Born and raised in Chicago as the eldest of five children in a family of Puerto Rican descent, Justina Machado started her thespian career upon graduating from high school. Her stellar performances on stage at the Latino Chicago Theater paved the way for her now burgeoning career.

After moving to New York shortly after high school she was almost immediately offered her first professional role in Los Angeles. Since moving to L.A., she has amassed a diverse resume encompassing feature films, television roles and theater.

The talented actress has starred as 'Vanessa Diaz' in HBO's critically acclaimed, award-winning series, "Six Feet Under." Machado and her castmates were honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series" in 2003. Machado's role began as a recurring character and evolved into a series regular in the show's fourth season, which began airing in June 2004. Her character continued to have surprise storylines throughout the season.

Machado co-starred opposite Ice Cube in the feature film, "Torque," from uber-producer Neal Moritz. She also appeared in New Line Cinema's hit film, "Final Destination 2," which opened at number two at the box office. Machado's other credits include supporting roles in Steven Soderbergh's groundbreaking film "Full Frontal" and the Nick Cassavetes film "She's So Lovely."

On stage, Machado appeared at Los Angeles' renowned Mark Taper Forum in "Blade to the Heat," as well as in the production of "Black Butterfly." On television, she has displayed her diversity with a guest-starring role on the live episode of "ER" and as the star of the Castle Rock comedy pilot "I Love Lupe."

In her rare spare moments, the Los Angeles resident enjoys reading and most of all, singing.