Lisseth Chavez

Intro

Lisseth Chavez is a television actress known for Celina Juarez in The Rookie, Vanessa Rojas in Chicago P.D., Esperanza 'Spooner' Cruz in DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Ximena Sinfuego in The Fosters. These roles place her in several different kinds of ensemble storytelling, from family drama to police work and time-travel adventure. Although two of the characters are police officers, they belong to separate fictional settings and have different relationships with their colleagues. Following those distinctions offers a more useful introduction to her work than treating the uniform as the whole performance.

Career snapshot

The Fosters gave Chavez the recurring role of Ximena Sinfuego, a character whose story intersected with Callie's. TV Guide's coverage describes Ximena as Callie's mentor and follows the jeopardy created by the expiration of her DACA status. That storyline required a performance shaped by vulnerability, uncertainty and the character's determination to retain control of her future. It is a different dramatic situation from the institutional authority of her later police roles. Watching the Ximena episodes provides a starting point for seeing Chavez work within an emotionally driven family-series ensemble.

The entry point

Chavez joined Chicago P.D. in its seventh season as Vanessa Rojas, initially an undercover officer who was recruited into Sergeant Voight's Intelligence team. TVLine's account identifies her introduction in the season's second episode and notes her developing connection with Kevin Atwater. Rojas entered a series with established working relationships, making the character's arrival part of the drama. The season ended earlier than planned during the coronavirus shutdown. Chavez did not return as a regular for season eight; the documented career move was into Legends of Tomorrow, rather than a continuation of Rojas elsewhere.

Screen identity and style

In DC's Legends of Tomorrow, she played Esperanza 'Spooner' Cruz. The CW's character biography describes a Texan whose apparent alien-abduction history eventually proves connected to accidental time travel and a home era of 1925. That premise gives Chavez a very different environment from the procedural routines of Chicago P.D. Spooner must find a place among the Legends while reassessing her own past. A useful comparison focuses on how a newcomer establishes trust within an existing group, a recurring dramatic challenge expressed here through fantasy instead of contemporary police work.

Collaborations and patterns

Chavez entered The Rookie in its fifth season as Celina Juarez, John Nolan's first official trainee. Celina's interest in mysticism gives her an unconventional approach that can conflict with the practical standards of police training. The partnership therefore develops through more than the mechanics of learning procedures: Nolan must understand how she reaches conclusions, while she learns what the job requires. ABC's seventh-season biography identifies Chavez as a series regular. Her performance as Celina should be considered separately from Vanessa Rojas, despite the apparent similarity of the two characters' professions.

Era reflection

Her wider television credits include Station 19, The OA, Murder in the First, Grey's Anatomy and S.W.A.T. The CW biography also records appearances in Chicago Med and Chicago Fire during a crossover. Such work places an actor within different production rhythms, from a guest appearance to the sustained development of a regular character. For viewers tracing her career, the named roles in The Fosters, Chicago P.D., Legends of Tomorrow and The Rookie provide the clearest guideposts, while the additional credits show the broader television experience around those longer assignments.

Legacy and rediscovery

The gallery shows Chavez at San Diego Comic-Con and in a promotional video greeting for German Rookie.con, both from 2026. The latter is a video still announcing an event, not evidence that the recording was made at the convention itself. These public-facing images document the actress rather than scenes from her shows. A rewarding viewing route moves between Ximena, Spooner and Celina, comparing family drama, fantasy and procedural storytelling. Each character gives a different context for her ensemble work and a different reason for an audience to follow the relationships around her.

Selected screen roles

• The Fosters: Ximena Sinfuego — Recurring television role
• Chicago P.D.: Vanessa Rojas — Season 7
• DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Esperanza 'Spooner' Cruz — Television series
• The Rookie: Celina Juarez — From season 5

A career in pictures

A convention-panel photograph and a separately recorded promotional video still show Lisseth Chavez connecting with audiences in 2026.

San Diego panel appearance (2026)

Lisseth Chavez at Comic-Con

Photographed by Kevin Paul on July 25, 2026.

Greeting convention fans (2026)

Chavez in a promotional video greeting

Still from German Film and Comic Con video uploaded February 16, 2026. The visible banner advertises the later event; this is not an on-site photograph.

Rewatch notes

• Chavez played Ximena Sinfuego in The Fosters.
• Spooner Cruz is her character in DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
• Celina Juarez and Vanessa Rojas belong to different television series.