Out 100 cover star Sara Ramirez: “Prior to Callie Torres, I’d never seen myself represented on television”

Tony Award winner Sara Ramirez (Spamalot) portrayed the bisexual character of Dr. Callie Torres for 11 seasons on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.

Ramirez is again breaking new ground in the Sex and the City reboot (HBO Max’s And Just Like That…) alongside original stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis.

Their character Che Diaz is a stand-up comedian and podcast host who has “this smart and funny and dynamic — and I’ve been told sexy” swagger, Ramirez details for Out.com. The first big-name addition to the cast, Ramirez also portrays the first nonbinary character in the Sex and the City canon.

As a longtime SATC fan, Ramirez says being on that show has long been “the dream…and when the series ended, I thought, Well, there goes that dream.” Thus, Ramirez was “elated” when creator Michael Patrick King offered them the role via a Zoom meeting last January. They are “so grateful for…the entire Sex and the City family for what they started, for this continuation, and for including me in it,” they say.

Ramirez’s star is only growing. Their fans include a “wild mix of generations” — from older viewers of Madam Secretary to the Gen Z kids who discovered Grey’s while lockdown-bingeing. And Just Like That… will tap into a brand-new fan base. Their acting legacy will be tied, in large part, to the many viewers who have seen themselves reflected in their characters for the first time over the years, a testament to the power of representation. “If we can spark fresh, new conversations in spaces that normally would not be engaging in those conversations, I think that visibility…can change how we view ourselves and the world,” they say.