Maria Canals-Barrera

Canals-Barrera's career started in theater, with roles in Miami and Los Angeles. She starred in a 1990 production of The Glass Menagerie and a 1992 production of A Cradle of Sparrows. That same year, she began starring in the Telemundo telenovela Marielena. During the 1990s, she appeared in series like 21 Jump Street, Murder, She Wrote, and Caroline in the City, and in 1996 she took on the title role in Hedda Gabler. Her first regular TV role came in 1997 on The Tony Danza Show.

She gained recognition in the 2000s for her voice work as Hawkgirl in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. She also voiced characters in Static Shock and Danny Phantom, and played Mercedes "Meche" Colomar in the video game Grim Fandango. From 2007 to 2012, she co-starred as Theresa Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place, and she appeared in its movie spinoff. She also played Connie Torres in Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2. The 2011 movie Larry Crowne gave her a role opposite Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. Later roles included a part in the soap opera Members Only before it was cancelled, and a recurring role on Cristela. In 2018, she joined Fuller House as the mother of Fernando. She has been married to actor David Barrera since 1999, and they have two daughters.