Nívea Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

She earned the degree of Bachelor in Fine Arts with a major in Illustration from Pratt Institute in New York.

Back in Puerto Rico, she began her professional career at the leading newspaper El Nuevo Día, illustrating covers and

articles for the sections Por Dentro, De Viaje and De Moda.

She collaborated in Dialogo, the University of Puerto Rico’s newspaper and in Caras fashion magazine.

She also has a prominent career in the field of children’s illustration.

Her clients include Simon & Schuster Publishing, Penguin Random House, La Editorial de la UPR, Ediciones SM,

Alfaguara Infantil-Juvenil, Ediciones Norte and Lilac LLC among others.

Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators N.Y., the Publishers Association of the West, The Society of

Newspaper Design, La Asociación de Fotoperiodistas de P.R. and the International Latino Book Awards.

She was named winner of the "My San Juan Mural" 2015 contest held by The Mall of San Juan, PR.

Among her recent distinctions, she won the P.R. Heineken Jazz Fest poster design competition in 2012, 2013 and 2017.

She was invited to be part of the collective exhibition: Women Who Draw 2018 at ISB Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design/ RISD Illustration.

Was part of the Fem Force exhibition at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, a collective show of women artists, 2019.

In 2020 was an award recipient of the International Latino Book Awards. Design Award for Best Use of Illustrations Inside the Book, Un Coquí de Boriquén con los Reyes a Belén.