‘Jane The Virgin’ Star Gina Rodriguez Thanks Dad For Being Her ‘Best Friend’ On Father’s Day

“Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez did not let Father’s Day pass by without greeting her dad, Genaro.

The actress posted a selfie on Instagram with her father, who is smiling from ear-to-ear. She then thanked him for raising her and her sisters to the best of his abilities and for being their “best friend.”

READ: When will ‘Jane the Virgin’ Season 4 air?

Rodriguez has a lot to thank her father for. It was he who equipped her with the proper mindset when it comes to achieving one’s goals. As a child, he would make her repeat this phrase everyday: “Today is going to be a great day. I can and I will.”

People of color often get intimidated by roles in Hollywood, but Rodriguez said their difference is not a weakness, it’s actually their strength. All they had to do was believe in themselves. “Girls like me were never the lead in TV shows. [Because of that] I didn’t believe I could succeed,” Rodriguez told The Collegian. “If you want to see yourself, support yourself.”

The same goes for any other industry. “Positivity, solution, power. You own all of them. It’s your journey, make it what you want it to be,” Rodriguez added. “One person’s ‘no’ is not the end of your journey. Try and fail and try again.”

Rodriguez also has some strong thoughts about gender equality. In Hollywood, one of the things she wishes to address is the gender pay gap, wherein actors get paid more compared to actresses even though they do the same amount of work. “On average, there is a 20 percent pay gap that women face for doing the same job compared to their male counterparts — a gap that often grows larger for different ethnicities,” she wrote for In Style. “To me, equal pay isn’t just about a dollar amount. It’s about knowing what you’re worth and a strength in knowing what you deserve. It’s about fairly and equally recognizing hard work and talent, no matter gender, ethnicity or religion.”

Rodriguez stressed that equal pay is “necessary” because it sends a message to women that they are valued and are capable of accomplishing great things. “We must continue to champion and support women in our daily lives,” she said.