Patricia Velásquez
Encyclopedia
Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún (born January 31, 1971) is a Venezuela
n actress and fashion model. She is often considered to be the first Latin supermodel
.
to a Venezuelan mestizo father and an Amerindian mother of the Wayuu
tribe. Her parents were both teachers; 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. 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 Los Angeles
and New York
. In 1998, she paced down runways
in ready-to-wear
fashion show
s 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 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
.
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
, a Venezuelan indigenous group. 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. She is fluent in English
, French
, Italian
and Spanish
. She is tall.
At least one tabloid quoted her claiming to be bisexual. She was previously in a relationship with openly bisexual comedienne Sandra Bernhard
.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n actress and fashion model. She is often considered to be the first Latin supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
.
Early life
Velásquez, the fifth of six children, was born in Zulia State, VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
to a Venezuelan mestizo father and an Amerindian mother of the Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
tribe. Her parents were both teachers; her father also worked for UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and as a result, she spent some of her childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. She attended San Vicente de Paul High School, graduating in 1987. In 1989, she participated in the Miss Venezuela pageant
Miss Venezuela 1989
Miss Venezuela 1989, the 36th Miss Venezuela pageant, was held in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 16, 1989, after weeks of events. The winner of the pageant was Eva Lisa Ljung, Miss Lara....
, where she took 7th place. After 3 years of college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
studies, Velásquez left for Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in pursuit of a modeling career.
Career
In 1997 she studied actingActing
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1998, she paced down runways
Runway (fashion)
Runway or catwalk describes a narrow, usually flat platform that runs into an auditorium, used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.- Exclusive...
in ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear or prêt-à-porter is the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition, in standardized sizes, as distinct from made to measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. Off-the-peg is sometimes used for items which are not clothing.Ready-to-wear has...
fashion show
Fashion show
A fashion show is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase his or her upcoming line of clothing during Fashion Week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made...
s for designers
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
such as Antonio Berardi, Bella Freud
Bella Freud
Bella Freud is a London-based fashion designer with a number of celebrity clients.-Life and career:Freud was born in London, England. She is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and artist Lucian Freud and great granddaughter of the inventor of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. Her father Lucian Freud...
, Corinne Cobson, Claude Montana
Claude Montana
Claude Montana is a French fashion designer. His company, The House of Montana, founded in 1979, went bankrupt in 1997.Born in Paris in 1949 to a Catalonian father and German mother, Montana began his career by designing papier-mâché jewelry covered with rhinestones...
, and Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
. As for print advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, Velásquez appeared in ads for Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
's Allure, Roberto Verino's Verino fragrance, as well as Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
. Early in her modeling career, she appeared in several issues of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....
. This led to a large number of further modeling engagements, which ultimately culminated in her being ranked #45 on the Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
Hot 100 Women of 2001 and #16 in Stuff
Stuff (magazine)
Stuff is a men's magazine featuring reviews of consumer electronics, and other articles of interest to a predominantly male audience.- UK edition :...
magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" poll in 2002.
Velásquez played Anck-Su-Namun in the 1999 film The Mummy
The Mummy (1999 film)
The Mummy is a 1999 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Kevin J. O'Connor, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film features substantial dialogue in ancient Egyptian language, spoken...
and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy...
. Velásquez's movie credits normally omit the acute accent
Acute accent
The acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
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
Breaking the Girl
"Breaking the Girl" is a song by the American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers that was released in 1992 as the fourth single from their studio album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. It is a melodic ballad that refers to a turbulent relationship between frontman Anthony Kiedis and his former girlfriend,...
video of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
.
Television
Velásquez played the character of Begoña on several episodes of The L WordThe L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
during its 5th season (2008).
She had a recurring role on the television series Arrested Development playing Marta Estrella. On CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
, 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
Rescue Me (TV series)
Rescue Me is an American television drama series that premiered on the FX Network on July 21, 2004, and concluded on September 7, 2011. The series focuses on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters in the fictitious Ladder 62 / Engine 99 firehouse.The show...
playing Nez, the ex-girlfriend and mother of Franco's daughter, Keela. She most recently guest starred on Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
Personal life
In 2002, Velásquez founded the Wayúu Tayá Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the WayúuWayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
, a Venezuelan indigenous group. 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. She is fluent in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. She is tall.
At least one tabloid quoted her claiming to be bisexual. She was previously in a relationship with openly bisexual comedienne Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of...
.
Filmography
- Le JaguarLe JaguarLe Jaguar is a 1996 French film directed by Francis Veber starring Jean Reno, Patrick Bruel, Harrisson Lowe, and Patricia Velásquez. A shaman from the South American rain forest visits France for a public relations campaign. In a hotel's elevator in Paris he meets a French good-for-nothing named...
(1996), as Maya - Eruption (1997), as Luisa Soares
- BeowulfBeowulf (1999 film)Beowulf is a 1999 film loosely based on the Old English epic poem Beowulf. Unlike most film adaptations of the poem, this version is a science-fiction/fantasy film that, according to one film critic, "takes place in a post-apocalyptic, techno-feudal future that owes more to Mad Max than Beowulf."...
(1999), as Pendra - No Vacancy (movie) (1999), as Ramona
- The MummyThe Mummy (1999 film)The Mummy is a 1999 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Kevin J. O'Connor, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film features substantial dialogue in ancient Egyptian language, spoken...
(1999), as Anck-Su-Namun - CommittedCommitted (2000 film)- Plot :The ever-optimistic Joline faces a challenge when her husband, flaky news photographer Carl , leaves her to find himself in Texas. Joline tracks Carl down and observes him, acquainting herself with his schedule and new friends - Plot :The ever-optimistic Joline (Heather Graham) faces a...
(2000), as Carmen - FaçadeFaçade (film)Façade is a 2000 action/thriller movie.The film contains strong sexuality and language.- Cast :*Eric Roberts as Colin Wentworth*Camilla Overbye Roos as Caroline Kelner*Angus Macfadyen as Frederic Colbert*Brad Garrett as Henry*Joe Viterelli as Max...
(2000), as Juanita - San Bernardo (2000), as Claudia
- Turn It Up (2000), (cameo appearance)
- The Mummy ReturnsThe Mummy ReturnsThe Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy...
(2001), as Meela Nais/Anck-Su-Namun - SSX TrickySSX TrickyA soundtrack was released in 2002. It features the following songs:#"It's Tricky " - Run-D.M.C.#"Smartbomb " - BT#"Finished Symphony" - Hybrid#"King of the Beats" - Aphrodite#"Board Burner" - Mix Master Mike...
(2001, video game), as Marisol Diez Delgado - FidelFidel (film)Fidel is the name of a mini-series by David Attwood that describes the Cuban revolution and political career of Fidel Castro. The total duration of the series is about 3 hours and 20 minutes, but the video-version is shorter.-Plot:...
(2002, miniseries), as Mirta - MindhuntersMindhuntersMindhunters is a 2004 thriller film directed by Renny Harlin and written by Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin...
(2004), as Nicole Willis - Zapata: The Dream of a Hero - El sueño del héroe (2004), as Josefa
- The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve (2004, made-for-TV), as Isabel Frias
- The Operative: Red Dawn (2010)
- Almighty ThorAlmighty ThorAlmighty Thor is a fantasy action film by The Asylum loosely based on Norse mythology, which premiered on the Syfy cable network on May 7, 2011 and was released on DVD on May 10, 2011 in the United States. The film is directed by Christopher Ray and is a mockbuster intending to "cash in" on the...
(2011) - "Eternal Ashes" as Ana lead and Executive producer (2011)
- "Liz in September" as Liz lead and Executive producer (2012) pre-production