Dascha Polanco

Dascha Polanco is best known for her breakout role as Dayanara “Daya” Diaz on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. She joined the ensemble in the show’s first season in 2013 as a recurring player and was promoted to series regular for seasons three through seven (2015–2019).

Polanco made her feature-film debut in Gimme Shelter (2013) opposite Vanessa Hudgens. She followed with supporting turns in The Cobbler (2014) alongside Adam Sandler, Joy (2015), and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (2019) as a nurse.

On television, she appeared in recurring roles on American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace (2018) and Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us (2019), as well as guest spots on Russian Doll, Evil, and Poker Face.

Her other film credits include Cuca in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights (2021), Tiffany Cleary in Samaritan (2022), and the voice of Jessica Cruz in DC League of Super-Pets (2022). She also voiced Luna in the English dub of Mutafukaz (2018) and appeared in the indie drama A Little Prayer (2023) as Narcedalia.

In recent years Polanco has had roles in Air Force One Down (2024) as Vice President Hansen, Junction (2024), the voice of La Reina in the animated series Dora (2024–2025), Major Lucia Narvaez in The Walking Dead: Dead City (2025), and the lead in the Lifetime film Terror Comes Knocking: The Marcela Borges Story (2025). She also voiced a character in American Dad! and appeared in the series Stumble (2025).