Why Laura Acosta From Blue Bloods Looks So Familiar
The following article contains spoilers for "Blue Bloods" Season 13, Episode 11 — "Lost Ones"
Might Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) find love again? He's been mourning the death of his beloved wife, Linda Reagan (Amy Carlson) for seasons now, and his dates have been sparing, to say the least. But he might have found someone during the course of the episode titled "Lost Ones." Laura Acosta (Jessica Pimentel) is a cop who was injured in the line of duty — in fact, while she was covering Danny's shift on the night Linda died in a tragic helicopter accident — and now she's trying to figure out her post-force plans. Unfortunately, she's not eligible for a full disability, which ropes Danny's entire family into the proceedings as they try to earn her fair due. The Reagan clan notes the chemistry between the twosome; worried that Danny's grief has kept him isolated, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) nudges his son into making a date with Laura and moving beyond his grief.
While some fans — still hoping that Danny will end up in the arms of his partner, Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez), per TV Insider — are less than positive about Laura as a possible romantic foil for Danny, it's possible the character will be here to stay and the two of them will finally find happiness. If the actor playing Laura looks familiar to you, you're likely into nighttime procedurals or really like drama. Here's why she looks so familiar.
Jessica Pimentel frequented procedurals before Blue Bloods
Jessica Pimentel got her start as an actor in her late teens with a role as a performer on the ABC soap opera "All My Children." She parlayed that into small, uncredited roles in movies like "Room" and "The Last Days of Disco."
She appeared in a number of guest starring roles in procedurals before her career took off. Most notably, Pimentel appears in three different branches of the "Law & Order" universe. On the mothership show, she played a sex worker in Season 13's "Under God," and makes a return appearance as Tina in Season 20's "Boy Astray." She pops up on Season 9 of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" as Gabriella Belteno in "Disciple." She appears as three different characters on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Her first appearance was as Selma Garcia in Season 7's "911." Then she appeared in Season 10's "Retro" as Joanne Suarez. Her final appearance was in Season 17's "Institutional Fail" as Manuela Ozuna.
Before grabbing more national attention, Pimentel popped up as John Leguizamo's daughter in his indie romantic comedy "Fugly!" and showed up in the band Ghost's music video for "Dance Macabre."
She played the hitwoman Floyd in Person of Interest
Spoilers for "Person of Interest" Season 4.
"Person of Interest" helped take Pimentel's career to the next level. She first appeared on the show during its fourth season as Floyd, a hitwoman and member of The Brotherhood, a tightly-knit gang who menaced the CIA and NYPD alike. Floyd committed a number of nasty deeds during her four appearances on the program, including kidnapping fellow Brotherhood member Trey Wender (Connor Hines) for stealing cash from the organization and going on the run with it, participating in the attempted execution of Carl Elias (Enrico Colantoni), and double-crossing former Brotherhood member Harper Rose (Annie Ilonzeh).
The Brotherhood falters when they manage to reach the acme of their wickedness in capturing the entire team. Floyd reads a fax aloud to Dominic Besson (Winston Duke), head of The Brotherhood, and resultantly activates John Reese's (Jim Caviezel) supersoldier instincts. The fax is a coded message from The Machine, a supercomputer that helps the team bring perps to justice. That connection is a boon to the team that ultimately saves their lives; Reese breaks free from his bonds and Floyd is nonfatally wounded in the melee. She is ultimately arrested and held accountable for her crimes with the rest of her gang, never appearing on the series again.
She made a name for herself with Orange is the New Black
Spoilers for "Orange is the New Black."
If you know Jessica Pimentel from anything, it's likely from her long stint on Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" as Maria Ruiz. Maria is an unusual character who changes a lot over the course of the show. Pregnant in the first season, she's bunked up with Dayanara Diaz (Dascha Polanco) and ends up giving birth to a girl while in prison. She only has six years left on her sentence and thinks that she might marry her boyfriend Yadriel (Ian Paola).
But a transfer to a new prison and Yadriel's announcement that he's going to stop bringing Peppa to the prison to visit her mother bring about a change in Maria. In the latter seasons, Maria becomes ambitious when it comes to fostering her own career and finds herself leading the prison's Dominican gang. But her participation in a prison-wide riot leads to friends both former and new turning on her; she ends up in a maximum security prison with 10 more years added to her sentence. Nevertheless, she manages to heal her relationships with Diaz and several other women in the wake of the riots. Even though she loses Yadriel, there's hope that she'll find good luck in the prison's Restorative Justice program.
Pimentel's role as Ruiz helped her land three SAG awards as part of the "Orange is the New Black" ensemble and added to her reputation as an actor. Fans will have to keep their eyes peeled to see where she's headed next — and if Laura's relationship with Danny on "Blue Bloods" becomes more than a one-date thing.