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Giselle was born in New Jersey during a blizzard in the 80s, a wonderful place to originate from despite contradictory popular belief. Her parents are Cuban, and her ancestors are from Spain, making her American, Caribbean, and European. And yes, she speaks Spanish. Fluently. Giselle stumbled upon acting (quite literally) at the age of 7. On the night of her thespian premiere she fell flat on her face after a monologue. The logistics of the event are unimportant, what matters is that the audience erupted with laughter. Giselle had officially, and ironically, arrived. Via her mother, Marlene Forte, Giselle spent a lot of her childhood with the theatrical company, The L.A.B. (LAByrinth's original name), in New York City. She watched Phillip Seymour Hoffman, David Zayas, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Vul Vasquez (and of course her mom!) from the wings and fell in love with the craft. On occasion when a storyline called for a kid, she was handed a script. Considering it nothing more than a hobby, she took the time to be a carefree teenager, and later on a (still) carefree college student. Montclair State University was nice enough to give her a B.A. in Theater Arts. After graduation she returned to her mom's Hell's Kitchen home and hit the pavement with moxie. Since then she has appeared/can be seen on, MTV, A&E, Showtime, Comedy Central, NYC-TV, IFC, and all over the American and Spanish markets commercially. But her true love is writing. Through a wonderful series of perfect events Giselle received tutelage from some of this generation's most prized writers including Jose Rivera, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mark Richard, and of course her stepfather, Oliver Mayer. These influential individuals believed in her literary potential and continue to encourage her to recognize the same.
Daughter of Marlene Forte .Niece of Lesley Ann Machado .Stepdaughter of Oliver Mayer.Is of Cuban & Spanish descent. Speaks Spanish fluently.Giselle is the eldest of four siblings. She is the proud sister of Alexis Rodriguez, and brothers Andre Rodriguez and Christian Rodriguez.Pen name used for publications is her birth name, Giselle Rodriguez.