Loren was born Maria Loren Avellaneda Sharp on May 7, 1980, in Sacramento, California. She has one sibling, an older brother, Daniel Sharp, who is the executive chef at a small restaurant in New York City. Her mother is of Mexican descent, received her college degree in her 40s, and became a teacher; her father, an American, was working as an economist at the time he married her mother. She spent her childhood in Sacramento, California, and later, in suburban Sacramento, although spending summers in an area of her mother's heritage, in Mexico. Loren has stated that, despite her mom being from Michoacán, Mexico, she did not learn Spanish until she was 10 years old, and that doing so helped her to communicate with relatives when she would return to the village from which her mother came. From early childhood, Loren had surrounded herself with an array of pets, and had intended a career in biology. Loren went to an all-girls' high school, where she was a member of a men's rowing team.
Loren attended the Whitman College,[better source needed][better source needed] in Walla Walla, Washington,[better source needed][better source needed] where she majored in biology.[citation needed] She "begrudgingly fell in love" with acting after enrolling in a fine arts course "to get it out of the way", only to find herself moved to an entry level acting class when the arts class was full. It is reported that she did work on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska as a means to pay her college expenses. She graduated with a B.A. in theatre, in 2002.[citation needed] She also studied performing arts at the Ruskin School of Acting.[where?][when?] From her upbringing and studies, Loren is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian.
Loren notes that it took three years for her to land her first acting audition, and that she "paid her dues with small roles"—in The Shield, Gang Related, and shows of the CSI franchise. Further television roles followed, including in Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer.[citation needed] Loren began a leading role as Angela Valdes on the Starz television series, Power.[when?]

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