Spoilers for “Orange is the New Black.”

If you know Jessica Pimental from anything, it’s likely from her long stint on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” as Maria Ruiz. Maria is an unusual character who changes a lot over the course of the show. Pregnant in the first season, she’s bunked up with Dayanara Diaz (Dascha Polanco) and ends up giving birth to a girl while in prison. She only has six years left on her sentence and thinks that she might marry her boyfriend Yadriel (Ian Paola). 

But a transfer to a new prison and Yadriel’s announcement that he’s going to stop bringing Peppa to the prison to visit her mother bring about a change in Maria. In the latter seasons, Maria becomes ambitious when it comes to fostering her own career and finds herself leading the prison’s Dominican gang. But her participation in a prison-wide riot leads to friends both former and new turning on her; she ends up in a maximum security prison with 10 more years added to her sentence. Nevertheless, she manages to heal her relationships with Diaz and several other women in the wake of the riots. Even though she loses Yadriel, there’s hope that she’ll find good luck in the prison’s Restorative Justice program.

Pimental’s role as Ruiz helped her land three SAG awards as part of the “Orange is the New Black” ensemble and added to her reputation as an actor. Fans will have to keep their eyes peeled to see where she’s headed next — and if Laura’s relationship with Danny on “Blue Bloods” becomes more than a one-date thing.