<P> The show depicts the everyday life of a Cuban - American family with each character finding their own journey . Following the story of Penelope Alvarez ( Justina Machado ) a United States Army Nurse Corps veteran , facing her return to civilian life with a lot of unresolved issues from her time in the Army . She works as a nurse in the office of Dr. Leslie Berkowitz ( Stephen Tobolowsky ) . After her husband 's alcoholism due to post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the Army make it , in Penelope 's words , ' unsafe to be in the house ' , she separates from Victor ( James Martínez ) , taking the children with her . With the help of her Mother , Lydia ( Rita Moreno ) , a refugee who left Cuba as a teen following Fidel Castro 's rise to power , she is raising her two children : Elena ( Isabella Gómez ) and Alex ( Marcel Ruiz ) . Apart from planning her daughter 's quinceañera , Penelope starts dating and finds a love interest . Elena , resistant to have a quinces , starts dating a teenager from her class ; to later realize that she is a lesbian . After struggling in ways to tell her family about her sexuality she finds the right time to come out . Alex starts working in a school project about Cuba with the help of Schneider ( Todd Grinnell ) and Lydia . Lydia talks about leaving Cuba escaping from Castro 's dictatorship and how she fell in love with her late husband Berto ( Tony Plana ) . </P>
<P> The show depicts the everyday life of a Cuban - American family with each character finding their own journey . Following the story of Penelope Alvarez ( Justina Machado ) a United States Army Nurse Corps veteran , facing her return to civilian life with a lot of unresolved issues from her time in the Army . She works as a nurse in the office of Dr. Leslie Berkowitz ( Stephen Tobolowsky ) . After her husband 's alcoholism due to post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the Army make it , in Penelope 's words , ' unsafe to be in the house ' , she separates from Victor ( James Martínez ) , taking the children with her . With the help of her Mother , Lydia ( Rita Moreno ) , a refugee who left Cuba as a teen following Fidel Castro 's rise to power , she is raising her two children : Elena ( Isabella Gómez ) and Alex ( Marcel Ruiz ) . Apart from planning her daughter 's quinceañera , Penelope starts dating and finds a love interest . Elena , resistant to have a quinces , starts dating a teenager from her class ; to later realize that she is a lesbian . After struggling in ways to tell her family about her sexuality she finds the right time to come out . Alex starts working in a school project about Cuba with the help of Schneider ( Todd Grinnell ) and Lydia . Lydia talks about leaving Cuba escaping from Castro 's dictatorship and how she fell in love with her late husband Berto ( Tony Plana ) . </P>
who plays the daughter in one day at a time
who plays the daughter in one day at a time
Isabella Gómez
Isabella Gómez