Leonor Varela Biography

This section contains Leonor Varela Biography
Leonor Varela was born on the 29th of December 1972 in Santiago, Chile. Her father was the famous biologist Francisco Varela and her mother the famous French Italian Algerian dancer, Leonor Palma. Her family moved from Chile, when it fell into military rule, to Costa Rica when Leonor was still a child. She then studied in three different countries, in Germany, France and in the United States. When her family moved back to Chile in the early 90s she remained in Paris. In Paris she studied acting and entered the The Ecole de Passage, the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris and the Neils Arestrup’s School.

Her first acting job was in 1995 Pony Trek. She played the role of Anette in this film or children. The film was made in Iceland. Following her role in Anette she was then seen in the 1997 The Shooting Start. Back in Chile her popularity rose when she became one of the casts in the television series Tic Tac. Following her role in Tic Tac she appeared in more television shows and films for television until the late 90s. She gained international recognition when she landed the lead role in 1999’s Cleopatra. At the set of Cleopatra she met and fell in love with her co star Billy Zane and they had been a couple for two years. Prior to Cleopatra she appeared in The Man in the Iron Mask.

In 2001, she was seen in The Tailor of Panama and in the film Texas Rangers. She was also one of the vampire princesses in the film Blade II. This was followed by Paraiso B and Pas Si Grave. She also appeared in television and had a recurring role as Martha in the television series Arrested Development by Fox. And she had a role in Stargate: Atlantis. In 2005, she was nominated for Best Actress in the Ariel Award for her role in Innocent Voices. Her recent appearances included Americano, Goal 2, Caleuche: The Call of the Sea, Gigola and Casa de Carton. In Gigola she played the role of feminist Laure Charpentier and in Goal 2 she was Jordana, a journalist who had a one night stand with Santiago Munez.

Her other appearances included A Legend to Ride, Sous le soleil, Shooting Stars, Bouge!, Inca de Oro, No Big Deal, Ruby and Quentin, Les infortunes de la beauté, Innocent Voices, The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb, The Sleep Dealer and Seed of Contention.

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