Christina Vidal

Christina Vidal
Other namesChristina Vidal Mitchell
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active1993–present
Spouse
Marcus Mitchell
(m. 2016)
Children3
RelativesLisa Vidal (sister)

Christina Vidal Mitchell is an American actress and singer. On television, she is known for starring in the sitcoms Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher (1997–1998), Taina (2001–2002), and Primo (2023). Her film appearances include the comedy Life with Mikey (1993), the sports drama Brink! (1998), the fantasy comedies Freaky Friday (2003) and Freakier Friday (2025), and the slasher See No Evil (2006).

Early life and education

Vidal is Puerto Rican. She attended LaGuardia High School.[1] When she was 17 in 1998, she joined a girl group called Gemstone (along with Jade Villalon and Crystal Grant). Vidal later moved to Orlando, Florida, to proceed with the filming of Taina. Her sisters Lisa and Tanya are also actresses and have appeared on TV and in theatre; she also has a brother, Christian.[2]

Career

Acting

Vidal's acting career began when one of her teachers told her there was an audition for the film Life with Mikey (1993), starring Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. She auditioned and got the part of "Angie Vega", becoming the first Puerto Rican child actress to play a lead in an American film.[3] Though film critic Roger Ebert negatively reviewed the film, he wrote, "What makes the movie watchable is Christina Vidal's performance. She's a bright, no-nonsense type who plants her feet and delivers her lines and looks Fox square in the eye."[4]

Since then, Vidal has appeared in feature films and television series. She portrayed Taina Maria Morales in the Nickelodeon sitcom Taina in 2001 and 2002. The series ran for two seasons with speculation that it would be renewed for more; according to Vidal, the reason for the show being cancelled was likely due to her recording deal with MCA.[5] Scripts for a third season and a made-for-television movie of the series were already written before Nickelodeon canceled the show.[6]

The next year she played Maddie in the film Freaky Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan and starred in the short-lived ABC action TV series about police officers called 10-8: Officers on Duty until she suddenly left after two months on the show. Also, in 2003 she guest-starred in Sabrina the Teenage Witch as Paris Fate. In 2006, she did an untitled sitcom pilot with her sisters for ABC (which was executively produced by George Lopez). The show was not picked up, but later that year she starred in the film See No Evil and also had a brief stint on the hit sitcom Girlfriends. More recently she has made cameo appearances in the films I Think I Love My Wife, Mask of the Ninja, and the Internet comedy short "Love Automatically", written by Mylinda Royer and directed by Allison Haislip.[7] In 2009, Vidal played a supporting character in the film Magic Man. In 2025, Vidal reprised her role of Maddie in the Freaky Friday sequel film Freakier Friday.[8]

Music

When Vidal was in the band Gemstone, she recorded songs with herself as well as bandmates Jade Villalon and Crystal Celeste Grant performing vocals. A few of these tracks would surface many years later on albums consisting of demos, rare tracks, and special songs of Villalon's music project, Sweetbox.

In 2002, she was briefly signed to MCA Records and in that time she was supposed to release her first single "Tropical" and her solo debut album White in the summer of 2002, but never did. She was also presented with the opportunity to be the lead singer for The Pussycat Dolls, however she was uninterested with the groups image.[9] That same year she provided guest vocals on the remix of Will Smith's summer hit "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)" from the Men in Black II soundtrack.

Vidal was a part of Lupe Fiasco's 1st & 15th Entertainment.[10] She also recorded a track for the work out cd called Byou from Sabrina Bryan of The Cheetah Girls. The song she recorded was "Anything Is Possible". She also sang the song "Take Me Away" in the film Freaky Friday, and rerecorded it for Freakier Friday.[11][12]

Personal life

In 2016, Vidal married actor Marcus Mitchell,[13] together they have three children.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Life with Mikey Angie Vega
1995 Welcome to the Dollhouse Cynthia
2000 Details Maggie Short film
2003 Chasing Papi Festival Singer
Freaky Friday Maddie
2005 The Mosquito Tia
2006 See No Evil Christine
2007 I Think I Love My Wife Candy
2010 Magic Man Elena
2021 The Guilty Sergeant Denise Wade
2025 Freakier Friday Maddie

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1994 The Cosby Mysteries Ramona Suarez Episode: "Camouflage"
1995 The Commish Julianna Muldoon Episode: "Off Broadway: Parts 1 & 2"
1997 F/X: The Series Theresa Episode: "Bad Influence"
1997–1998 Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher Sophia Del Bono Main role (season 2)
1998 Brink! Gabriella Television film
1999 Providence Street Girl Episode: "Saint Syd"
Touched by an Angel Ilena Episode: "Hearts"
2001–2002 Taina Taina Maria Morales Lead role
2003 Hotel Gisel Television film
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Fate Paris Episode: "Romance Looming"
2003–2004 10-8: Officers on Duty Deputy Gabriela Lopez Main role
2004 Beck and Call Television short
Second Time Around Gabrielle Herrera Episode: "Secrets", "A Kiss Is Still a Kiss"
2005 Clubhouse Carmen Episode: "Between First and Home"
2006 Girlfriends Samantha Stephens Episodes: "Bad Blood", "Just Joan"
2007 ER Elena Vega Episode: "In a Different Light"
2008 Play or Be Played Television film
Mask of the Ninja Mercedes
2009 Monk Winona Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes Camping"
2009–2010 House Sandy Episodes: "Wilson", "Private Lives"
2010 The Deep End Rachel Esposito Episode: "Nothing Personal"
In Plain Sight Amber Whitman Episode: "Son of Mann"
Castle Jamie Ruiz Episode: "Almost Famous"
2011 Things We Do for Love Episode: "Best Friend"
Fairly Legal Sofia Peña Episode: "Coming Home"
2014 Stalker Christina Richards Episode: "Skin"
2015 Being Mary Jane Lilly Episode: "Reading the Signs"
The Player Mrs. Cruz Episode: "A House Is Not a Home"
Major Crimes Carmen Tamayo Episode: "Thick as Thieves"
2015–2016 Code Black Gina Perrello Recurring role; 7 episodes
2016 Limitless Lucy Church 2 episodes
Blue Bloods ADA Marta Avila 1 episode
2017 Training Day Det. Valeria Chavez Main role
2018 Sneaky Pete Valerie 1 episode
2019 Grand Hotel Det. Ayala 4 episodes
2020 United We Fall Jo Ryan Main role
2021 The Shrink Next Door Hannah Recurring role
2022 The Terminal List Mac Wilson
2023 Primo Drea Main role

Discography

Soundtrack appearances

List of soundtrack appearances
Title Year Album
"Gonna Be A Star" 2002 Taina: Original Television Soundtrack
"Carnival"
"Feel Good"
"I Thought That We Were Friends"
"Voy a Ser Una Estrella (Gonna Be a Star)"
"Take Me Away" 2003 Freaky Friday
"Take Me Away" 2025 Freakier Friday

Awards and nominations

Year Organization Award Work Result
1994 Young Artist Awards[15] Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film[a] Life with Mikey Won
Most Promising New Youth Actress Won
2002 ALMA Awards[16] Outstanding Actress in a Television Series Taina Nominated
2024 Imagen Awards[17] Best Actress – Comedy (Television) Primo Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ Tied with Thora Birch.

References

  1. ^ "TFK Q&A: Christina Vidal". Time for Kids. March 9, 2001. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  2. ^ "Christina Vidal Biography - Yahoo! Movies". movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
  3. ^ "May 2006 | An Interview with Christina Vidal". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 4, 1993). "Life With Mikey". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  5. ^ Simon, Jordan (June 28, 2021). "Christina Vidal Reveals Likely Reasons Why The Nickelodeon Classic Was Cancelled". Shadow And Act. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Exposito, Suzy (June 13, 2021). "Taina at 20: Christina Vidal on playing the pioneering Latina everygirl". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  7. ^ "Love Automatically (remix)". YouTube. July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  8. ^ "Sophia Hammons & Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Among Other New Additions To 'Freaky Friday 2' As Chad Michael Murray, Stephen Tobolowsky & More Are Set To Reprise; Theatrical Release Confirmed". deadline.com.
  9. ^ Alexander, Brenda (December 9, 2022). "'Taina' Star Declined Invitation to Lead The Pussycat Dolls". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  10. ^ "1st & 15th | Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". Myspace.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  11. ^ Grobar, Matt (June 24, 2024). "Sophia Hammons & Maitreyi Ramakrishnan Among Other New Additions To 'Freaky Friday 2' As Chad Michael Murray, Stephen Tobolowsky & More Are Set To Reprise; Theatrical Release Confirmed". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 24, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Atkinson, Katie (August 6, 2025). "An Oral History of Pink Slip's 'Freakier Friday' Reunion: Where Are Lindsay Lohan & The Rest of the 'Girls in the Garage' Now?". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  13. ^ "@CVDramatix: WE DID IT!! @MarcusEMitchell I am so happy I get to love you for life! 😍💕". X. October 4, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  14. ^ @marcusemitchell; (May 11, 2025). "My utmost favorite thing is watching you become a mom all over again. You're so sure you couldn't possibly love another child with the same amount as the last. But I witness time and time again the endless capacity of love you have and it is a beauty. I count it all joy I get to share these little blessings with you. There is no one else who can fill your role as their mother. Your unique love, warmth, and understanding create a bond that makes it specifically you and you alone for them. You are irreplaceable, and specially chosen. I will continue to make little people with you for as long as we can!". Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via Instagram.
  15. ^ "15th Annual Youth In Film Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  16. ^ "Nominees for 2002 ALMA Awards". UPI. April 17, 2002. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  17. ^ Pedersen, Erik (July 25, 2024). "'Acapulco' & 'A Million Miles Away' Lead Field As Streamers Dominate 2024 Imagen Awards Nominations". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 20, 2025. Retrieved August 14, 2025.