Couch Potato: Ana Ortiz

Lots of stars stop by the OK! office, but few have worked up my coworkers in frenzy like Ugly Betty’s Ana Ortiz! The bubbly raven-haired star, who plays Betty’s sassy older sis, Hilda, charmed all as she posed for a gazillion pics, beaming a smile from start to finish. Anna also joined me on the couch to give scoop on the tight-knit Betty cast, her newlywed marriage to musician Noah Lebenzon and why America Ferrera is like a real-life sister!

How is married life treating you?

I love being married! I’ve learned that I’m good at it, and I’m really glad I waited. Now I feel like I’m really ready for it, and everything else is falling into place.

What makes your relationship special?

It’s having my best friend with me all the time. We both love to work out and hike, and we both have dogs. But I’ve sort of lost contact with the other people who are important to me. My New Year's resolution is to get in touch with my friends because I’m going to look around and they’ll all be gone since I’ve been ignoring them for so long!

Are there plans for babies?

Yes. Probably sooner than later.

What do you and the cast do for fun together?

Tony Plana, who plays Betty and Hilda’s dad, had his second annual Ugly Betty Christmas party at his house last month. The cast all got together for that. We play games like Taboo, and it can get heated. We’re a really competitive cast, but with love!

Who do you miss working with on set?

It’s really difficult to be away from America. We’ve really adopted each other as sisters. It’s hard to be away from my onscreen son, Mark Indelicato (Justin). You really get to see how much he changes month to month, and he is growing up so fast. I sound like such a mom, but he is. I hang out with Ashley Jensen (Christina) a lot. She’s back in the UK. I’ll be glad when she gets back here.

What’s the last nice thing America’s done for you?

I was going through something really awful and I sort of reached out to her. I didn’t know how that was going to be—if that was imposing—and she was immediately there for me and calmed me down. Aside from what she does on a day-to-day basis, she’ll bring little gifts to the set, that moment for me was really special.

With the writers’ strike still in effect, what’s happening with the show?

Everything depends on the strike. Gabrielle Union just did our show, the last episode that we shot. She plays Wilhelmina’s sister and she’s amazing. She has this whole arc coming. Unfortunately, we’re not able to finish it unless the strike ends.

Who would be Hilda’s ideal man?

With Hilda comes the family and there’s no exception to that, so it has to be somebody who is really family-oriented. I think she would like someone who is career-oriented too because she’s taking this whole new businesswoman tact. She’s followed in her younger sister’s footsteps to take charge of her life. And she wants someone who is hot. If I know Hilda, I’m pretty sure of that!

Ugly Betty airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.