Portal:Cincinnati/Selected biography/4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carmen Electra, whose birth name is Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972) is an American glamour model, television personality, dancer, singer, and actress mostly known for her work with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer on Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans and appearance in Baywatch as Lani McKenzie.
Patrick was born in Sharonville, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), the daughter of Patricia, a singer, and Harry Patrick, an entertainer and guitarist. Her mother died of a brain tumor in 1998. Her older sister Debbie died from a heart attack, also in 1998. Tara graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville. She has Irish, German, and Cherokee ancestry.
Patrick moved to California in 1991, where she met Prince while auditioning for an all-girl rap group. Prince persuaded her to change her name to Carmen Electra and instead record a solo album. Soon after, she signed a recording contract with Prince's company Paisley Park Records, marking the start of a short-lived singing career. In 1995, Electra started appearing in various television programs. Then, in May of 1996 she was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, the first of several. This exposure led to higher profile television appearances, including Baywatch (cast member from 1997-1998) and MTV's Singled Out. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. Electra became so popular among readers of Playboy that she was featured in the magazine three more times, with her second appearance in June 1997. She subsequently graced the cover twice, in December 2000 and April 2003.
