Génesis Rodríguez - Hollywood's Freshest New Face

As the daughter of Latino superstar, El Puma, Génesis Rodríguez knows what fame is all about. And now, with a taste of Oscar glory in the Academy Award-winning animated film, Big Hero 6, she's searing her path to major stardom in her own right.

- Jesus Trivino Alarcon

IT’S JUST A REGULAR HUMP DAY. Well, it’s actually nail salon day, and Génesis Rodríguez hunches over to accommodate Japanese nail artist Miho Okawara, who also painted Lady Gaga’s nails for American Horror Story. For Rodríguez, Miho is creating nail art that highlights her loves. On her index finger, it’s hip-hop, by way of DJ Khaled’s round-faced likeness; on her other index finger, it’s the logo of her hometown’s Miami Heat. Rodríguez, 28, has been a Heat freak since long before LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, led them to the mountaintop, and then ran home to Cleveland. The only images missing from her nails are her father, José Luis “El Puma” Rodríguez, the legendary Venezuelan crooner, her mother, Cuban model Carolina Pérez, and a camera to rep her passion for acting. The talk is mostly about food, another passion. A few hours after the first bole of nail polish was opened, she’s off to one of her favorite eateries in L.A.’s Koreatown, Dong II Jang, to treat herself to a sizzling plate of Kobe beef.

Food has also been a sore point in her life. Now a slender 5-foot-7 beauty with striking, almond-shaped eyes, Rodríguez says she was overweight as a child, which made her feel painfully self-conscious. It’s something she still thinks about.

“I remember that I was dating somebody, and one of his sayings aer we ate would be, ‘Did you have enough to eat?’ And I took offense to that,” she says. “Being that chubby kid has affected me in relationships because I didn’t have that self-love.