“Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera held back tears when she described how her teacher, a “Mrs. Rodriguez,” was the only person who had early faith in her as an actor. She told the New York Women in Film lunch that her first casting for a school play ended in cruel looks from other students. She told guests including Julianna Margulies, Andrea Wong and Harvey Weinstein: “I didn’t get cast in Shakespeare, but [Rodriguez] cast me later in ‘Oliver’ . . . There are a lot of people in my life who are surprised that I am where I am, but Mrs. Rodriguez would not be. I wish more than anything that she truly knew how much I really loved her for the gift that she gave me.” Rodriguez, sadly, died of cancer before Ferrera became a star.