| Patricia Velásquez | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún January 31, 1971 Zulia, Venezuela |
| Occupation | Actress and Fashion Model |
| Website | |
| http://www.patriciavelasquez.com | |
Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún (born January 31, 1971) is a Venezuelan actress and fashion model. She is often considered to be the first Latin supermodel.
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Velásquez, the fifth of six children, was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela to a Venezuelan mestizo father and an Amerindian mother of the Wayuu tribe.[1][2] Her parents were both teachers;[3] her father also worked for UNESCO and as a result, she spent some of her childhood in Mexico and France. She attended San Vicente de Paul High School, graduating in 1987.[4] In 1989, she participated in the Miss Venezuela pageant, where she took 7th place. After 3 years of college studies, Velásquez left for Milan, Italy, in pursuit of a modeling career.
In 1997 she studied acting in Los Angeles and New York.[5] In 1998, she paced down runways in ready-to-wear fashion shows for designers such as Antonio Berardi, Bella Freud, Corinne Cobson, Claude Montana, and Dolce & Gabbana. As for print advertising, Velásquez appeared in ads for Chanel's Allure, Roberto Verino's Verino fragrance, as well as Victoria's Secret. Early in her modeling career, she appeared in several issues of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. This led to a large number of further modeling engagements, which ultimately culminated in her being ranked #45 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001[6] and #16 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" poll in 2002.
Velásquez played Anck-Su-Namun in the 1999 film The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns. Velásquez's movie credits normally omit the acute accent over the a in her surname. She also appeared in several 2003 episodes of Arrested Development as the character Marta Estrella.
She had a special appearance on Breaking the Girl video of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Velásquez played the character of Begoña on several episodes of The L Word during its 5th season (2008). She had a recurring role on the television series Arrested Development playing Marta Estrella. On CSI: Miami, in the episode "From The Grave", she appeared as a guest star, playing Celia Gonzalez. She had a recurring role in the first season of Rescue Me playing Nez, the ex-girlfriend and mother of Franco's daughter, Keela. She most recently guest starred on Ugly Betty
In 2002, Velásquez founded the Wayúu Tayá Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the Wayúu, a Venezuelan indigenous group.[7] In 2010, after the devastating Haiti earthquake, she had the Wayuú Tayá Foundation commission a special symbol of hope to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake along with the slogan: Keep the "H" Close to Your Heart—Help Haiti Hope.[8] She is fluent in English, French, Italian and Spanish.[5] She is 5 ft 9.5 in (1.77 m) tall.[9][10][11]
At least one tabloid quoted her claiming to be bisexual.[12] She was previously in a relationship with openly bisexual comedienne Sandra Bernhard.[13][14]
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