Otmara Marrero, born on March 1, 1989, is an American actress from Miami, Florida. She grew up in a Cuban-American family and trained as a ballet dancer before turning to acting.
Her role as tech genius Izzy Morales in the Crackle crime drama StartUp brought her national recognition.
Who is Otmara Marrero?
Otmara Marrero is an American actress best known for playing Izzy Morales across all three seasons of the Crackle series StartUp, which aired from 2016 to 2018.
She has also starred in the psychological drama Clementine (2019) and the NBC ensemble series Connecting… (2020).
Her path to acting was unconventional. Marrero trained as a ballet dancer for over 16 years before injuries forced a career change, and she later performed professionally as a cheerleader for the Florida Marlins Mermaids before pivoting to the screen.
She earned two notable awards for her film work, a Commendation at the Liverpool International Film Festival for Off the Rails and a Breakthrough Award at the Downtown LA Film Festival for Clementine.
Marrero’s career has grown steadily from small television cameos into leading roles in both film and television, spanning crime drama, romantic film, and comedy.
Early Life of Otmara Marrero
Marrero was born in Miami, Florida, to a Cuban-American immigrant family. Her father arrived in the United States during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, while her mother entered via Ecuador using a false passport to escape Cuba.
That family history gave Marrero a direct and personal connection to the Cuban exile experience from an early age.
She grew up in Hialeah, a Miami suburb known for its dense Cuban-American community and strong Hispanic cultural traditions.
Growing up in that environment shaped her identity and gave her the bilingual background that would later inform her acting career.
Marrero began ballet at the age of three and trained for over 16 years. Injuries eventually ended her dance ambitions, and she later performed professionally as a Miami Marlins Mermaid, the cheerleader squad for the Florida Marlins baseball team, for two years.
Otmara Marrero Age
Otmara Marrero is 37 years old as of 2026, born on March 1, 1989. Her zodiac sign is Pisces.
By the time she landed her breakout role in StartUp in 2016, she had already spent years working in dance, cheerleading, and early-stage acting.
Otmara Marrero Ethnicity and Nationality
Marrero holds American nationality, having been born and raised in Florida. Her ethnic background is Cuban-American, with both parents having immigrated from Cuba under difficult circumstances.
That cultural identity plays a meaningful role in her personal story and, in her own words, feeds into the depth she brings to her performances.
Otmara Marrero Height and Weight
Marrero stands approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall, which is around 170 centimeters. Her weight is reported at 57 kilograms, or 125 pounds.
Years of ballet training gave her a lean, disciplined physique, and she has also studied boxing, reflecting a commitment to physical training throughout her life.
Otmara Marrero Education
After high school in Miami, Marrero took drama classes at Florida International University, which helped her transition from dance into acting.
She moved to Los Angeles in late 2015 to pursue her screen career full time. No further details about her earlier schooling have been made public.
Otmara Marrero Career
Marrero’s screen career began with small guest appearances before building toward leading roles in both television and film. Her progression from uncredited cameo to series lead across a decade reflects steady industry traction, awards recognition, and expanding creative range.
Career Start: Early Roles and First Breaks
Marrero’s first professional screen credit came in a small part in a Season 3 episode of Graceland, the USA Network undercover agent drama that ran from 2013 to 2015. That brief appearance gave her her first on-set experience in network television.
In 2015, she landed a lead role in the TV movie Instant Gratification, playing the character Alicia alongside Jeff Wahlberg and Joseph Julian Soria.
That same year, she appeared in the HBO sports dramedy Ballers, though her scenes were cut before the episode aired.
She followed those early credits with a significant guest role in My Daughter’s Dilemma (2016), playing Paloma Calvin, one of two sisters living a double life. That role gave her her first extended screen time and helped attract more serious casting attention.
Breakthrough: StartUp and the Izzy Morales Role
StartUp, which premiered on Crackle on September 6, 2016, served as Marrero’s major career breakthrough. She played Izzy Morales, a brilliant tech genius who creates a digital currency, across all 30 episodes of the show’s three seasons. The series also starred Adam Brody, Edi Gathegi, and Martin Freeman.
The role of Izzy Morales required Marrero to carry a substantial storyline across multiple seasons, establishing her as a reliable lead actor in the streaming crime drama space. Co-creator and showrunner Ben Ketai and the writers built Izzy’s arc as a central thread of the entire series.
Marrero filmed the show’s last season in 2018, completing three years of work on the project. After StartUp ended, she moved directly into film work, with Clementine entering production during the same period.
Clementine, Connecting…, and Florida Man
In 2017, Marrero landed the lead role in the psychological drama Clementine, written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Lara Jean Gallagher. The project had been developed through the 2016 Venice Biennale College Cinema Lab and the 2017 Sundance Creative Producing Summit.
Marrero played Karen, a heartbroken woman who sneaks into her ex-lover’s lake house and becomes entangled with a teenage girl played by Sydney Sweeney.
Clementine was released in 2019 and earned Marrero the Breakthrough Award at the Downtown LA Film Festival. Her performance in the earlier indie film Off the Rails had also won her a Commendation at the Liverpool International Film Festival.
In 2020, Marrero joined the NBC ensemble series Connecting…, an eight-episode comedy about friendships navigated via video calls during the COVID-19 quarantine.
She played Annie and filmed her entire role from home, a logistical challenge the cast embraced throughout production. Also in 2021, she appeared in the Disney+ Launchpad short film “Let’s Be Tigers,” playing Avalon, a grieving mother.
In 2022, she made a cameo as herself in Jackass Forever. The following year, she played Patsy across seven episodes of the Netflix miniseries Florida Man (2023), expanding her television credits into a new platform.
Recent Work: 2024 to 2026
Marrero appeared in the short film Who Am I (2024). In 2025, she took on roles in three productions: The Scout, Switch and Bait, and the action film Shadow Force, where she played a bank teller named Yvette.
Her IMDb profile lists her as an actress and producer with over 23 acting credits and additional production work.
Otmara Marrero Filmography
Selected screen credits:
- Graceland (2015, USA Network) – guest role
- Instant Gratification (2015) – Alicia
- My Daughter’s Dilemma (2016) – Paloma Calvin
- StartUp (2016-2018, Crackle) – Izzy Morales, 30 episodes
- Off the Rails (2018) – Anna
- Miss Arizona (2018) – Sammy
- Clementine (2019) – Karen
- Connecting… (2020, NBC) – Annie, 8 episodes
- Let’s Be Tigers, Launchpad (2021, Disney+) – Avalon
- Jackass Forever (2022) – Herself
- Florida Man (2023, Netflix) – Patsy, 7 episodes
- Who Am I (2024)
- Shadow Force (2025) – Yvette
- Switch and Bait (2025) – Bender
- The Scout (2025)
Otmara Marrero Awards and Recognition
Marrero won the Breakthrough Award at the Downtown LA Film Festival for her lead performance in Clementine (2019). She also received a Commendation at the Liverpool International Film Festival for her work in Off the Rails (2018).
Those two awards remain the most publicly documented honors from her film career.
Otmara Marrero Personal Life
Marrero has kept her romantic life private. She has spoken publicly about having been in a mentally abusive six-year relationship in the past, without naming the individual involved. She described ending that relationship and starting over as a turning point in her personal life.
As of her most recent public statements and verified reporting, Marrero has not confirmed a current romantic partner.
She focuses publicly on her career and has spoken about wanting to work with directors like Quentin Tarantino and about her commitment to the LGBTQ community.
Otmara Marrero Net Worth
Otmara Marrero’s estimated net worth is $5 million as of 2026. Her income comes primarily from her acting career, spanning leading roles in television series, feature films, and streaming productions.
Her multi-season run on StartUp as a series lead, followed by her film work in Clementine and Florida Man, provided sustained income across several years.
She also produces work in addition to acting, which adds another income stream to her professional portfolio.
Otmara Marrero Social Media
Marrero maintains an active presence on Instagram, where she posts updates on projects, personal milestones, and advocacy work.
Her IMDb profile lists her full filmography as both actress and producer across credits dating back to 2015.
The Bottom Line
Marrero played Izzy Morales across all 30 episodes of StartUp from 2016 to 2018 on Crackle, landing her first sustained leading role in a major streaming drama.
Her 2019 film Clementine, developed through the Venice Biennale and Sundance labs, earned her the Breakthrough Award at the Downtown LA Film Festival.
She grew up in Hialeah, Florida, the daughter of Cuban immigrants, trained as a ballet dancer for 16 years, and cheerleaded for the Florida Marlins before making her screen debut at 26. That background of discipline across multiple performance disciplines shapes the range she brings to her roles.
Marrero added three new projects in 2025, including The Scout and Shadow Force, keeping her screen presence active into the mid-2020s.
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