Carmela Zumbado

Carmela Zumbado (born February 27, 1991)^[1] is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as Delilah Alves in the Netflix thriller series You (2019). She subsequently earned praise for playing Ximena Arista in the drama film The Wall of Mexico (2019), and has additionally played Jeny B in the action film Need for Speed (2014) and Denise Martinez on the musical series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2019). She appeared on season nine of Chicago P.D. in a recurring role.

Carmela Zumbado
Born	(1991-02-27) February 27, 1991 (age 34)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2012–present
Relatives	Gigi Zumbado (sister)

Early Life

Zumbado is a first-generation Cuban American and was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She is the daughter of Emmy Award-winning photojournalist Tony Zumbado and Lilliam Zumbado.^[2] She is also the oldest of three siblings and has younger sisters named Gigi and Marisela who are also actresses.^[3]

Career

Zumbado began acting in 2012, making her debut with two appearances on the television crime series America’s Most Wanted, appearing first as Karen Martinez, then as Teresa Martinez.^[4] In the same year, she appeared in the television film Freestyle Love Supreme as Rachel, a film which was later adapted onto Broadway.^[5] Zumbado continued to make appearances on shows such as Necessary Roughness and Graceland in 2013, and in the same year made a cameo appearance in the film Identity Thief, as a salesperson at a salon.^[6]

In 2014, she made her film debut as Jeny B in the action-thriller film Need for Speed.^[7] The film was a commercial success and critical failure.^[8] She made appearances on various television shows that same year, including a cameo appearance in the Netflix series Bloodline.^[6] Zumbado had a recurring role as Windi Stewart in the crime series NCIS: New Orleans and appeared as Susan in the crime series NCIS: Los Angeles.^[6] In 2016, she had a guest role as Denise Martinez on the comedic television series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which she later reprised in 2019.^[9]

In 2019, she starred as Ximena Arista in the drama film The Wall of Mexico, which was favorably received.^[10][11] In the same year, it was announced that she was cast in the role of Delilah Alves in the second season of the Netflix thriller series You.^[12] Zumbado had a guest role as Paloma Ball on the final season of the television series The Magicians,^[4] and played Gwen, the ex-wife of character Freddie Benson on the sitcom reboot iCarly.^[13][14] In 2023, she appeared as part of the main cast in season two of Power Book IV: Force as Mireya Garcia.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Identity Thief	Salon Salesperson	Cameo
2014	Need For Speed	Jeny B	Supporting role
2015	Our Brand Is Crisis	Reporter	Cameo
2019	The Wall of Mexico	Ximena Arista	Main role
2020	Run Sweetheart Run	Dawn	Supporting role
2020	2 Minutes of Fame	Reporter	Supporting role
2020	White Elephant	Joey	Supporting role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	America's Most Wanted	Karen/Teresa Martinez	Recurring role; 2 episodes
	Freestyle Love Supreme	Rachel	Television film
2013	Necessary Roughness	Woman	Cameo
	Graceland	Julie
2015	Every Witch Way	Witch	Cameo
	Bloodline	Girl	Cameo
	NCIS: New Orleans	Windi Stewart	Recurring role; 2 episodes
	Scream	Riley Decoy
2016–2019	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend	Denise Martinez	Recurring role; 2 episodes
2017	NCIS: Los Angeles	Susan
	Rosewood	Thanny Torres
2019	You	Delilah Alves	Main role (season 2)
2020	The Magicians	Paloma Ball	Episode: "The Balls"
2021, 2023	iCarly	Gwen	Guest Star (2 episodes)
2021	The Rookie	'Freegan' Frida	Guest Star (S03E05)
2021–2022	Chicago P.D.	Anna Avalos	Recurring role (season 9)
2023	Power Book IV: Force	Mireya Garcia	Main role (season 2)