Alexandra “Alex” Meneses, has forged an impressive career on stage, television and film, and is now recurring on the CW’s Walker, a reboot of the long-running 90s series, Walker, Texas Ranger. “I play the mother of Lindsey Morgan, who plays Micki Ramirez, series lead Cordell Walker’s (Jared Padalecki) new partner in the Texas Rangers,” says Meneses.
The actress, who was first embraced by audiences playing Teresa Morales in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, is now enjoying the opportunity to be playing a doctor herself. “My character, Dr. Adriana Ramirez, is a psychologist who works for the police, proofing the actions of its officers,” and she goes on to explain. “The Rangers have been portrayed as being historically anti-Mexican, and that is a big problem for Micki and Adriana, who are trying to change that image. Adriana originally goes after Cordell when he is charged with brutality while working the case, and, of course, that is a problem for her daughter, Micki. There are challenges Micki and Adriana we are working through in their mother/daughter relationship.”
Chicago born, Meneses became interested in acting while still attending high school, enrolling in Chicago’s famed Second City Improv theater program. Soon after she landed a modeling contract and moved to Europe. Upon her return to the U.S., Meneses moved to Los Angeles to attend the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute to hone her acting skills. Her efforts were rewarded, when she was cast as a regular on the Showtime comedy series Sherman Oaks, followed by her stint on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.
Meneses has also done live theater in Los Angeles. She worked at the Geffen Playhouse, where she received acclaim for her role as Julia in the production of Oscar and Felix, an adapted revival of The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. “But after I had my daughter, I really couldn’t take the time to do live theater. I also stopped accepting film and television assignments that would take me away from home. This is the first year I have accepted work out of town.”
“I don’t want to be only an actor,” Meneses tells us. As president of her own production company, Alex produced the Sundance Channel hit documentary Damned To Heaven, a look at life inside the FLDS (Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints) of Colorado City, Arizona. She also executive produced Australians Hit Hollywood, an honest look at Australians and New Zealanders who have turned themselves into prominent players in the Hollywood entertainment scenes.
Meneses is also adding writing and producing to her list of accomplishments. “At the moment, I am producing a TV show [that] is in development called Arena. That’s taking up a lot of my time, too,” she told us, adding. “I want to put [projects] out there that I believe in, producing and writing is a great way of doing that.”
She was also in production on a project with Eva Longoria, who she worked with in the NBC series Telenovela. That project is still under wraps. “I can’t talk about it, but it is very close to my heart because it is about my parents.”
For now, Meneses is looking forward to returning to Austin, Texas to work on another episode of Walker. “They closed down for a month because of that cold snap they had down there. But the show has been picked up for another season, shooting nine more episodes,” Meneses tells us. “I believe there will be 19 episodes in all. Here’s hoping we are as successful as the original series.”
Alex Menses (Credit: Anderson Group PR/Vince Trupsin)