Rosa Diaz

Rosa Diaz
Brooklyn Nine-Nine character
Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz
Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz
First appearance
Last appearance
Created by
Portrayed byStephanie Beatriz
In-universe information
Occupation
  • Detective (seasons 1–7)
  • Private Investigator (season 8)
Family
Significant other

Rosa Diaz is a fictional character portrayed by Stephanie Beatriz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, an American police procedural comedy. She was originally created under the name "Megan" but changed to Rosa when Stephanie Beatriz got the part over Chelsea Peretti, who would go on to portray Gina Linetti. Beatriz and her co-star, Melissa Fumero, were worried both before and after casting about losing their roles; as Latina actresses, both saw it as unusual that they were cast in the same network television show. Rosa became Beatriz's breakthrough role.

Rosa's regular costume features a black leather jacket, somewhat curly hair, and a low voice, as well as her gun. This inspiration for this style came from Spaghetti Western films that Beatriz watched; she described the style she was going for as a "robot-cowboy" look. Rosa's character is serious, confident, and frequently angry; she is closed-off and does not share details about her personal life, although the audience gets glimpses into her past at various points. These glimpses point towards an extremely worldly past, one that is not universally accepted as true by critics.

In the fifth season, Rosa comes out as bisexual – this was considered a major revelation for her character, given her consistent desire for privacy. Her storyline in coming out was significantly shaped by Beatriz, herself identifying as bisexual. Rosa was received positively by reviewers, with particular praise for her positive representation of bisexuality. For her performance as Rosa Diaz, Beatriz won two Gracie Awards and one Imagen Award during the show's eight-season run.