EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – TNT’s Animal Kingdom has won immense acclaim for portraying some of televisions’ strongest female characters.

The series follows the Codys, a Southern California crime family led by a tough matriarch played by Ellen Barkin. Actress Christina Ochoa reprises her role this season as fan-favorite Renn Randall, Craig Cody’s on-again off-again girlfriend.

Off screen Ochoa is a scientist and an active member of Mensa. She is also the grand-niece of Severo Ochoa, a physician and biochemist who won the 1959 Nobel Prize.

Animal Kingdom airs on TNT Tuesday nights at 9 p.m.