Christian Serratos Ethnicity: Mexican and Italian Roots of the Actress
Table of Contents
- Quick Facts About Christian Serratos
- What Is Christian Serratos’ Ethnicity?
- Christian Serratos’ Father’s Ethnicity
- Christian Serratos’ Mother’s Ethnicity
- Is Christian Serratos Mexican?
- Is Christian Serratos Italian?
- How Her Heritage Led to Playing Selena
- What Is Christian Serratos’ Nationality?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Quick Facts About Christian Serratos
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Christian Marie Serratos (née Bernardi) |
| Date of Birth | September 21, 1990 |
| Birthplace | Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Mexican and Italian |
| Mother | Alicia Serratos (Mexican descent) |
| Father | Set construction worker (Italian descent) |
| Profession | Actress (The Walking Dead, Selena: The Series, Twilight) |
What Is Christian Serratos’ Ethnicity?
Christian Serratos is of Mexican and Italian descent. The actress — best known as Rosita Espinosa on AMC’s The Walking Dead and as Selena Quintanilla in Netflix’s Selena: The Series — was born Christian Marie Bernardi on September 21, 1990, in Pasadena, California. Her mother, Alicia Serratos, is of Mexican descent, and her father is of Italian descent.
Serratos identifies as Mexican-American and has spoken warmly about her dual heritage. “I grew up in Burbank,” she told AskMen. “I was in a big family. My mom’s Mexican and my dad’s Italian, so there’s a bunch of us.” That blend — Mexican warmth and Italian passion under one roof — shaped a childhood she describes as loud, loving, and culturally rich.
Her background has been professionally significant as well as personally meaningful. Casting directors have repeatedly drawn on her Latina heritage, most notably when she was chosen to portray Selena Quintanilla, the Mexican-American Tejano icon. Like fellow Latina actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Brenda Song, Serratos represents a generation of performers whose mixed heritage expands what leading roles can look like.
Christian Serratos’ Father’s Ethnicity
Christian Serratos’ father is of Italian descent. He worked as a set construction worker — a behind-the-scenes craftsman in the entertainment industry his daughter would eventually front. His surname, Bernardi, is distinctly Italian, and Christian was born Christian Marie Bernardi before adopting the stage surname Serratos.
While her father has kept a lower profile than her mother, Serratos has credited both parents with supporting her ambitions from toddlerhood. “My mom’s Mexican and my dad’s Italian, so there’s a bunch of us,” she said, describing a big, boisterous family where both cultures were present. The Italian side contributed its own traditions to the household mix — a second cultural thread woven through her California upbringing.
Some biographical sources note the family’s Italian roots with pride, and the Bernardi name connects Serratos to the Italian-American diaspora in California. Though she performs under her mother’s surname professionally, her birth name remains a quiet nod to her father’s heritage.
Christian Serratos’ Mother’s Ethnicity
Christian Serratos’ mother, Alicia Serratos, is of Mexican descent. A jewelry designer who also worked in public relations and marketing, Alicia is the parent Serratos most often credits for her cultural grounding. “I definitely grew up with my mom’s heritage all around,” Serratos has said. “My family spoke Spanish in the house. Our Hispanic culture was definitely there.”
That immersion mattered. Growing up in Burbank, California, Serratos absorbed Mexican culture through language, food, and family gatherings — the everyday textures of a Mexican-American household. She has described the experience of navigating language and belonging as a Mexican-American kid, an experience she later recognized in Selena Quintanilla’s own story.
Alicia supported her daughter’s precocious talents early: Christian began competitive figure skating at age three — her coaches even talked about the Olympics — and signed with the Ford Modeling Agency at seven. The discipline and drive Alicia instilled helped carry Serratos from child modeling to Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide at 14 and, eventually, to global fame.
Is Christian Serratos Mexican?
Yes — Christian Serratos is of Mexican descent through her mother and identifies as Mexican-American. She has described herself this way in multiple interviews, explaining that she grew up with Mexican culture “all around” — Spanish spoken at home, Hispanic traditions observed, and a strong sense of her mother’s heritage.
Her Mexican identity was central to her casting as Selena Quintanilla in Selena: The Series (2020–2021). She told the Los Angeles Times that she related deeply to Selena’s experience: “We both grew up Mexican American and struggled with things like language and wanting to feel included.” Like Selena, who learned her Spanish-language lyrics phonetically, Serratos navigated the complexities of performing Latinidad in an industry with narrow expectations.
It is worth clarifying the terminology: Serratos is Mexican-American by ethnicity and heritage, not a Mexican national — she was born and raised in California. For more on the distinction, see our guide to ethnicity vs. nationality.
Is Christian Serratos Italian?
Yes — Christian Serratos is of Italian descent through her father. Born Christian Marie Bernardi, she carries an Italian surname by birth, and her father is described in biographical sources as a set construction worker of Italian descent.
The Italian half of her heritage is less discussed in interviews than her Mexican side — partly because her breakout roles have leaned on her Latina identity — but it is an equal part of her ethnic background. The big-family dynamics she describes, the food, the volume: both cultures contributed to the household she grew up in. Her story is a reminder that mixed-heritage performers often get sorted into a single category by the industry, even when their backgrounds are broader.
How Her Heritage Led to Playing Selena
When Netflix announced Selena: The Series, the casting of Selena Quintanilla — the beloved “Queen of Tejano” murdered in 1995 at just 23 — was one of the most scrutinized decisions in recent television. The role had previously been immortalized by Jennifer Lopez in the 1997 biopic Selena, and expectations were enormous.
Serratos, then best known as Rosita on The Walking Dead, was seen by some fans as an unlikely choice. But her Mexican-American background made her a natural fit, and the early teaser footage — with Serratos transformed into the Tejano icon — won over skeptics. The Quintanilla family, who executive-produced the series, signed off on the portrayal.
For Serratos, the role was personal. She understood Selena’s specific duality: the Mexican-American girl who loved her culture but wrestled with language, who wanted to feel included in both worlds. “She has been trying to break out into the industry for so long, and oftentimes, it wasn’t easy for her because she was a young girl, she was a Latina,” Serratos said. In playing Selena, she was also telling a version of her own story.
What Is Christian Serratos’ Nationality?
Christian Serratos’ nationality is American. She was born in Pasadena, California, raised in Burbank, and has built her entire career in the American entertainment industry — from Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified to the Twilight saga to The Walking Dead to Netflix. She is a U.S. citizen of Mexican and Italian descent.
She is in a long-term relationship with musician David Boyd (of New Politics), with whom she shares a child. The family is based in the Los Angeles area, the same region where Serratos grew up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Christian Serratos’ ethnicity?
She is of Mexican and Italian descent — her mother, Alicia Serratos, is Mexican, and her father is Italian.
Is Christian Serratos Latina?
Yes. She identifies as Mexican-American and has spoken about growing up with Mexican culture, including Spanish spoken at home.
What is Christian Serratos’ real name?
She was born Christian Marie Bernardi; Serratos is her mother’s surname, which she uses professionally.
Who did Christian Serratos play in The Walking Dead?
She played Rosita Espinosa, joining in season 4 and becoming a series regular from season 5.
Did Christian Serratos play Selena?
Yes — she portrayed Selena Quintanilla in Netflix’s Selena: The Series (2020–2021).
Where was Christian Serratos born?
She was born on September 21, 1990, in Pasadena, California, and raised in Burbank, California.
Conclusion
Christian Serratos’ ethnicity is Mexican and Italian — Mexican through her mother, Alicia, and Italian through her father, whose surname, Bernardi, she was born with. Raised in Burbank in a big, bilingual, bicultural family, she grew up Mexican-American in the fullest sense: Spanish in the house, Hispanic culture all around, and an Italian thread woven through it all.
That heritage has shaped her career as much as her identity, culminating in her portrayal of Selena Quintanilla — a role that asked her to channel not just an icon, but the shared experience of growing up Latina in America. From Ned’s Declassified to The Walking Dead to Selena, Serratos has shown that mixed roots are not a limitation to be managed but a story to be told.
