- This page is for the book series character. For the 2019 TV series character, see Liz Ortecho. For the 1999 TV series character, see Liz Parker.
Liz Ortecho is a main character in the Roswell High book series. She is a straight-A high school senior,[2] and she learns about the existence of aliens when Max Evans uses his powers to heal her.
Appearance[]
Liz has long black hair, dark brown eyes, and high cheekbones.[3][4] She is Latina. Maria DeLuca says she looks like "some kind of Spanish princess."[5]
Liz's aura is usually the color of "warm, rich amber." When she's shot and near death, it turns "a dull, muddy brown."[6] After Max heals her, it takes a while for her aura to return to normal, and it's still a "sickly yellow" later in the day.[7] When he sees her at school, there are "sickly yellow steaks that still marred" her aura,[8] and Max attributes "sickly yellow streaks" to a feeling of fear.[9]
Character[]
Liz is a senior in high school and a straight-A student, and will likely be valedictorian at graduation.[10] One of the reasons she tries so hard is to make up for the fact that her older sister Rosa died of a drug overdose a year before the start of the series. Liz will be the first in her large extended family to go to college, and she feels pressure over it.[11]
Liz's best friends are Maria DeLuca and Alex Manes, and their friendship group expands to include Max Evans, Isabel Evans, and Michael Guerin. Liz's most prominent romantic relationship is with Max Evans, although she sees other people for a time when Max insists it's too dangerous for them to be together.
Liz is a skilled liar. She tells stories to customers at the Crashdown Cafe about the existence of aliens so that she can get better tips.[12] This skill helps her lie about the shooting to keep Max's secret, and she later resolutely lies to Sheriff Valenti, telling him that she doesn't believe in aliens. She also lies to Elsevan DuPris, who owns an alien tabloid, once by coming up with an elaborate story of a material called "RosWool" to mess with him and throw him off about the healing.
Appearances[]
| Books | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell High | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Adaptations[]
For the 1999 Roswell television series, the character is renamed Liz Parker and is played by white actress Shiri Appleby. The character's Latina heritage was removed for the adaptation.
For the 2019 Roswell, New Mexico television series, Liz keeps the name Liz Ortecho and is played by Latina actress Jeanine Mason. The character's Mexican heritage is expanded in the adaptation, as Liz faces modern political issues and the threat that her undocumented father could be deported. Liz and the other main characters are all aged up ten years, although they still went to high school together, and Liz has become a biomedical engineer by the start of the series.
[]
References[]
- ↑ Book 9, The Dark One, chapter 6.
- ↑ Book 2, The Wild One, chapter 11: "Yeah, Isabel was good in math. But she was a junior, and Liz was a senior."
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 1: "Then Liz looked straight at Max, her dark brown eyes melting with emotion."
- ↑ The Seeker, chapter 4: "She was so dramatic looking, anyway, with her long black hair and dark eyes and those awesome cheekbones."
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 1, Maria states: "You look like some kind of Spanish princess or something with your long black hair and your amazing cheekbones. And let's not talk about your skin. Do you even know the word zit?"
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 1.
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 3.
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 5.
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 13.
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 6, Liz states: "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be valedictorian."
- ↑ The Outsider, chapter 1: "She sighed, imagining a life where she didn’t have to worry about doing something — anything — that would make her large, loving extended family worry about her future. She was the first daughter in her family headed for college, and her family wanted to make sure that she stayed on track. And not turn out like her sister, Rosa."
- ↑ Book 1, The Outsider, chapter 1.