# Lisseth Chavez
**Lisseth Chavez** (born 1989) is an American actress of Salvadoran descent known for playing Officer Vanessa Rojas on NBC's *Chicago P.D.*, Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *DC's Legends of Tomorrow*, and Officer Celina Juarez on ABC's *The Rookie*, where she has been a series regular.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisseth-chavez/) • [2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/lisseth-chavez/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, California; American, of Salvadoran descent[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisseth-chavez/) • [3](https://thetvdb.com/people/474550-lisseth-chavez) |
| Signature roles | Vanessa Rojas (*Chicago P.D.*, 2019–2020), Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz (*DC's Legends of Tomorrow*, 2021–2022), Celina Juarez (*The Rookie*, 2022–present)[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) |
| *Chicago P.D.* | 19 episodes in season 7 as Officer Vanessa Rojas, 17 starring and 2 guest, plus the character in crossover episodes of *Chicago Fire* and *Chicago Med*[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) |
| *Legends of Tomorrow* | 28 episodes as Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz across seasons 6 and 7, 2021–2022[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) |
| *The Rookie* | Series regular as Officer Celina Juarez from season 5 (2022); 65 episodes through season 8[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/lisseth-chavez/) • [5](https://www.formulatv.com/personas/lisseth-chavez/trabajos/) |
| Early recurring role | Ximena Sinfuego on Freeform's *The Fosters*, 18 episodes, 2017–2018[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) |
| Representation | The Osbrink Agency, Vault Entertainment, and GGSSC[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/lisseth-chavez/) |
## Early career
Chavez's first listed screen credit is a 2013 guest appearance as Carmen Martinez on the NBC crime drama *Southland*.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) Through the mid-2010s she accumulated one-episode guest parts on network and cable series, including Ana on *The Night Shift* (2015), Marita on *Shameless* (2015), Nikki on *Lucifer* (2016), Carmen on *Rizzoli & Isles* (2016), a shop clerk on *Rush Hour* (2016), and Young Lydia on *One Day at a Time* (2017).[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) She also played Skylar Anne Jennings in three episodes of TNT's *Murder in the First* between 2016 and 2016's third season.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez)
Her first substantial recurring part came on Freeform's family drama *The Fosters*, where she played Ximena Sinfuego in 18 episodes from 2017 to 2018. Her CW press biography describes the character as "an outspoken & culturally conscious badass on a mission."[6](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/shows/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow/talent/?view=lisseth-chavez) • [4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) In 2019 she appeared in two episodes of ABC's firefighter drama *Station 19* as Kathleen Noonan, and played Carmen in an episode of Netflix's *The OA*; other credits from this period include Kate Endris on *Grey's Anatomy* (2017) and Ariana Acosta on *S.W.A.T.* (2018).[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) • [6](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/shows/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow/talent/?view=lisseth-chavez)
## Chicago P.D.
In 2019 Chavez joined NBC's police drama *Chicago P.D.* as Officer Vanessa Rojas, described in her CW publicity biography as a "fearless undercover cop."[6](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/shows/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow/talent/?view=lisseth-chavez) She appeared in 19 episodes of the show's seventh season, credited as a starring cast member in 17 and a guest in the first two.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) The same character carried into the One Chicago crossover event, with special guest star appearances as Rojas in "Infection, Part I" on *Chicago Fire* and "Infection, Part II" on *Chicago Med*, both aired October 16, 2019.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez)
She did not return for the show's eighth season. The *Chicago P.D.* fan wiki records that she accepted a new role on *Legends of Tomorrow* during the hiatus between seasons, and that a planned storyline in which Rojas served as a love interest for Kevin Atwater was dropped because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7](https://chicagopd.fandom.com/wiki/Lisseth_Chavez)
## DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Chavez joined The CW's superhero series *DC's Legends of Tomorrow* in its sixth season as Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz and stayed through the seventh and final season in 2022, appearing in 28 episodes.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) According to the CW character biography, Spooner is a "straight shootin' (figuratively and literally)" Texan who, with the Legends' help, discovered she had not been kidnapped by aliens but was an accidental time traveler whose home time is 1925; she then takes her place on the team.[6](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/shows/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow/talent/?view=lisseth-chavez)
The role also included two uncredited appearances as "Robo Spooner," a robot double of the character, in the season 7 episodes "Paranoid Android" (January 2022) and "Rage Against the Machines" (February 2022).[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez)
## The Rookie
After *Legends of Tomorrow* ended, Chavez joined ABC's police drama *The Rookie* as Officer Celina Juarez, beginning with the show's fifth season in 2022.[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/lisseth-chavez/) She was initially credited as a guest star in 19 episodes before becoming a series regular, with 46 starring episodes listed through the eighth season, for a total of 65.[4](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez) • [5](https://www.formulatv.com/personas/lisseth-chavez/trabajos/) ABC's cast biography identifies her as a series regular playing Officer Celina Juarez and notes her previous series-regular roles on *Legends of Tomorrow* and *Chicago P.D.*.[2](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/lisseth-chavez/)
## Film and other work
Chavez's film credits include *One of Us* (2017), in which she played Haley Cooper, and *Terror Eyes*, in which she played Rebecca; sources list the film's year as 2020 or 2021.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisseth-chavez/) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4438177/bio/) She also appeared as a guest on the talk show *Access Daily With Mario & Kit* in 2022.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisseth-chavez/) Her press biography notes that she enjoys arts and crafts and making things from scratch, and that when not filming she resides in Los Angeles.[6](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/shows/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow/talent/?view=lisseth-chavez)
## References
1. [Lisseth Chavez, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/lisseth-chavez/)
2. [Lisseth Chavez bio, ABC Entertainment press site](https://www.detpress.com/abc/bios/lisseth-chavez/)
3. [Lisseth Chavez, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/people/474550-lisseth-chavez)
4. [Lisseth Chavez, TVmaze credits](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/56308/lisseth-chavez)
5. [Trayectoria de Lisseth Chavez, FormulaTV](https://www.formulatv.com/personas/lisseth-chavez/trabajos/)
6. [Lisseth Chavez, DC's Legends of Tomorrow talent page, The CW press site](https://www.cwtvpr.com/the-cw/shows/dcs-legends-of-tomorrow/talent/?view=lisseth-chavez)
7. [Lisseth Chavez, Chicago P.D. Wiki (Fandom)](https://chicagopd.fandom.com/wiki/Lisseth_Chavez)
8. [Lisseth Chavez Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4438177/bio/)
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*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 Ch to Cl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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