Hilda Suarez (Ana Ortiz)

Ana Ortiz as Hilda Suarez

Background

Hilda Suarez is Betty's older sister and the mother of Justin. Although she respects Betty's job choice, she thinks that her sister is being taken advantage of at her job at MODE and feels that it provides her with an unstable lifestyle. She was also determined to get Betty to consider another option: to join her in selling door-to-door products from Herbalux, a health supplement company based in Poland. Later, she found herself out of a job after Herbalux was placed under investigation by the FDA and the company itself became the target of a lawsuit that was filed by a woman in New Jersey after she lost her hair using a hand créme days before her wedding. However, Hilda does have talent as a beautician and enrolled in cosmetology school, where she passed.

Hilda is also very protective of Betty (even though Betty would like her to back off a bit) and at times vents her rage at anyone who threatens her family, most notably next door neighbor Gina Gambarro. She also sometimes feels that she's being left out of her family, because Justin looks up to Betty as more of a mother figure than Hilda while Ignacio tends to be more protective of Betty. This often leads Hilda to be jealous of her sister, though she and Betty are as close as siblings can be.

In the first season finale, East Side Story, Hilda was watching Justin's performance as Tony in his school's production of West Side Story when Betty pulled her out of the audience during the final scene to tell her that her fiancé, Santos, had been possibly killed in a convenience store robbery. The whole season ended on a bleak note as Hilda sank to the floor and cried in Betty's arms with the final bars of the musical tolling sadly in the background.

Employment

According to Hilda's resume in the episode In or Out, her previous job before Herbalux was "Primary Skewer Girl" at "Zucchini on a Skewer" in New Haven, Connecticut. The resume also says she went to elementary school in New Haven, but graduated high school in Jackson Heights, New York. Also, under Activities, she lists: "Manicures, Shopping, Mother."

 Hilda's employer, Herbalux, shares the name of a real company based in Poland that specializes in alternative medicine. However, as used in the series, Herbalux is a fictional reference to Herbalife, a weight-loss supplement/multi-level marketing company based in the United States.

Connections

• Walter - Betty's former on-again/off-again boyfriend; She was more friendly to him and thought that he should be with Betty. She was also trying to ensure that Walter and Betty remain a couple and went as far as keeping a message that Henry left away from Betty, now that she is aware of her sister's feelings towards her co-worker. She would later back off after realizing that Betty can make own decisions now that Walter has left for a new job in Maryland.
• Santos - Her on-again/off-again boyfriend and Justin's father; Her father would rather see him stay away from the family because of his gambling problems and that he ruined Hilda's life. He has been an absent father to Justin and seems unable to tolerate his son's mannerisms. Hilda still she loves him but broke it off with him when she became pregnant with Justin because she didn't want Santos to see him. Santos is a terrible role model, but he has a good heart. The show suggests that he is poor and lives in an unstable environment. He often gets in fights. He begins to come around more often and even accepting of his son; he takes Justin to see Hairspray and buys him a calendar filled with facts about Broadway. In "Petra-Gate" he asked Hilda to marry him and she said yes. In the season 1 finale, he was shot and killed during a hold up in a convenience store.
• Gina Gambarro - Next door neighbor; She and Hilda have been sworn enemies since they were kids. She also blames her for trying to break up Walter and Betty, even though it was Walter who started it.
• Leah Stillman - Lawyer; Hilda thought that she would help Ignacio in his immigration case but played her for a fool by taking the money Hilda gave her and disappearing afterwards.

Inspirations

Hilda's character is the American adaptation's equivalent to Julia Solano Galindo de Pinzón, Beatriz Pinzón Solano's mother. Silvio Horta has said that Hilda is based on his older sister who according to him was "outgoing and popular".

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