Talisa Soto

Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American actress and former model.

Early life
Soto was born Miriam Talisa Soto in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of four children of parents who moved from Puerto Rico. During her early childhood, her parents moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated.

Modeling
At age 15, Soto signed with Click Model Management and began modeling during summer vacations. Weeks after being signed, she traveled to Paris where she appeared in a layout for Vogue shot by Bruce Weber. She returned to Northampton after the summer to resume her schooling and would continue to model on occasion until she graduated from high school. She later appeared on the covers of American and British Vogue, British Elle, Mademoiselle, Glamour and Self magazines.

She also appeared in her first music video with former boyfriend Nick Kamen, Madonna's song "Each Time You Break My Heart", directed by Tony Viramontes. Soto and Kamen were often used as models by Ray Petri: the late fashion stylist and creator of the 1980s London "Buffalo Boy" look.

Acting
In 1988, when Soto returned to the United States, she auditioned and landed the role of "India" in her feature debut, Spike of Bensonhurst, a comedy which starred Sasha Mitchell and Ernest Borgnine. In 1989, she was cast as Lupe Lamora, in the James Bond film Licence to Kill starring Timothy Dalton and as Maria Rivera in The Mambo Kings.

Soto has participated in more than twenty films, among which are: Mortal Kombat (1995) as Kitana; Island of the Dead as Melissa O'Keefe; Piñero (2001) as Sugar, starring Benjamin Bratt; and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) as Ryne alongside Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas. Soto also made two guest appearances on the television series C-16: FBI. In 1995, she played the role of Doña Julia, one of Johnny Depp's many love interests in the tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, Depp playing the title role. She also made an appearance in Marc Anthony's music video for "I Need to Know". In 1996, Soto played the title role in the campy film Vampirella based on the comic book character.

Magazine covers
In 1990, Soto was chosen by People as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. In 1995, she was featured in the Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Issue". She was ranked #58 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002.

Personal life
In 1997, Soto married actor Costas Mandylor and they were divorced in 2000. She married actor Benjamin Bratt on April 13, 2002 in San Francisco. The couple have two children, a daughter Sophia Rosalinda and a son, Mateo Bravery.