Patricia Velásquez
Velásquez at South by Southwest in 2019
Born
Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún

(1971-01-31) 31 January 1971
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Occupations
Years active1989–present
Known for
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
Children1

Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún (born 31 January 1971) is a Venezuelan actress and model. As an actress, she is known for her portrayal of Anck-su-namun in the 1999 film The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns.

Early life

Velásquez was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, the fifth of six children of a mestizo father and a mother of the indigenous Wayuu people.[2][3] Velásquez "lived in poverty" in Venezuela;[4] her parents were both teachers, and her father, who also worked for UNESCO, was assigned to other countries. Velásquez grew up with her family in France and Mexico. She attended San Vicente de Paul High School, graduating in 1987.

In 1989, she participated in the Miss Venezuela 1989 contest. She represented Peninsula de la Guajira, a center of the Wayuu people, and placed as 2nd runner-up. After three years of engineering studies at college, Velásquez left for Milan, Italy, in pursuit of a modeling career. She is fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.[5]

Career

From 1995 to 2000, Velásquez studied acting in Los Angeles and New York.[5] She walked runways in ready-to-wear fashion shows for designers such as Chanel, Chloe, John Galliano, Antonio Berardi, Bella Freud, Corinne Cobson, Claude Montana, Dolce & Gabbana and many others. Velásquez appeared in print ads for Chanel's Allure, Cover Girl, Monsoon, Roberto Verino's Verino fragrance, as well as Victoria's Secret.

During her modeling career, she appeared on the covers of Vogue, Bazaar, and Marie Claire among others and several issues of the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. This led to a large number of further modeling engagements. She was ranked as No. 45 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001[6] and No. 16 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" poll in 2002.

Velásquez played Meela Nais / Anck-Su-Namun in the 1999 film The Mummy and its 2001 sequel The Mummy Returns.

She had a special appearance on "Breaking the Girl" video of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. She also appeared on the Rod Stewart video "Leave Virginia Alone" and others, such as Ricardo Montaner "Para Llorar" and George Michael "Spinning the Wheel."

Velásquez was appointed UNESCO Artist for Peace (Goodwill Ambassador) in June 2003, in the context of the International Decade for the World’s Indigenous People. She was honored in recognition of her actions for protection of the Wayúu indigenous people in Latin America and for safeguarding their cultural heritage.[7]

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 also guest starred on Ugly Betty and Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series, season 9) She also voiced the character Marisol Díez Delgado in the SSX franchise.

She received the “Women Together” award at the United Nations on 2009. The Awards Ceremony recognizes the valuable contribution of men, women, and institutions dedicated to the creation of a more equal society[8][9]

Velásquez competed on behalf of the charity Wayúu Tayá Foundation on the twelfth season of The Apprentice. She was fired in week 6, on 25 March 2012.

On 2015, LA Femme Film Festival gave Velásquez their Humanitarian Award.[10]

On August 30, 2018, the Organization of American States (OAS) appointed Velásquez as Goodwill Ambassador for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Americas during a ceremony at its headquarters in Washington, DC.[11]

Velásquez was honored by the Human Rights Campaign with the 2018 Visibility Award in New England.[12]

In 2019, she played Patricia Alvarez in the horror film The Curse of La Llorona.

In 2020, Velásquez played Nurse Velasquez in Malignant[13], Mariela Vicuna in Brut Force,[14] and Meg in List of a Lifetime where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the 2022 Imagen Awards.[15]

Personal life

In 2002, Velásquez founded The Wayuu Taya Foundation,[16] a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the Wayuu, an indigenous people located in northwestern Venezuela and northern Colombia.[17] 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. It was sold with the slogan: Keep the "H" Close to Your Heart—Help Haiti Hope.[18]

Velásquez has a daughter with Lauren, her former girlfriend. They separated after eight years together.[19]

In February 2015, Velásquez released her memoir Straight Walk, recalling her journey from poverty to international acclaim. She came out as a lesbian, saying that she wanted to set an example of honesty for her daughter.[20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Unzipped Herself Documentary
1995 Catwalk
1996 Le Jaguar Maya
1997 Eruption Luisa Soares
1999 Beowulf Pendra
1999 The Mummy Anck-Su-Namun
1999 No Vacancy Ramona
1999 Facade Juanita
2000 Committed Carmen
2000 Saint Bernard Claudia
2000 Turn It Up
2001 The Mummy Returns Meela Nais / Anck-Su-Namun
2004 Mindhunters Nicole Willis
2004 Zapata: El sueño del héroe Josefa
2004 12 days of Christmas Eve Isobel Frias
2011 Cenizas eternas Ana
2014 Liz in September Liz
2016 Guys Reading Poems Mother
2017 Little Heroes Pilar
2019 The Curse of La Llorona Patricia Alvarez
2021 Malignant Nurse
2021 Brut Force Mariela Vicuña imdb
2021 List of a Lifetime Meg
2022 Free Dead or Alive[21] Soledad
2022 Satanic Hispanics[22] Maribel[23]
TBA No Address Gabrielle

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 Ed Sonja Amata Episode: "Closure"
2002 Fidel Mirta Díaz-Balart Television film
2002 E! Historias verdaderas: El peso de una corona Herself Television documentary
2002–2004 American Family Adela / Elena 15 episodes
2003–2004 Arrested Development Marta Estrella 5 episodes
2004 Rescue Me Nez 2 episodes
2004 The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve Isobel Frias Television film
2005 CSI: Miami Celia Gonzalez Episode: "From the Grave"
2008 The L Word Begoña / Karina 5 episodes
2010 Ugly Betty Victoria Velez Episode: "Chica and the Man"
2011 Almighty Thor Járnsaxa Television film
2012 The Apprentice Contestant 14 episodes
2019 Hawaii Five-0 Teresa Estrada Episode: "Pupuhi Ka He'e O Kai Uli"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2001 SSX Tricky Marisol Diez Delgado Voice
2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider Unuratu

References

  1. ↑ "Patricia Velasquez". Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Featspress (April 2001). "Mummy Returns, The: Interview with Patricia Velasquez". Cinema.com.
  3. ↑ "Iman and Petra support a model cause in New York". Hello!. 11 May 2007. Archived from the original on 15 May 2007.
  4. ↑ https://www.yahoo.com/news/parenting/despite-success-as-a-supermodel-this-mom-110078546107.html
  5. 1 2 "Patricia Velasquez - Details". Cinema.com. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "Maxim Hot 100 [Women of] 2001". Maxim. Archived from the original on 20 July 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
  7. ↑ "Patricia Velásquez | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  8. ↑ "Women Together Awards". Women Together. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  9. ↑ "UN Webcast Archives". www.un.org. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "LA Femme 2015 Humanitarian Award- Patricia Velasquez". www.lafemme.org. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  11. ↑ OAS (1 August 2009). "OAS - Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development". www.oas.org. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  12. ↑ Human Rights Campaign (26 November 2018), Patricia Velásquez Honored with HRC Visibility Award in New England, retrieved 15 March 2019
  13. ↑ Malignant (2021) - IMDb, retrieved 6 October 2022
  14. ↑ Symington, Eve (21 April 2022), Brut Force (Thriller), Akaasha Media, One Duck Egg Productions, retrieved 6 October 2022
  15. ↑ Tinoco, Armando (15 August 2022). "Imagen Awards Nominations: 'Encanto', Eugenio Derbez & 'West Side Story' Among Top Contenders". Deadline. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Home Page". Wayuu Taya Foundation. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  17. ↑ "About the Wayúu Tayá Foundation". Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2007.
  18. ↑ "Help Haiti Hope". Keep the "H" Close to Your Heart – Help Haiti Hope. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010.
  19. ↑ Greenfield, Beth (5 February 2015). "Despite Success as a Supermodel, This Mom Struggled With One 'Torturous' Secret". Yahoo Parenting. Yahoo!. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  20. ↑ "First Latina Supermodel Patricia Velasquez Comes Out as a Lesbian". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  21. ↑ Bernard, Erik (9 August 2022), Free Dead or Alive (Action), TLG Motion Pictures, Rebel 6 Films, BondIt Media Capital, retrieved 6 October 2022
  22. ↑ Brugués, Alejandro; Mendez, Mike; Rugna, Demián (25 September 2022), Satanic Hispanics (Horror), Epic Pictures, retrieved 6 October 2022
  23. ↑ Satanic Hispanics (2022) - IMDb, retrieved 6 October 2022
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