# Trini Alvarado
**Trini Alvarado** (born Trinidad Alvarado, 1967) is an American actress whose screen career spans more than four decades, best known for playing Margaret "Meg" March in the 1994 film adaptation of [Louisa May Alcott](https://www.edgepedia.org/louisa-may-alcott)'s *Little Women* and Lucy Lynskey in [Peter Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jackson)'s comedy-horror film *The Frighteners* (1996)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000746/). She began as a child performer on the New York stage and made an unusually smooth transition to adult roles, working steadily in film, television, and theater while avoiding typecasting in Latina parts[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/trini_alvarado).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967, New York City, to a Spanish flamenco singer father and a dancer mother[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html) • [4](https://elpais.com/diario/1995/03/17/cultura/795394809_850215.html) |
| Film debut | *Rich Kids* (1979), as Franny Philips, at about age 12[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/251724) |
| Breakout | Pamela Pearl in *Times Square* (1980), co-starring with Robin Johnson[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/509299/times-square-1980-times-square) |
| Signature roles | Meg March in *Little Women* (1994); Lucy Lynskey in *The Frighteners* (1996)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000746/) |
| Stage work | Leading role in Joseph Papp's Broadway production of *Runaways* (1978) at age 11; off-Broadway revival of *Godspell* (1988)[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html) • [7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Trini-Alvarado/) |
| Recording credits | Performer on the *Runaways* and *Little Women* soundtracks and the 1985 off-Broadway cast album *Yours, Anne*[8](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621230395) |
| Family | Married to actor Robert McNeill; studied at Professional Children's School and Fordham University[9](https://www.nndb.com/people/819/000131426/) |
## Early life and stage beginnings
Alvarado was born in New York City. Her father, Domingo, moved to New York from Spain to perform with the flamenco singer Carmen Amaya; he married Sylvia, a dancer, and the family ran a flamenco troupe in which Trini danced from age 7[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html). A 1995 *El País* interview describes her father as a flamenco singer (cantaor) born in [Jerez de la Frontera](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerez-de-la-frontera), Cádiz, and her mother as Puerto Rican[4](https://elpais.com/diario/1995/03/17/cultura/795394809_850215.html). She idolized [Shirley Temple](https://www.edgepedia.org/shirley-temple) and [Judy Garland](https://www.edgepedia.org/judy-garland), studied ballet and tap, and soon began auditioning for musicals[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html).
Her television debut came in 1977 as Goldilocks in a segment of NBC's *Unicorn Tales*. In 1978, at age 11, she won a leading role as Melinda in Joseph Papp's Broadway production of Elizabeth Swados' musical *Runaways*, after an original off-Broadway run the same year[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html) • [7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Trini-Alvarado/). She also sang on the show's 1978 original cast recording[8](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621230395).
## Early film career
Alvarado's film debut came in Robert Young's *Rich Kids* (1979), a well-received drama in which she played Franny Philips[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/trini_alvarado) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/251724). Her second film was the one that made her a teenage name: Allan Moyle's *Times Square* (1980), a punk-era runaway musical produced by [Robert Stigwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-stigwood). Alvarado played Pamela Pearl, the sensitive, anxious daughter of a self-absorbed New York politician, opposite Robin Johnson's fearless street kid Nicky Marotta; the two run away together and become minor celebrities as the singing "Sleaze Sisters," cheered on by a late-night radio personality played by [Tim Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-curry)[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/509299/times-square-1980-times-square). Alvarado was thirteen during production and already a familiar face from *Runaways* and *Rich Kids*, while Johnson was an acting newcomer discovered outside Brooklyn Tech High School[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/509299/times-square-1980-times-square). The film found only a modest audience at the time but has since been rediscovered by a cult audience[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/509299/times-square-1980-times-square).
Through the 1980s she worked across film and television: *Mrs. Soffel* (1984) opposite [Diane Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-keaton), *Sweet Lorraine* (1987), *Satisfaction* (1988), *Frank Nitti: The Enforcer* (1988), *Stella* (1990) as the daughter of [Bette Midler](https://www.edgepedia.org/bette-midler)'s title character, and *The Babe* (1992)[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/251724). A 1990 *Los Angeles Times* profile noted that she had played Jewish, Spanish, Italian, and Irish-American characters, a range the paper credited with keeping her from being typecast despite her Latin heritage[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html).
## Little Women and The Frighteners
**1990s peak.** In Gillian Armstrong's *Little Women* (1994), Alvarado played Meg, the eldest and most conservative and traditional of the four March sisters, in a cast that included [Winona Ryder](https://www.edgepedia.org/winona-ryder) and [Susan Sarandon](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-sarandon)[4](https://elpais.com/diario/1995/03/17/cultura/795394809_850215.html). She had read Alcott's novel at age 10 and said playing Meg fulfilled a long-held wish; she also recorded "For the Beauty of the Earth" for the film's soundtrack[4](https://elpais.com/diario/1995/03/17/cultura/795394809_850215.html) • [8](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621230395). On Rotten Tomatoes the film stands as the highest-rated title of her career, at 92 percent with critics[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/trini_alvarado).
Two years later she took her largest screen role as Lucy Lynskey in Peter Jackson's *The Frighteners* (1996), a horror-comedy in which she worked alongside [Michael J. Fox](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-j-fox)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000746/). Between those films she appeared in *The Perez Family* (1995) as Teresa Perez[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/251724).
## Later work
Alvarado's credits after the mid-1990s include *Paulie* (1998) as the adult Marie, *The Last Dance* (2000), *[Little Children](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-children-film)* (2006) as Theresa, *The Good Guy* (2009), and *All Good Things* (2010) as Sarah Davis[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/251724) • [9](https://www.nndb.com/people/819/000131426/). On television she has appeared in *Fringe*, *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*, *The Staircase*, and *Black Box*, among other series[10](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/trini-alvarado/credits/3030287842/).
She studied at the [Professional Children's School](https://www.edgepedia.org/professional-childrens-school) in New York and attended [Fordham University](https://www.edgepedia.org/fordham-university), and is married to the actor Robert McNeill[9](https://www.nndb.com/people/819/000131426/).
## References
1. [Trini Alvarado, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000746/)
2. [Trini Alvarado, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/trini_alvarado)
3. [No Typecasting for Her, Los Angeles Times, February 3, 1990](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-03-ca-802-story.html)
4. [La actriz hispana Trini Alvarado defiende la vigencia de 'Mujercitas', El País, March 17, 1995](https://elpais.com/diario/1995/03/17/cultura/795394809_850215.html)
5. [Trini Alvarado filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/251724)
6. [Times Square (1980), Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/509299/times-square-1980-times-square)
7. [Trini Alvarado stage credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Trini-Alvarado/)
8. [Trini Alvarado, Apple Snapshot](https://snapshot.apple.com/us/person/6621230395)
9. [Trini Alvarado, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/819/000131426/)
10. [Trini Alvarado credits, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/trini-alvarado/credits/3030287842/)
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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: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames A*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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