Rosanna DeSoto is an American actress who has performed in films and television. She is best known for her roles in Stand and Deliver, for which she won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, and in as Azetbur, the daughter of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. Her other film roles include La Bamba as Ritchie Valens' mother Connie Valenzuela; and Family Business as the wife of Vito McMullen. DeSoto's first television role was in the series A.E.S. Hudson Street as Nurse Rosa Santiago. She starred in the short-lived series The Redd Foxx Show. She has made guest appearances on many television series, including Cannon, Kung Fu, Barnaby Jones, Barney Miller, Melrose Place, Murder, She Wrote, The Bold and the Beautiful and Law & Order.
DeSoto made her film debut in 1979 with The In-Laws. She appeared opposite Nick Nolte and Debra Winger in Cannery Row. DeSoto won the Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez. In 1986, she appeared opposite Rob Lowe and Demi Moore in About Last Night, playing Mrs. Lyons. That same year, she portrayed waitress Diana Olmos in the short-lived sitcom, The Redd Foxx Show. In 1987, DeSoto appeared in the biographic film La Bamba. In that film, she portrayed Connie Valenzuela, the mother ofRitchie Valens, played by Lou Diamond Phillips. The next year, DeSoto collaborated with Phillips again in the 1988 biopic Stand and Deliver, where she portrayed Fabiola Escalante, the wife of Jaime Escalante. Her performance garnered her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. In 1989, she played the wife of Dustin Hoffman's character in Family Business. That same year, she landed the principal role in Face of the Enemy. She also played Azetbur in . DeSoto portrayed Linda in The 24 Hour Woman. She has also acted in the soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. DeSoto wrote and appeared in “A Woman in Progress/Canto de Oro, Cuento de Mujer” that was produced by the Intar Theater group in New York in 2005.
Personal life
From 1974 to 1978, DeSoto was married to Jonathan Taplin. They have one daughter, Daniela. DeSoto has been married to David S. Ward since September 20, 1980. They have a daughter, Sylvana Ward Durrett. DeSoto is also the aunt of Ken Ramoz, who appeared in such films as Gettysburg and Getting Even with Dad.
