Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980) is a Panamanian-American actress. Best known for her role as Mia Toretto in the Fast & Furious franchise, she made her acting debut in an episode of All My Children in 1995 and next took on the recurring role as Nikki Munson in As the World Turns, garnering a nomination for Outstanding Teen Performer at the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Award. Her first role in a feature film was in Robert Rodriguez's horror science fiction The Faculty (1998). Her breakthrough came with her role of Mia Toretto in the action film The Fast and the Furious (2001). She reprised the role in its sequels Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), and F9 (2021). Other film credits include the drama The Invisible Circus (2001), the action comedy D.E.B.S. (2004) and the horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006). Brewster starred on the re-booted TNT series Dallas from 2012 to 2014. She also had a five-episode arc as Denise Brown in the first season of the FX true crime anthology series American Crime Story (2016). She recently starred as Dr. Maureen Cahill on the Fox buddy cop action dramedy Lethal Weapon (2016–2018). Early life Jordana Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama, on April 26, 1980, the older of two daughters. Her mother, Maria João ( Leal de Sousa), is a former swimsuit model from Brazil who appeared on the 1978 cover of Sports Illustrated, and her father, Alden Brewster, is an American investment banker. Her paternal grandfather, Kingman Brewster Jr., was president of Yale University (1963–77) and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1977–81). Brewster is a direct descendant of Mayflower passengers William Brewster and Edward Doty. Jordana lived in London, England and moved to Brazil when she was six years old. She left Brazil at 10, settling in Manhattan, New York City, where she studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and graduated from the Professional Children's School. Brewster graduated from Yale University with a B. A. in English Literature in 2003. Career 1990s Brewster made her debut in daytime soap operas, with a one-time appearance on All My Children as Anita Santos. She next played the recurring role of rebellious daughter Nikki Munson on As the World Turns. From 1995 to 2001, she appeared in a total of 104