# Haskiri Velazquez
**Haskiri Velazquez** (born 1995) is an American actress best known for playing Daisy Jiménez, the lead character of the Peacock revival of *Saved by the Bell* (2020–2021), and for her role as Rosa in Radha Blank's Sundance film *The Forty-Year-Old Version* (2020).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/haskiri-velazquez/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, New York City, New York[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/haskiri-velazquez/) |
| Breakout role | Daisy Jiménez, lead of the *Saved by the Bell* revival on Peacock, 20 episodes, 2020–2021[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) |
| Film work | Rosa in *The Forty-Year-Old Version* (Sundance 2020, later on Netflix); Marley in *What Lies Below* (2020)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) |
| Television credits | *NYC 22* (2012), *Law & Order: SVU* (2016), *The Birch* (2019, 7 episodes), *Blue Bloods* (2020)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) |
| Training | Urban Arts Partnership's Lifestories Theater program in New York; directed by Gina Rodríguez, Jesse Williams, and Victor Maog[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) |
| Later credits | Nina Romero in *Intermedium* (2023); Ava in the 2021 Lifetime movie *You're Not Safe Here*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) |
## Early life and training
Velazquez was born in New York City and grew up in Manhattan's Washington Heights, in the Dyckman neighborhood.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/haskiri-velazquez/) • [3](https://tvovermind.com/haskiri-velazquez/) She has described her upbringing as a low-income one in which her parents worked long hours; in a 2020 interview she said her father woke at 4:00 AM and returned home around 7:00 PM to provide for the family.[4](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-haskiri-velazquez-explains-the-importace-latinx-representaion/)
Her training came through Urban Arts Partnership, a non-profit organization whose Lifestories Theater program she joined while still in school. She attended theater classes for at least six hours a day on weekends, with a two-hour subway ride each way from her home, and performed in black-box productions at Theater Row in [Times Square](https://www.edgepedia.org/times-square) and at the Lucille Lortel Theater. During this period she was directed by Gina Rodríguez, Jesse Williams, and Victor Maog.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/)
## Screen career
Her first on-screen role was Tatiana García in the CBS police drama *NYC 22* in 2012.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) Guest and recurring television parts followed: Shyvon Stevens in *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (2016), the recurring Charlotte in the [Facebook Watch](https://www.edgepedia.org/facebook-watch) series *The Birch* (2019, seven episodes), and Melissa Rodriguez in a 2020 episode of *Blue Bloods*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/)
**2020 brought two prominent roles.** She played Rosa in *The Forty-Year-Old Version*, Radha Blank's feature that premiered at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in 2020 and later debuted on Netflix, and she appeared as Marley in the horror film *What Lies Below* (2020) and as a Sprint trainee in *[Lost Girls](https://www.edgepedia.org/lost-girls-film)* (2020).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/haskiri_velazquez) On Rotten Tomatoes, *The Forty-Year-Old Version* holds a 99 percent critics score, the highest-rated title in her filmography, while *What Lies Below* sits at 47 percent.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/haskiri_velazquez)
In the Peacock revival of *[Saved by the Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/saved-by-the-bell-2020-tv-series)*, Velazquez played Daisy Jiménez, a student who transfers to the wealthy Bayside High after Governor Zack Morris closes underfunded schools. The character is a perfectionist and student body president in the second season, and Velazquez described her as a Latina given the kind of central, ambitious role she had not seen on television growing up.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) • [6](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-new-cast-interviews/) • [4](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-haskiri-velazquez-explains-the-importace-latinx-representaion/) She also played Ava in the 2021 Lifetime movie *You're Not Safe Here* (listed on some databases as *The Girl in the Window*).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/haskiri-velazquez/)
Later credits include Nina Romero in the musical fantasy film *Intermedium* (2023), Zoe in the short *Merit x Zoe* (2022), and roles in the shorts *Development* (2023) and *Marvin Is Sorry* (2024).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/)
## Representation and advocacy
Velazquez has spoken repeatedly about Latinx representation on screen. She said that playing Daisy, a smart, ambitious young Latina with what she called "the Zack Morris powers," mattered to her because she had never seen that kind of representation on television, and that the character's circumstances, a low-income household and a mother working all hours, mirrored her own.[4](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-haskiri-velazquez-explains-the-importace-latinx-representaion/) She has stated plans to start her own non-profit to inspire other Latinx people to pursue their goals, and has said she hopes to see more on-screen roles that represent the Latinx community respectfully and accurately.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/)
In a 2021 Backstage essay, she described her working method over a decade-long career: quitting a part-time job to focus on acting, building characters from a character's age, background, and clothing before auditions, and memorizing scene partners' lines as well as her own.[7](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/haskiri-velazquez-saved-bell-interview-72426/)
## References
1. [Haskiri Velazquez, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4984883/)
2. [Haskiri Velazquez, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/haskiri-velazquez/)
3. [10 Things You Didn't Know about Haskiri Velazquez, TVOvermind](https://tvovermind.com/haskiri-velazquez/)
4. [Saved by the Bell Reboot's Haskiri Velazquez Explains the Importance of Latinx Representation, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-haskiri-velazquez-explains-the-importace-latinx-representaion/)
5. [Haskiri Velazquez, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/haskiri_velazquez)
6. [Saved By The Bell's 'New Class' Talk OG Series, Season 2 Callbacks And More, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/gallery/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-new-cast-interviews/)
7. [4 Lessons That Brought Haskiri Velazquez 2 Starring Roles in a Year, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/haskiri-velazquez-saved-bell-interview-72426/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames U to We*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license