Detailed Biography

Tara Leigh Patrick , professionally known as Carmen Electra, is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, dancer and sex symbol. She gained fame for her appearances in Playboy magazine, on the MTV game show Singled Out, on the TV series Baywatch, for her appearances dancing with the Pussycat Dolls and has since had roles in the parody films Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Disaster Movie.

Early life

Electra was born in Sharonville, Ohio, the daughter of Patricia, a singer, and Harry, an entertainer and guitarist. She attended Ann Weigel Elementary School and then studied dance at Dance Artists dance studio under Gloria J. Simpson, in Western Hills, a neighborhood of Cincinnati. Her mother died of a brain tumor in 1998. Her older sister Debbie died from a heart attack, also in 1998. Carmen graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville. She has Irish, German, and Cherokee ancestry.

Career

Electra started her professional career in 1990 as a dancer at Kings Island theme park in Mason, Ohio in the show "It’s Magic", one of more popular shows in the park's history.

She moved to California in the early 1990s, where she met Prince while auditioning for an all-girl rap group. Prince persuaded her to change her name to Carmen Electra and record a solo album. Soon after, she signed a recording contract with Prince's company Paisley Park Records, marking the start of her musical career. Electra on June 3, 2008

In 1995, Electra started appearing in television programs. In May 1996 she was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, the first of several. This exposure led to higher profile television appearances, including Baywatch and MTV's Singled Out. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

Electra was featured in Playboy four more times, with her second appearance in June 1997, third in December 2000, fourth in April 2003 and her fifth in the January 2009 anniversary issue. She subsequently was on the cover three times, in December 2000, April 2003 and on the 55th anniversary Issue in January 2009.

Electra has appeared in films such as Good Burger , The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human , the horror spoof Scary Movie and also appeared in Meet the Spartans , Scary Movie 4 , Epic Movie , Date Movie , the remake of the 1970s TV show Starsky & Hutch and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She won an MTV Movie Award for Starsky & Hutch.

In 1999, she appeared in the Bloodhound Gang's music video of "The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope." In 2005, she joined the voice cast of the animated series Tripping the Rift, replacing Gina Gershon as the voice of the sexy android "Six". Also in 2005, she began the Naked Women's Wrestling League, acting as the commissioner for the professional wrestling promotion. In late 2006, Carmen began to be featured in commercials by Taco Bell.

Electra is the spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is featured in some video spoofs of Lonelygirl15 that advertised Epic Movie.

She is a character in the video game Def Jam: Fight for New York and is one of the celebrity challenges in the video game ESPN NFL 2K5, along with Steve-O, Jamie Kennedy and others.

Other work

Electra portrayed Velvita, also known as lonelygirl362436, as a spoof of lonelygirl15 as an Epic Movie teaser.

Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease is a five-disc DVD series that combines teaching classic stripping moves with a low impact cardio workout, which also starred Jon Eby.

Released in January 2008, the Electra Pole is a pole dancing kit inspired and endorsed by Carmen Electra that users can assemble in their home. Suitable for all levels of dancer, it is stable enough to support any pole dancing move, including flips and inverts.

Embrace is a comic book putatively written by Electra for London Night Studios. "Glam Slam Ulysses" Interactive Musical Theatrical Production,” conceived by Prince, choreographed by Jamie King. Debuted at Prince's Glam Slam L.A. nightclub.

Electra also appeared in commercials for Maxim Men's Hair Color products and Taco Bell .

Electra also appears as the face and spokesperson for the MAX Factor Make-Up line in their television and print ads.

She also appeared in an episode of House in which she portrayed an injured golfer and an injured farmer, playing out House's fantasy.

She also made an appearance in the EA Game Def Jam: Fight for NY as a playable character.

Charity work

Carmen Electra organized a fundraiser for Head to Hollywood, a non-profit organization which offers support to brain tumor survivors. Other charities which she supports include Elevate Hope, a charity which supports abused and abandoned children, and the Hollyrod Foundationwhich provides medical, physical, and emotional support to those suffering from debilitating life circumstances especially Parkinson's Disease.

Personal life

Electra achieved publicity during her on-again/off-again marriage to basketball star Dennis Rodman from 1998 to 1999. Their wedding took place at Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On November 22, 2003, Electra married Dave Navarro, lead guitarist for the rock band Jane's Addiction. The couple documented their courtship and marriage in an MTV celebrity reality show called 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave. On July 17, 2006, she and Navarro announced their separation, and Electra filed for divorce on August 10. It was finalized on February 20, 2007.

In April 2008, Electra's representative confirmed that she was engaged to Rob Patterson, a member of the nu metal band Otep.

Discography

Filmography

Television work