 Lana Maria Parrilla (born July 15, 1977) is an American actress. She was born in Brooklyn, New York City. She is the younger daughter of Sam Parrilla. She was regular cast member on the season five of ABC situation comedy, "Spin City", from 2000 to 2001. Parrilla later starred in the drama "Boomtown" (2002-2003). Then she starred in "Windfall" (2006), "Swingtown" (2008) and "Miami Medical" (2010). She also played the role of 'Sarah Gavin' on the season four of 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".