<Tr> <Th> Relatives </Th> <Td> Candice Azzara (maternal aunt) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Alma Award, Imagen Award </Td> </Tr> <P> Lana Maria Parrilla (born July 15, 1977) is an American actress . Parrilla is best known for her roles on television and radio . She was a regular cast member in the fifth season of the ABC sitcom Spin City from 2000 to 2001 . She later starred in Boomtown (2002 - 2003), Windfall (2006), Swingtown (2008) and as Doctor Eva Zambrano in the short - lived medical drama Miami Medical (2010). She also played the role of Sarah Gavin during the fourth season of the Fox series 24 in 2005 . In 2011, Parrilla began starring as The Evil Queen / Regina Mills in the ABC fantasy drama series, Once Upon a Time . In 2016 Parrilla won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Sci - Fi / Fantasy TV Actress . </P> <P> Parrilla was born in Brooklyn . Her father, Sam Parrilla (1943--94), was a Puerto Rican - born baseball player who played professionally for 11 seasons (1963--73), including one season with the Major League Philadelphia Phillies in 1970 as an outfielder . Her mother is an American painter of Sicilian descent who works in banking . Parrilla has one older sister, Deena, and a nephew named Sammy . She is also the niece of character actress Candice Azzara . Parrilla's parents divorced when she was three years old . She spent her first ten years living with her mother, and then lived with her father . Lana Parrilla was attacked at ten years old by a dog, which left her a visible scar on the right side of her upper lip . During the time she lived with her father, he was too protective to allow her to attend a performing arts school, which delayed her acting career . Parrilla lived with her father until his murder in 1994, when she was 16 and he was 50 . Her father was shot once in the chest by a 15 - year - old female assailant at point blank range and later died from the wound . After the death of her father, Parrilla moved in with her mother to Burbank, California . Parrilla visited Granada in 2007 to learn Spanish . After high school she moved to Los Angeles and attended Beverly Hills Playhouse to study acting . She also studied voice for ten years . Parrilla then began to be cast in small parts and later on, larger ones . </P>

Who plays regina mills in once upon a time