who plays daya orange is the new black
Dascha Polanco Dascha Polanco (born December 3, 1982)[1][2] is a Dominican American actress. She is known for playing the character Dayanara "Daya" Diaz on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black.[3] As of January 2018, she has a recurring role on The Assasination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
List of Orange Is the New Black characters Gloria Mendoza (played by Selenis Leyva) â€“ Red's opposite number among the Hispanic and Latina inmates, though with no organized crime connections. She is a mother of two boys. She organizes domino games and looks out for the other inmates, either by giving advice or by performing Santeria spells (which she refers to as "Catholic plus") for them. She is often critical of Daya's inability to speak Spanish but still accepts her as one of her own. Despite this, she tricks Daya into drinking a concoction that makes her feel sick, at the request of Aleida. When Red is put under investigation after her smuggling operation's cover is blown, Gloria becomes the new head cook, and some inmates prefer her breakfast cooking. Red tries to sabotage Gloria's kitchen operations, but fails to discourage her replacement. At the end of the first season, it is shown that Gloria is starving out Red in a similar way that Red did to Piper at the beginning of the series.