Forte was born in Havana, Cuba. She has appeared in many independent films since the early 1990s. She received an Imagen Foundation Awards nomination for performance in the 2008 movie Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story. On television, Forte appeared in recurring roles on House of Payne, Crossing Jordan, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her film appearances include the transporter chief in the 2009 Star Trek reboot and Mrs. Glass in Real Women Have Curves.
In 2012, Forte was cast on TNT's revamped Dallas, playing Carmen Ramos, longtime Ewing family housekeeper and mother to Elena (played by Jordana Brewster). She played another housekeeper in the 2013 comedy film, A Haunted House, and co-starred in the Tyler Perry's The Single Moms Club (2014). After Dallas, Forte had recurring roles in the ABC Family drama series, The Fosters.
In 2016, Forte played Celia Flores, the main antagonist during the first half of season 2 of the AMC horror drama series, Fear the Walking Dead. Later, she was cast in the Netflix science fiction drama Altered Carbon.
