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TONY AWARD WINNER SARA RAMIREZ JOINS THE CAST OF "MADAM SECRETARY"

CBS announced today that Sara Ramirez has joined the cast of MADAM SECRETARY as a series regular. Ramirez will be introduced in the episode to air Sunday, Nov. 19 (10:30-11:30 PM, ET/10:00-11:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Ramirez will play Kat Sandoval, a brilliant political strategist, legendary in D.C. for her talent and for abruptly dropping out of politics until Elizabeth manages to coax her back into the State Department.

"We're very excited that Sara is joining the cast," said Barbara Hall, Executive Producer and Series Creator. "She brings a fresh perspective and a fun, energetic quality to the State Department staff."

"We are thrilled to have Sara join the MADAM SECRETARY State Department team," said Lori McCreary, Executive Producer. "From the moment she walked on set with her talent, intellect and spirit, she became part of the family!"

Tony Award winner Sara Ramirez appeared for over a decade as Dr. Callie Torres on the television drama "Grey's Anatomy." Also, she is the voice of Queen Miranda on the animated series "Sofia the First" and the voice of Mam� Calaca in "Vampirina." Prior to "Grey's Anatomy," Ramirez performed on Broadway in Monty Python's "Spamalot" as Lady of the Lake, for which she earned both a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical and an Outer Critics Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. Recently, Ramirez co-hosted "Ted Talks Live NYC" on PBS. Also, she has executive produced three films: "Loserville," "Out of Exile: Daniel's Story," the virtual reality film experience, and "The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson," a documentary by David France about transgender LGBTQ civil rights pioneers Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson that recently premiered on Netflix. Ramirez was honored in May 2017 by the city of Los Angeles as an activist and artist working to advance equality as part of Los Angeles Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Heritage Month. In 2015 Ramirez was awarded the Ally for Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. In November 2017, she will be awarded the Trailblazer award by the LGBT Center of New York City.

MADAM SECRETARY stars Téa Leoni, Tim Daly, Zeljko Ivanek, Keith Carradine, Sebastian Arcelus, Patina Miller, Geoffrey Arend, Erich Bergen, Kathrine Herzer, Wallis Currie-Wood and Evan Roe. Barbara Hall, Lori McCreary, David Grae, Eric Stoltz and Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman are executive producers for CBS Television Studios in association with Revelations Entertainment.

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