When She's Not Wearing Her OITNB Uniform, Miriam Morales Is Pretty Glam

Orange Is the New Black's highly anticipated fifth season not only brings the drama but also some new and familiar faces. One of them is Ramona "Pidge" Contreras, who occasionally pops up in season four after arriving to Litchfield and joining Maria Flores's gang of Dominican inmates. Her storyline in season five is much more substantial, watching over the kidnapped guards and generally causing a ruckus with BFF Carmen "Ouija" Aziza. So, who plays Pidge in Orange Is the New Black? Actress Miriam Morales!

As you can see, Miriam looks pretty different out of her khaki Litchfield uniform (as does most of the cast!). The actress hails from NYC and studied and trained at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and with TVI Actors Studios in Los Angeles and told Regard magazine that she wanted to start acting ever since being cast in a church play. Before landing her role on OITNB — which she says she got after she "visualized it and made it my business to remind my manager that I belonged on the show" — Miriam appeared in smaller parts on shows like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Colors of Love. She hopes to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Viola Davis one day (don't we all?), but for now Miriam is focused on bringing depth to Pidge, who she says has a tough exterior and "a big heart."

In an interview with FemaleFirst, Miriam also opened up about what we might see from Pidge in future seasons. "Moving forward, I'd like for more layers to be revealed and for this multidimensional, messy, ugly, complicated yet very real person to come more into fruition," she said. "Orange Is the New Black is such an amazing show, it's quite revolutionary. It feels absolutely amazing to be on a show where females take such a center role. And a lot of them too! In all honesty, it makes me want to work harder and accomplish my goals. It's empowering to see other women make things happen, and it's important for young girls to witness that as well."

It's also worth noting that in real life, her and Skinhead Helen (played by actress Francesca Curran, who looks pretty different IRL, too) couldn't be closer.