Constance Marie, born Constance Marie Lopez, is an American actress of Mexican descent. She was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California by her mother, who was an artist and her grandmother. While in her teens, she had a passion for dancing that she carried on for years. By age 19, she tap danced in a musical called "Cosmopolis" by famed composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in Japan. When she returned to Los Angeles, her career took a huge step when she was spotted in a club by a dance choreographer for pop icon David Bowie

Marie started her career as a dancer on David Bowies Glass Spider Tour. After arriving back from the tour, Marie was cast as a dancer in the movie Salsa. After that, the film's choreographer introduced her to Steve Tisch, who gave her first acting job. She played the role of Penny Rivera on the CBS television series version of Dirty Dancing. She later won the role of Nikki Alvarez on the now defunct NBC soap opera Santa Barbara. Marie later made her feature film debut in the Gregory Nava film My Family.

She was featured in the 1997 biographical film Selena alongside Jennifer Lopez In this film, Marie played the pivotal role of Selena's mother, but under heavy make-up to make her look older than Lopez, who is only slightly younger than Marie.

Her other film credits include Tortilla Soup, in which she played a divorced mother. In 1997 she was cast in the NBC sitcom Union Square. She has guest-starred on many television shows such as FOX's Ally McBeal. She played Angie Lopez on the Abcsitcom George Lopezuntil its cancellation in 2007. From 2002 until 2004, Marie played Nina Gonzales on the critically-acclaimed PBS mini-series American Family. She also made a guest appearance as herself in the eighth episode of Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony.

In October 2007, Marie launched her own clothing line, The Constance Marie Collection.