4:22
- culture
- July 30, 2019
'Jane the Virgin' star on a mission to be heard
"Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez is on a mission to make her voice matter
4:22
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![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/gina-rodriguez-boxing-ht-mem-180817_hpEmbed_8x13_384.jpg\")
\"This is probably one one of my favorite photos of all time,\" Rodriguez says of a photo of her at three years old in a boxing ring. Boxing runs in the family. The actress grew up watching her father box and she says it was at this age he began to teach her and her sisters how to box as a way to defend themselves.
\"There was a stigma about women boxers back in the day,\" Rodriguez says, noting that the stigma still hasn't fully gone away.
\"I know a lot of badass women out there who fight and need the kind of attention we give our male boxers. So we should work on that.\"
A post shared by Gina Rodriguez (@hereisgina) on Jan 21, 2017 at 6:41pm PST
A fierce feminist and activist, Rodriguez has spent much time over the years advocating for women's rights.
\"This is me at the Women's March and I am there with the incredible women who have made me who I am,\" she says of this 2017 photo.
\"Being surrounded by so many strong, intelligent... and driven women,\" that day was inspiring, Rodriguez says.
\"And I will make sure that all the young girls know that and don't have to be reminded by a march of how powerful women are.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/gina-rodriguez-sundance-ht-mem-180817_hpEmbed_9x14_384.jpg\")
Although Rodriguez gained mainstream acclaim as her starring role on \"Jane the Virgin,\" the actress says it was when she was cast as the lead in the small indie film \"Filly Brown\" that really \"changed\" her life.
\"It gave me access to rooms I never had access to and opportunities I only could pray for,\" she says, pictured here promoting the film at Sundance Film Festival in 2013.
But the actress also admits that getting to this moment wasn't without failure -- including dropped pilots and bad auditions.
\"What I would say to young girls who are sitting in the fear of failure is just know I am here because I failed many, many times.\"
A post shared by Gina Rodriguez (@hereisgina) on Jan 20, 2018 at 12:38pm PST
Rodriguez says that she felt compelled to photograph this sign she saw at the 2018 Women's March declaring, \"I am the educated Latina you've been warned about\" and post it to her own Instagram because \"I have felt that way my whole life.\"
\"But you haven't been warned about us,\" she adds. \"Because you don't think we exist.\"
As the immigration is widely debated across the country, Rodriguez wants everyone to know that \"it's important to remember that we are educated. We know what's happening and we know how to participate in our country that we live in.\"
This story was originally published on Aug. 20, 2018.
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