Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967 in Brooklyn, New York) is a top model and actress of Puerto Rican descent.

Talisa's parents immigrated from Puerto Rico in the 1950's and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where Talisa (Miriam Soto) was born. Later on, her parents moved to Massachusetts when she was still just a child. Talisa's family was one of the few Puerto Rican families that resided in her neighborhood. She was raised and educated there but, she felt that people were prejudiced against her and she became a loner. Talisa landed her first modeling job in 1982, when she was 15 years old. In 1985, she tried to sign up with the "Ford Modeling Agency" but, was rejected because she looked "too" Latina. Talisa then went and signed with "Click Model Management" and headed for Europe. She established herself as one of the 1980's top model and was very busy modeling in Italy and France. She appeared on the covers of "Vogue", "Mademoiselle", "Glamour" and "Self" magazines.

In 1988, when Talisa 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 movie "Licence to Kill", starring Timothy Dalton and as "Maria Rivera" in "The Mambo Kings".

In 1990, Talisa was chosen by "People Magazine" as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. In 1995, she was featured in the "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue". Talisa has participated in over 20 movies, among which are: Mortal Kombat (1995) as Kitana; "Piñero" (2001) as "Sugar", starring Benjamin Bratt and "Ballistic: Eck vs Sever" (2002) as "Ryne" alongside Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas. Talisa has also made two T.V. guest appearances in "C-16: FBI".

Talisa married Costas Mandylor, in 1997 and they were divorced in 2000. She fell in love with Benjamin Bratt, whom she met while filming "Piñero". They were married on April 13, 2002 and on December 6, 2002, she gave birth to their daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt. Talisa Soto lives with her family in Los Angeles, California.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

External links

• Cult Sirens: Talisa Soto