<P> Ramirez was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, in the northwestern coast of the Pacific coast of Mexico . Her father is Mexican and her mother is of Mexican and Irish - American descent . Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and Ramirez went to live with her mother . They eventually settled in Tierrasanta, San Diego, California . Ramirez's interest in music encouraged her mother to send her to San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, where she discovered her singing talent during an audition . Ramirez started acting in stage productions at her high school . </P> <P> After having played such roles as the Witch in Into the Woods, Dolly in Hello, Dolly! and Miss Hannigan in Annie, Ramirez was recommended for the Juilliard School, New York City . She graduated with a degree in Bachelor's of Fine Arts (Dramatics). At Juilliard, she further worked on her acting skills and trained as an alto singer . Ramirez speaks both Spanish and English fluently . </P> <P> While still at Juilliard, Ramirez was discovered by a casting director and was offered the role of Wahzinak in Paul Simon's 1998 Broadway musical The Capeman . Based on the life of the Puerto Rican gangster Salvador Agron, the production garnered negative reviews, but Ramirez was singled out for her "outstanding" performance . She made her screen debut in the same year, with a minor yet "memorable" role in the romantic comedy You've Got Mail . Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film had Ramirez play Rose, a Zabars cashier who was, "very serious about her line's cash - only policy ." Ramirez voiced the titular character of Lammy in the video game UmJammer Lammy, a spin - off of PaRappa the Rapper, on Sony's PlayStation console . She later reprised her role in the latter's sequel for PlayStation 2, but had a smaller role . </P> <P> In 1999, Ramirez appeared in Mark Lamos' The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm (1999). She garnered praise for her performance and received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for her role . Charles Isherwood of Variety praised her "beautiful, smoky voice", but was critical of her "torchy" performance of "The Man I Love" which ignored, "the wry irony that infuses Ira's lyrics". Ramirez then appeared in the 2001 Broadway production of Edward Kleban's A Class Act . She replaced Julia Murney (from the off - Broadway) to play the role of Felecia, the protagonist Ed's boss . The same year, she starred in other productions including Fascinating Rhythm and Dreamgirls, and then performed in the 2002 production of The Vagina Monologues with Tovah Feldshuh and Suzanne Bertish . During this time, Ramirez also appeared in guest roles in several television series, including NYPD Blue, Law & Order: SVU, Third Watch, and Spin City among others . </P>

Who plays rose in you've got mail
find me the text answering this question