ELENA TOVAR

Biography: Elena Tovar is a Mexican-American actor. After a childhood in Mexico, she spent many years working in theater, including performing in off-Broadway shows in New York City and educational theater in Africa. In 2015, Tovar earned a Daytime Emmy Nomination for her recurring role as ‘Rosalie Martinez’ in GENERAL HOSPITAL. She has also appeared in several television series including CSI: NY, MODERN FAMILY, CRIMINAL MINDS and NCIS: NEW ORLEANS. Her film credits include supporting roles in MAN FROM SHAOLIN, ALL GOD’S CREATURES and SPIKER. Tovar was part of the CBS Diversity Showcase, received her formal training at The Poor School in London and has studied with Master teacher Anthony Abeson, Lesly Kahn, the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and Margie Haber Studios.

10 Best Soap Opera Newcomers of 2014

No. 4: Linda Elena Tolvar, General Hospital When a GH casting call went out for a Hispanic nurse, we worried Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) was being recast. Fortunately, Rosalie (Linda Elena Tolvar) only has dark hair and olive skin in common with saintly Nurse Santiago. As the ballsy nurse/partner-in-crime of unstable Nina Clay (Michelle Stafford), Tolvar got to play straight man opposite one of soap opera's best all-time comic villains in 2014. She also displayed a knack for romantic drama in her scenes with the Brothers Corinthos. We're hoping to see a lot more of Tolvar and Rosalie in 2015.

Shining Star: Linda Elena Tovar Continues to Sparkle as Rosalie Martinez on 'General Hospital'

Once in awhile an actress transcends her role. Linda Elena Tovar has accomplished that as nurse Rosalie Martinez on ABC's General Hospital. Soap operas often create "talk-tos," characters whose sole purpose is to provide an ear to the main character. In this case, Rosalie is a sounding board for Michelle Stafford's Nina Clay, and the two of them have instantly become one of the best dynamic duos in daytime. Stafford has been mesmerizing as Nina, which we recognized in our 10 Sensational Summer Performances list, while Tovar has taken a limited role and become a revelation. She imbues Rosalie with a rich tapestry of color. The character is menacing with the late Rafe (Jimmy Deschler), bold with Silas (Michael Easton), loving and caring towards Nina one moment and equally as ruthless the next. Then there is Rosalie's intriguing chemistry with Morgan Corinthos (Bryan Craig), the sexy son of mob boss Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). Is she genuinely concerned about him and his problems with Ava (Maura West), or does she just want to get him into bed? Or both! We don't know but really want to find out thanks to Tovar's enthralling performance. Morgan has troubles with his father Sonny (Maurice Benard), and the explosive anger Rosalie has towards her own father leads one to believe there are many more interesting layers and details to be revealed about the character. Will Rosalie find love with Morgan? Who is her father? Will she help eventually Nina steal Ava's baby (which could be Morgan's child)? Stay tuned! No matter what happens with Rosalie's storyline I'm calling it now: Linda Elena Tovar is a star.

General Hospital's Linda Elena Tovar On Criminal Minds And NCIS: NO

"General Hospital's" Linda Elena Tovar (Port Charles' Rosalie Martinez) has been cast in two CBS crime dramas. Tovar will appear as Lizette Castro in the upcoming "Criminal Minds" episode "Protection," which airs on Wednesday April 29 at 9:00 PM. In the episode the BAU searches for a vigilante after several shooting victims are found in the Los Angeles area with possible links to criminal activity. "Criminal Minds" stars Joe Mantegna ("The Simpsons"), Thomas Gibson ("Dharma and Greg") and Shemar Moore (ex-Malcolm Winters, "The Young and the Restless"). On "NCIS: New Orleans," Tovar will play Lucia Alvares on the season finale episode "My City." In the episode Pride (Scott Bakula, "Quantum Leap") suspects a mole among the ranks as NCIS and local law enforcement continue to track the Broussard Syndicate after new intelligence suggests a breach at the ports. The episode airs Tuesday May 12 at 9:00 PM. The show also stars Lucas Black ("The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"). Check out some photos below that Tovar shared of her roles on Instagram. Also be sure to tune in to the Daytime Emmy Awards on Sunday April 24 on PopTV as Tovar is nominated in the Outstanding Special Guest Performer category.

Daytime Emmys predictions: TV vets Donna Mills (‘GH’), Meredith Baxter (‘Y&R’) lead

Special Guest race

The Daytime Emmys introduced Best Special Guest Performer to this year’s lineup of categories, and the nominees include some well-known names outside of the soap world. Who do you think will prevail? Predict the correct outcome of this Emmy race (and 17 others) and you could win our contest. The user with the highest accuracy rate collects $100 and a place of honor on our leaderboards. (Make sure to read our complete contest rules.)

Like their primetime counterpart, the Daytime Emmys are decided by judging panels viewing sample episode submissions. For the third year in a row, the TV academy has made these available online for public viewing. Below, watch the episode submissions and judge for yourself as to who should win.

LINDA ELENA TOVAR, “GENERAL HOSPITAL” Linda Elena Tovar is the youngest nominee in a category dominated by well-known veterans. She recurs on “GH” as Rosalie Martinez, and like Willard submitted a comic reel. In it, she drunkenly confesses to Michael (Supporting Actor contender Chad Duell) that she was hired to seduce him but failed.