Morena Baccarin was born January 1, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is the daughter of Brazillian stage actress Vera Setta. At the age of 10, her family (and her, obviously) moved to New York City, where she attended the LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts and the Juilliard School. There she starred in a number of plays, including Mary Stuart, The Seagull, The Importance of Being Earnest and Love’s Labours Lost.

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, she landed a small part in the independent feature Roger Dodger. The experience of working on a film with actors such as Campbell Scott and Isabella Rossellini prompted her to head west where, soon after arrival in L.A., she came to the attention of Joss Whedon, who cast her in Firefly. She subsequently became a regular on the FOX series Still Life.