Gina Rodriguez Funds College Scholarship for Latinx Student With Emmy Money

This year, the 'Jane the Virgin' star decided to put her allotted FYC spend from CBS TV Studios toward paying for the education of an undocumented high school student.

Gina Rodriguez will be throwing her hat in the Emmy ring for the fourth (and penultimate) season of her CW comedy, Jane the Virgin. She just won't be spending studio money on glam for campaign events or themed swag — though, as a recent episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt suggests, a Jane-branded pregnancy test would be quite a novelty.

"FYC is a bizarre dance," says the star. "Whatever you do requires an insane amount of money."

So this year, Rodriguez decided to put her allotted FYC spend from CBS TV Studios toward a college scholarship for an undocumented high school student.

"Our show has always jumped at any opportunity to help me do something for the Latinx community," says Rodriguez. "So I asked my showrunner, Jennie [Snyder Urman], if we could do something different with the money this year."

Rodriguez, 33, who won a 2015 Golden Globe for Jane, partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles to find the right applicant — a Princeton University-bound young woman who'll now be able to complete all four years without financial burden.

And while Rodriguez says she's been invigorated by her decision, she had mixed feelings about revealing it.

"It's taboo to talk about the money being spent, but it's the reality," says Rodriguez. "I think sharing this might inspire other people to do something similar. You can desire recognition and, at the same time, decide to not play in the confines of the game as it's set up."

This story first appeared in the June 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.