Vanessa Marcil (born October 15, 1968) is an American actress known for her roles in the soap opera General Hospital,
Beverly Hills, 90210 and the television series
Las Vegas.
Marcil, the youngest of four children, was born Sally Vanessa Ortiz in Indio, California, the daughter of Patricia, an herbalist, and Peter Ortiz, a contractor and self-made millionaire. Her parents are separated. Marcil's father is Mexican and her mother is an American of French, Italian and Portuguese ancestry.
Career
Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera General Hospital in 1992. She garnered three
Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1997, 1998 and 2003) for her portrayal, winning in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.
In 1994, she was cast in the Prince music video, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", and made People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list the next year. She made her feature film debut in the 1996 film The Rock, in which she appeared opposite
Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris.
After six years on General Hospital, she left the show in 1998, (returning briefly in 2000 and from 2002 to 2003) to star in the made-for-television movie To Love, Honor and Deceive, and had a recurring guest role on the police drama High Incident produced by
Steven Spielberg. Marcil joined the cast of
Beverly Hills 90210 in November 1998 as Gina Kincaid and remained with the show for one-and-a-half seasons. In 1999, she starred in two independent films: Nice Guys Sleep Alone with Sean O'Bryan and This Space Between Us with Jeremy Sisto.
In 2001, Marcil was awarded the Sojourn Service Award and has supported Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their children by hosting charity events and making appearances on Wheel of Fortune, playing for funds for the organization. Through her fundraising efforts, she hopes to increase awareness of domestic violence and inspire battered woman to take control of their lives.
Marcil formerly starred in the NBC television series
Las Vegas as Samantha Jane "Sam" Marquez. She has been featured in several Men's magazines, including Stuff, FHM, and Maxim. She was named #19 on Maxim's Hot 100 of 2005 list and was featured on the cover of the issue that included the list, as well as #92 in the 2006 FHM Hot 100 list.
In fall of 2008, Marcil guest starred on Lipstick Jungle, playing Shane's new talent manager. As of November 2008, she hosts and is the head judge of Lifetime's reality television show, Blush: The Search For the Next Great Makeup Artist.
Personal life
Marcil was married to Corey Feldman from 1989 to 1993. She was engaged to General Hospital co-star Tyler Christopher, but the two never married. She dated former Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate Brian Austin Green from 1999 until early 2003. They have a son, Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green, born on March 30, 2002.
In 2005, Marcil began dating screenwriter and director Ben Younger.
Biography courtesy of
Wikipedia
