Exclusive: America Ferrera on how her Ugly Betty character would react to Barbie
Potential “gasp!” moment incoming: Betty Suarez would initially “have problems” with the Barbie movie, says America Ferrera.
The actress memorably played the title character on Ugly Betty between 2006 and 2010, an assistant at the fictitious MODE Magazine who – for those who somehow don’t know – refused to conform to the brand’s stereotypical beauty standards.
Ferrera, who plays Mattel employee Gloria in the live-action Barbie, tells GAY TIMES that her signature character wouldn’t have the most enthusiastic reaction to the Greta Gerwig-directed film (to begin with, anyway). “I think Betty would have problems,” Ferrera says. “I think she would feel like, ‘I don’t know [Justin], I feel complicated about Barbie.
I feel like she has a very complicated legacy and she hasn’t always made women feel great about themselves, and I don’t think we should be supporting this.'” Thanks to the direction of Gerwig, however, Betty’s opinion on Barbie and the brand would shift after watching the adaptation.
