# Victoria Cartagena
**Victoria Cartagena** (full name Victoria Luz Cartagena) is an American actress from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for playing Detective Renee Montoya on the Fox series *Gotham* (2014) and again on the third season of [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *Batwoman* (2021).[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) • [2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/batwoman-renee-montoya-season-3-victoria-cartagena-dc-comics/) Her television work also includes regular and recurring roles on *Almost Family*, *Manifest*, *You*, *Jessica Jones*, and *FBI*, and her film credits include *Still Alice* (2014) and *[21 Bridges](https://www.edgepedia.org/21-bridges)* (2019).[3](https://castingfrontier.com/blog/almost-familys-victoria-cartagena-on-her-journey-to-booking-better-roles/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/victoria_cartagena)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; raised in South Philadelphia[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) |
| Birth year | Sources disagree: IMDb lists 1977, the DC Database lists 1985[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/) • [5](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Victoria_Cartagena) |
| Signature role | Detective Renee Montoya on *Gotham* (Fox, 2014) and *Batwoman* season 3 (2021)[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) |
| Training | Penn State University (education degree); American Musical and Dramatic Academy, graduated 2002[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) |
| Notable films | *Still Alice* (2014) as Prof. Hooper; *21 Bridges* (2019) as Yolanda[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/victoria_cartagena) |
| Television range | *The Bedford Diaries*, *Gotham*, *Manifest*, *You*, *Jessica Jones*, *FBI*, *Almost Family*, *Servant*[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/) • [3](https://castingfrontier.com/blog/almost-familys-victoria-cartagena-on-her-journey-to-booking-better-roles/) |
## Early life and training
Cartagena was born and raised in [South Philadelphia](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-philadelphia). Her full name, Victoria Luz Cartagena, comes from her parents, Victor and Luz, whom she has described as the first loves of her life.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) • [7](https://www.nycastings.com/how-to-make-a-memorable-character-w-gothams-victoria-cartagena/) She began performing early: at age 14 she studied at the city's Society Hill Playhouse.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/)
Her training followed two tracks. She graduated from Penn State University with a degree in education, then moved to New York City to pursue acting, studying at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) and the Lark Play Development Center.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/) She graduated from AMDA in 2002, in the same class as actor James Stevenson.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) Money was tight in her first New York years; after reading about a program called [Common Ground](https://www.edgepedia.org/common-ground), which offered affordable housing to many residents who were artists, she applied and was accepted in 2002, paying about 475 dollars a month for a small studio while working part time at a gym and acting in unpaid plays. She has said that without that building she would not have been able to stay in New York.[3](https://castingfrontier.com/blog/almost-familys-victoria-cartagena-on-her-journey-to-booking-better-roles/)
## Career
**Early screen work.** [Cartagena](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartagena) entered screen acting in 2004 with a small role in the [Staten Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/staten-island) comedy *Baby Fat*, then held a regular role as Zoe Lopez on the short-lived WB romantic drama *The Bedford Diaries* (2006), appearing alongside [Milo Ventimiglia](https://www.edgepedia.org/milo-ventimiglia), Penn Badgley, and Aasif Mandvi.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/) Guest appearances on series such as *Law & Order* and *The Good Wife* followed, along with a brief part in the 2010 Angelina Jolie thriller *Salt*.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/victoria_cartagena)
**Gotham and Renee Montoya.** In 2014 Cartagena was cast as Detective Renee Montoya of the Gotham City Police Department's Major Crimes Unit on *Gotham*, Fox's Batman origin series.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/) • [8](https://afterellen.com/gotham-exclusive-victoria-cartagena-talks-playing-a-lesbian-detective-with-mad-swagger/) The audition was unusual: producers kept the project secret, so she received dummy sides for a character named Kim, described as a stubborn, tough, honest, and passionate detective. She prepared by dressing like [Linda Hamilton](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-hamilton)'s Sarah Connor from *[Terminator](https://www.edgepedia.org/terminator-franchise): The Sarah Connor Chronicles*, a black tank top and jeans with military boots, an outfit she later credited with helping her win the part.[7](https://www.nycastings.com/how-to-make-a-memorable-character-w-gothams-victoria-cartagena/)
Montoya, a lesbian detective with a past relationship with Barbara Kean, was already a familiar [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) character, and Cartagena has said the show's version kept the character's comic-book personality while skipping the "Half a Life" storyline from the *Gotham Central* comics, in which Montoya is outed and framed for murder.[8](https://afterellen.com/gotham-exclusive-victoria-cartagena-talks-playing-a-lesbian-detective-with-mad-swagger/) The character herself was created for *Batman: The Animated Series* by [Bruce Timm](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-timm), Paul Dini, and Mitch Brian, and made her comics debut in 1992's *Batman* #475 before the animated series aired.[2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/batwoman-renee-montoya-season-3-victoria-cartagena-dc-comics/)
**A second Montoya.** Seven years after *Gotham*, Cartagena returned to the same character on a different show, joining *Batwoman* for its third season, which premiered on The CW in October 2021.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/) • [2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/batwoman-renee-montoya-season-3-victoria-cartagena-dc-comics/) Playing an alternate version of a role she had already performed made her one of the few actors to portray Montoya on two separate live-action series.[2](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/batwoman-renee-montoya-season-3-victoria-cartagena-dc-comics/) • [5](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Victoria_Cartagena)
**Film and later television.** Her most prominent film role to that point was Professor Hooper in *Still Alice* (2014), the drama starring [Julianne Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/julianne-moore) as a linguist with early-onset Alzheimer's disease; Rotten Tomatoes lists it as her highest-rated film at 85 percent.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/victoria_cartagena) She played Yolanda in the 2019 police thriller *21 Bridges* with [Chadwick Boseman](https://www.edgepedia.org/chadwick-boseman), though her scenes were shot against green screens and she met Boseman only briefly when he stopped by her trailer; she filmed all her scenes in a single night.[3](https://castingfrontier.com/blog/almost-familys-victoria-cartagena-on-her-journey-to-booking-better-roles/)
Television work in the same period was steady and varied: Claudia in *You* (2018) and in *FBI* (2018), Lourdes in *Manifest* (2018 to 2019), Sonia in *Jessica Jones* (2018), Anne Rojas in *Deception* (2018), Evelyn Hernandez in *The Path* (2016), and Amanda Doherty in *Almost Family* (2019 to 2020).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/) • [10](https://www.formulatv.com/personas/victoria-cartagena/) She also appeared in the second season of Apple TV's *Servant*.[3](https://castingfrontier.com/blog/almost-familys-victoria-cartagena-on-her-journey-to-booking-better-roles/)
## Playing Renee Montoya
Cartagena has spoken about the character's layered writing as the appeal of the part: Montoya is compassionate, stubborn, loving, smart, and angry by turns, and the actress described staying aware of the character's intentions in every scene.[7](https://www.nycastings.com/how-to-make-a-memorable-character-w-gothams-victoria-cartagena/) On *Gotham* her scene partner was Andrew Stewart-Jones, who played Crispus Allen, Montoya's partner in the comics and on screen; Cartagena has said he is a private acting coach who offered to work with her.[7](https://www.nycastings.com/how-to-make-a-memorable-character-w-gothams-victoria-cartagena/) In a 2014 interview with AfterEllen she noted that the show treated Montoya's sexuality as a simple fact rather than a storyline, saying "it's not even a big deal that she's gay; she just is."[8](https://afterellen.com/gotham-exclusive-victoria-cartagena-talks-playing-a-lesbian-detective-with-mad-swagger/)
## References
1. [Victoria Cartagena, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/)
2. [Batwoman: Who Is Renee Montoya?, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/dc/news/batwoman-renee-montoya-season-3-victoria-cartagena-dc-comics/)
3. [Almost Family's Victoria Cartagena On Her Journey to Booking Better Roles, Casting Frontier](https://castingfrontier.com/blog/almost-familys-victoria-cartagena-on-her-journey-to-booking-better-roles/)
4. [Victoria Cartagena, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/victoria_cartagena)
5. [Victoria Cartagena, DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Victoria_Cartagena)
6. [Victoria Cartagena, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/victoria-cartagena/)
7. [How To Make a Memorable Character w/ Gotham's Victoria Cartagena, NYCastings](https://www.nycastings.com/how-to-make-a-memorable-character-w-gothams-victoria-cartagena/)
8. [Gotham exclusive: Victoria Cartagena talks playing a lesbian detective with mad swagger, AfterEllen](https://afterellen.com/gotham-exclusive-victoria-cartagena-talks-playing-a-lesbian-detective-with-mad-swagger/)
9. [Victoria Cartagena Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742739/bio/)
10. [Victoria Cartagena, FormulaTV](https://www.formulatv.com/personas/victoria-cartagena/)
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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 Bu to Ce*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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