7 Reasons Why You'll Love Jane The Virgin Star Gina Rodriguez

The Golden Globe winning Jane The Virgin is finally here. We met its awe-inspiring star Gina Rodriguez – here's why you’re going to love her…

Her character Jane is a positive role model...

"I’ve always wanted to play a woman that a young girl like my niece can look up to. I wish I was more like my character, Jane; she’s awesome. She’s saving herself for marriage and doesn’t feel like a nerd because of that. She’s a great character to put out there in a world that is bombarded with images of half naked women." Highlighting that older virgins do exist y'know! (she even dated one)…

"I once dated a 32-year-old Christian virgin. It was super admirable to see him stick to his convictions. We weren’t the right match but everybody comes into your life for a reason and he was a great character study for the show." Kicking off the Golden Globes with a pre-party with her mum…

"I felt like a princess at the Golden Globes. I had to get my hair and make-up done at 10am so we had a party in my house that morning and my mum was cooking food for everybody. Badgley Mischka designed me a dress and there was so much love on the red carpet, it was pretty magical."

Inspiring others to be happy within themselves...

"Body confidence is a daily struggle in this industry. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease when I was 19, which directly affects your metabolism, but I refused to believe I wasn’t skinny enough. There’s so much pressure but I don’t need a specific body type to tell a story because it comes from the heart. Living up to somebody else’s standards just does not work."

She's open about the lack of ethnic diversity within the film industry...

"I thought I was going to be a superhero like Jennifer Lawrence but sadly I don’t look like her. I did a film called Filly Brown in 2012, which was well received at the Sundance Film Festival but the industry wasn’t ready for me. I am beautiful the way I am with my brown skin and brown eyes, but the networks don’t believe they can get their movies made with me. That’s something I still have to prove to them." Her sis is her BFF…

My biggest supporter is my sister, Iveliss. She used to watch me dancing in the living room like a nutcase and always told me I would be a star. Later she helped me pay for college and gave me the persistence and ambition to fight for my dreams. I only had one guest ticket to the Globes and I took Iveliss.

She still gets totally starstruck…

"I’m obsessed with Sam Smith. His voice is outrageous.I bumped into him at the Grammys and I don’t think he quite understood. I was like, “Sam I love you!” I also met Paul McCartney that night and I dropped to the floor when I saw Prince." Jane The Virgin starts on E4 in April. You can read our full interview with Gina Rodriguez in the May issue of Marie Claire, out now.