Cassie Benavidez was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, where, starting at the age of 5, she created one-woman shows for the other neighborhood children that included her flute playing, record pantomiming and dancing in addition to her acting. Joining the drama team in high school, she traveled to nearby towns competing in one-act plays and improvisational performances, bringing home numerous trophies. Cassie relocated to Los Angeles at age 17 where she performed in community theatre before earning her BA in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University, "I wanted to learn more about myself and my culture". Becoming fascinated with the migration of Latin Americans into the U.S., she visited every town along the Mexico/U.S. border, then spent a period of time as a squatter in Honduras to experience life in a third world country with nothing but her will to make things work and a passion for something better.Upon her return to the United States, and after a long stint as an investigator for an insurance firm, she turned her attention toward acting full time, incorporating her worldly experiences into the mothers and other Latina characters she has portrayed in over 50 motion picture and television projects. Her TV credits include such hit shows as "The Shield," "Veronica Mars," "Lincoln Heights" and "Saints & Sinners." She has appeared in pilots by directors Guy Ritchie and Adam Shankman and producer Barry Schindel, to name a few, and in such independent feature films as "Clipping Adam" starring Academy Award winner Louise Fletcher, "The Exorcist Chronicles" and "Stone & Ed." She was also seen in the award-winning short film "Begleiter," directed by Dan Margules, with whom she co-wrote the feature-length screenplay "The Fifth Direction"," a psychological thriller that explores the mystical world of curanderismo. The script, which has already won the praises of Josephina Lopez ("Real Women Have Curves"), Stuart Gordon ("Honey, I Shrunk the Kids") and Academy Award nominee Edward James Olmos, is being represented by The Firm. Show less «