you just received the jane fonda humanitarian award, glamour uk women of the year, latino power list. and now us, bbc 100 women, it s a pleasure having you with us. thank you. and thank you for the, for the honour of being on the list with such incredible other women. 0k. let s start with an easy question. let s talk about your name, america. mm. what s the true story behind your name? yeah. well, i m named america after my mother, who is also named america. and it s true, growing up in the united states of america, everyone assumed that it was a, it was a patriotic homage by my immigrant parents. but the truth is, is that in latino america, the name america is much more common. and so my mother is actually named after a very obscure holiday that she was born on, called dia de las americas. and i was due on her birthday. and so i was also named america. so that, so my name is very central american and latino americana. that s a name that you didn t love when you were younger,
against the labels that everybody told her would hold her back. she was the first latina and the youngest person ever to win an emmy award in a leading role for her character in ugly betty. and her speech in this summer s hit barbie film resonated with audiences across the world when she goes on a rant about the double standards and pressures that women face. for this series of bbc 100 women, we sat down with america ferrera to chat about her experience growing up as a daughter of immigrants in los angeles, the need to have more representation on screen, and how she uses what she calls her superpower. america ferrera, thank you so much for sitting down with bbc 100 women and for taking some time out of what seems like a very busy awards schedule. it s my pleasure. thank you for having me.
she was the first latina and the youngest person ever to win an emmy award in a leading role for her character in ugly betty. and her speech in this summer s hit barbie film resonated with audiences across the world when she goes on a rant about the double standards and pressures that women face. for this series of bbc 100 women, we sat down with america ferrera to chat about her experience growing up as a daughter of immigrants in los angeles, the need to have more representation on screen, and how she uses what she calls her superpower. america ferrera, thank you so much for sitting down with bbc 100 women and for taking some time out of what seems like a very busy awards schedule. it s my pleasure. thank you for having me.