Childhood & Early Life
Majandra Delfino was born on February 20, 1981, in Caracas, Venezuela, to an Italian–Venezuelan father, Enrique Delfino, and a Cuban mother, Mary Hellmund.
Growing up, she lived in Miami. She finally moved to Los Angeles in her late teens.
She attended the 'New World School of the Arts' in Miami, Florida.
Delfino was 4 when her parents recognized her skill of reading music from a Schubert book. She could also solve advanced multiplication sums with her basic knowledge of math rules.
From 4 to 13, she danced with the 'Miami Ballet.' She also joined the junior company at 9. She simultaneously studied classical piano.
By the time she turned 11, Majandra and her best friend, Alana Chirino (daughter of renowned Cuban salsa singer Willy Chirino), auditioned for an all-girl pop group and were selected. Along with Alana's sister, Nicole, and friend Samantha Gibb (daughter of British musician and record producer Maurice Gibb of the ‘Bee Gees’), they formed the soul-style pop group 'China Dolls' under 'Sony.'
They opened for Gibb at a benefit concert and subsequently performed at local shows. The group was moderately successful.
Delfino then auditioned for the 'Columbia Pictures' production 'The Baby-Sitters Club' and got selected. The selection motivated her to pursue acting further and turn it into a career.
However, her parents were not happy with her "non-academic" aspiration. They gave her a 6-month ultimatum to succeed. Fortunately, within 2 months, Delfino bagged her first big breakthrough.
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Career
Delfino made her acting debut with the 1997 ‘MGM’ film 'Zeus & Roxanne,' in which she played Kathleen Quinlan's (as 'Mary Beth Dunhill') daughter, 'Judith.'
She simultaneously made her TV debut, playing 'Tina,' Tony Danza's (as 'Tony DiMeoa') 16-year-old rebellious daughter, in 14 episodes of the ‘NBC’ sitcom 'The Tony Danza Show.'
After appearing as 'Natalie Sanford' in the 1999 indie film 'The Secret Life of Girls,' she portrayed 'Maria DeLuca' in the TV adaptation of Melinda Metz's young adults' book series 'Roswell High,' titled 'Roswell,’ aired on ‘The WB’ and ‘UPN.’
Though Delfino sang in many 'Roswell' episodes, her professional music career began in 1999, with her independent album 'The Sicks.' The album received positive reviews. She also did several live shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, to promote the album.
Delfino played 'Sara Shotz' in seven episodes of 'The WB' sitcom 'Katie Joplin.' She was cast in the brief role of 'Vanessa,' a junkie, in the 2000 'Academy Award'-winning crime film 'Traffic,' for which she bagged an 'ALMA Award' and a 'SAG Award.'
She was cast as 'Martina' in the 2000 direct-to-video horror/slasher parody 'Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th.' That summer, Delfino released three of her songs, 'Siren,' 'Bruises,' and 'Tattoo,' on the internet. She wrote the songs and produced them under her music label, in collaboration with 'Sci-Fi Lullaby.'
On October 31, 2001, her EP 'The Sicks' was released. The album was heavily inspired by the styles of Icelandic singer Björk and the English band 'Portishead.'
She then played 'Ashley' in the 2001 thriller 'The Learning Curve' and 'Callie' in the 2002 dark comedy 'R.S.V.P.'
Her next music release was 'Le Prince Bleu D'Arthelius,' a CD single duet featuring French singer RoBERT, released in 2003.
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In 2004, Delfino made appearances in an episode of the 'Fox' drama 'Boston Public' (as 'Jill Sharp') and the 'ABC Family' movie 'Celeste in the City' (as 'Celeste Blodgett). With the latter role, she displayed her versatility as an actor.
Her wish to appear on screen alongside her sister came true with a cameo in the 2005 road movie 'Don't Come Knocking' (2005). The sisters were featured as two Cuban teenagers.
In 2006, Delfino made single-episode appearances in the 'ABC Family' science-fiction dramedy 'Three Moons Over Milford' (as 'Grace Wochuck') and the ‘ABC’ sitcom 'Help Me Help You’ (as 'Lucy'). She also appeared in the TV movie 'Ultra' (as 'Suzette') and the independent feature 'State's Evidence' (as disturbed and vulnerable 'Trudi,' who, in the movie, shot her suicide attempt on videotape).
On April 23, 2007, her record company, 'Red Velvet Cake Records,' released her second album, 'Tarte.' She then starred in five episodes of the ‘NBC’ drama (later a web series) 'Quarterlife' (2008) toward the end of the year. The show featured her as free-spirited 'Vanessa,' who was shown romancing the characters 'Jed Berland' (Scott Michael Foster), 'Andy Melman' (Kevin Christy), and 'Danny Franklin' (David Walton).
In 2008, Delfino lent her voice to the character 'Miss Rottenmeier' in the feature-length children's film 'Heidi 4 Paws.' The following year, she was seen as 'Louise' and 'Abby Turner' in the TV movies 'Pulling' and 'Web of Lies,' respectively. She also made an appearance as 'Megan' in the short 'Bent.'
She played 'Jenna' in the 2010 romantic comedy 'Life as We Know It' and made a single-episode appearance as 'Stella' in the ‘TNT’ comedy–drama 'Men of a Certain Age' in 2011. She then starred alongside Raven-Symoné and Loretta Devine in the 'ABC Family' sitcom 'State of Georgia.' Delfino played a shy and timid 'Josephina "Jo" Pye,' ‘Georgia's (Raven-Symoné) best friend, in the series. She continued to be on the show until it was canceled.
In February 2011, Delfino announced her third studio album, through 'Twitter. The album, however, has not been released yet.
She was 8 months pregnant with her first child when she was cast as 'Sarah' in the 2012 ‘CBS’ pilot (later a TV movie) 'The Family Trap,' starring Mandy Moore and Stockard Channing. To justify her character, director Shawn Levy included a pregnancy in the plot.
In 2013, she was seen as 'Fannie' in an episode of the ‘NBC’ mockumentary sitcom 'The Office.' A month after her delivery, Delfino was signed to play Dwight Schrute's sister in the ‘NBC’ backdoor pilot 'The Farm,' an attempted spin-off of 'The Office.' However, the channel did not pick it up as an original series. It was later aired as an episode of 'The Office.'
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‘CBS,’ too, attempted to portray Delfino's pregnancy in the sitcom 'Friends with Better Lives,' which premiered on May 10, 2014. She played 'Andi Lutz,' a happily married woman and a mother of two kids, but was shown missing her young partying days. The channel canceled the show after five episodes. It was aired on other networks.
Family & Personal Life
Delfino was initially married to actor Devon Gummersall, from October 6, 2007, until their divorce the following year. She then got married to actor David Walton on March 18, 2011, at the 'Trinity Cathedral,' the oldest church in Miami.
The two are parents to daughter Cecilia Delphine Walton, born on June 14, 2012, and son Louis Augustus Walton, born on November 10, 2013.
Delfino can also dance, paint, and play instruments such as the guitar, the piano, and the cello.
She attended 'Ransom Everglades Prep' and the 'New World School of the Arts' (NWSA) while shooting for 'The Tony Danza Show' and 'Roswell.' She graduated with a major in music from the ‘NWSA.’
She was nicknamed "Majandra" because her sister was not able to pronounce her birth name, "Maria Alejandra."
