Trini Alvarado

Trini Alvarado, born Trinidad Alvarado on January 10, 1967 in New York City, emerged from a vibrant artistic household; her mother Sylvia was a celebrated Puerto Rican flamenco dancer and her father Domingo, a Spanish‑born flamenco singer, introduced her to performance at an early age. At seven she joined her family’s dance troupe, a step that swiftly led to Broadway, where she originated the role of Melinda in Elizabeth Swados’s groundbreaking musical Runaways in 1978 and even recorded its theme song. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s she built a solid television résumé, appearing in the Unicorn Tales specials, the ABC Afterschool Special “A Movie Star’s Daughter,” and the film Times Square alongside Tim Curry, demonstrating both acting and singing talent. Her film career gained momentum with supporting parts in Gillian Armstrong’s Mrs. Soffel (1984) and a bold portrayal of Anne Frank in the off‑Broadway musical Yours, Anne (1985), establishing her as a versatile performer comfortable on stage and screen. The mid‑1990s brought her most iconic role: Meg March in Armstrong’s 1994 adaptation of Little Women, a casting choice she later reflected on as a rare instance of a Hispanic actress embodying a traditionally non‑Hispanic literary figure. She followed this with memorable performances as Lucy Lynskey in Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners (1995) and a supporting turn in The Perez Family (1995), displaying a knack for blending humor and drama. In later years she appeared in television series such as Fringe and Black Box, lent her voice to audiobooks by Tamora Pierce, and continued stage work, all while maintaining a low‑key personal life in New York City with her husband, actor Robert McNeill. Despite a career spanning over four decades, Alvarado remains a self‑described homebody who prefers quiet family moments to celebrity spotlight, embodying both artistic dedication and personal humility.