Marita de Lara is an American actress known for This Is Us, Hawaii Five-0, Hidden Gems, and The Shield. Soap audiences know her from General Hospital, Port Charles, Bold & the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives and One Life to Live . The daughter of two physicians, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University School of Drama. As a dancer, Marita trained in classical ballet at the Baltimore Ballet and Washington Ballet and danced with the Metropolitan Dance Company of Baltimore. Marita was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She originated the role of Pocahontas in the Disney/MGM stage musical, The Spirit of Pocahontas. Indigenous theatre credits include: Honor Song for Crazy Horse at New Dramatists in NYC. Manu and the Red Flowers, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and The Sign of the Beaver. Other New York, national tour and Equity regional theatre credits : Godspell, Chicago, West Side Story, A Chorus Line, Hair and Miss Saigon, The Good Times Are Killing Me and Hana's Suitcase. Marita can be seen in several national commercials as the ethnically ambiguous, aspirational mom. Marita is married to actor/writer, Steve Sobel. They have two kids, Lulu and Axel. Marita is an advocate for autism rights for children.