"Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez on creating tolerance through art
Gina Rodriguez's breakout performance was as an aspiring rapper in the 2012 movie, "Filly Brown." Now, the Golden Globe-winner is best known starring in the CW's "Jane the Virgin," in which she portrays a young religious woman, Jane, who becomes pregnant after she is artificially inseminated by accident.
Rodriguez joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss how "Jane the Virgin" addresses social issues, its relatability across cultures, and the morning mantra she learned from her father.
For Rodriguez, the crux of the show is family, and on Monday's season finale, Jane becomes an ordained minister to officiate her parents' wedding.
"It's definitely the family foundation. The three generations, my grandmother, my mother, myself, my father, obviously," Rodriguez said of the Venezuelan-American TV family.
"I think what's beautiful about the show is that it's relatable to all cultures. Obviously that's what America looks like. There are so many of us who have ancestors that do not speak English and we speak English and get to live in that dual identity and celebrate both cultures."
Another important aspect of the show for Rodriguez is that it is not afraid to address social issues.
"What's beautiful about art is that you get to discuss them in a way that can create tolerance and create healing and create a communication, a dialogue," Rodriguez said.
"She has this ability to have commentary on social issues without judgment," Rodriguez said of the show's creator, Jennie Snyder Urman.
In a recent episode of the show, Jane's 4-year-old son asks her why some people wouldn't want grandma in this country.
This moment, she said, allows people to "look in the eyes of a child and see how affected our children are by the division."
When asked whether addressing topics like immigration feels more urgent now, Rodriguez said, "It's always felt urgent, to be honest."
"I think that what we are seeing in the political climate is actually something that's been wounds that we've just never discovered," Rodriguez said.
Every morning, the actress — who says she has her dream job — does something her father taught her.
He told her to look in the mirror and say, "Today's going to be a great day. I can and I will." At first, she says she thought it was crazy, but she did it, and it stuck.
"After a while it became a part of what I — it was just a calling of myself. It was a calling of my inner self to be like, 'Hey, get up, you got this.'"
The season finale of "Jane the Virgin" airs Monday, May 22 at 9 p.m. Eastern / 8 p.m. Central.