rico,Rafael Perez Perry spotted Coll. His competitor had a show with a young starlet by the name ofIris Chacón. Perez Perry believed that Coll could have a show of her own to compete. Therefore, he sponsored the show which was calledUna chica llamada Ivonne Coll (A girl named Ivonne Coll), which ran from 1971 to 1975.^[8][9]

In 1976, Coll moved toLos Angeles, California, where she took dance and singing classes in the Academy of Stage and Cinema Arts. She landed a part in a theater play called "Burning Beach", which was presented in the American Place Theater.^[7][8][9]

In 1979, Coll moved back to New York, where she participated in variousOff Broadway productions such as:^[8][9]Spain 1980,As You Like It,Romeo and Juliet, andMacbeth. In New York, film directorFrancis Ford Coppola recruited her for the role of "Yolanda", aHavana night club singer inThe Godfather II. Although her role was small, the experience would serve her well in the future. She was credited as "Yvonne Coll".^[8][9]

In 1989, Coll played a minor role of a teacher namedMrs. Santos, in the filmLean on Me written by Michael Schiffer, directed byJohn G. Avildsen and starringMorgan Freeman.^[10] She participated in the following productions:^[8][9]Orinoco,The Masses Are Asses (a play byPedro Pietri),Medio Comuñas,GoodbyeCastro, andPancho Diablo (withFernando Allende andSully Diaz).

Coll won anACE Award for best actress forOrinoco. When not acting, Coll attended theHB Studio andLee Strasberg's Acting Studio.^[8][9] Among the television series on which she appeared were:Pacific Blue,Crisis Center,An American Family,The Bold and the Beautiful,Chicago Hope,Malibu Shores,NYPD Blue,L.A. Law, andUnder Cover.

When Coll returned to Puerto Rico, she was invited to participate inLa verdadera historia de Pedro Navaja andPaper Flowers. She had a role in the locally produced film,La gran Fiesta (The Grand Party), and in the TV showCuqui. In 2002, she appeared in the filmBesos de Fuego.^[7]

In October 2006, Coll played the title role inBertolt Brecht'sMother Courage at the Berkeley Rep Theater inBerkeley, California.^[9] From 2011 to 2014, she had the recurring roles onSwitched at Birth,Glee, andTeen Wolf. Beginning in the fall of 2014, Coll become part of the main cast as Alba Villanueva, grandmother of Jane Villanueva, in the CW comedy series,Jane the Virgin.^[1][3]

In 2015, Coll was honored by the organizers of theNational Puerto Rican Day Parade with a lifetime achievement award for her long and varied career.^[11][12]

In 2019, Coll moved back permanently to Puerto Rico.^[13][14]

This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(June 2022)

Coll has never married and has no children.^[2]

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Irish immigration to Puerto Rico
• History of women in Puerto Rico

• Ivonne Coll atIMDb

• 1947 births
• Living people
• People from Fajardo, Puerto Rico
• 20th-century Puerto Rican actresses
• 21st-century Puerto Rican actresses
• Miss Puerto Rico winners
• Miss Universe 1967 contestants
• 20th-century Puerto Rican women singers
• 20th-century Puerto Rican singers
• Puerto Rican film actresses
• Puerto Rican people of Irish descent
• Puerto Rican soap opera actresses
• Puerto Rican stage actresses
• Puerto Rican television actresses
• University of Puerto Rico alumni

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• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list
• Articles with short description
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