Early life

Born Miriam Soto in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Soto is the youngest of four children born to an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 mother and a Canadian father of Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 descent. Her parents later relocated to Northampton, Massachusetts

Northampton, Massachusetts

The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...

 where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated.

Modeling

At the age of 15, Soto signed with Click Model Management and began modeling during summer vacations. Weeks after being signed, she traveled to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 where she appeared in a layout for Vogue

Vogue (magazine)

Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...

shot by Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber (photographer)

Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...

. 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

Elle (magazine)

Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...

, Mademoiselle

Mademoiselle (magazine)

Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....

, Glamour

Glamour (magazine)

Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....

and Self

Self (magazine)

Self magazine is an American magazine for women that specializes in health, fitness, nutrition, beauty and happiness. Published by Condé Nast Publications 12 times a year, it has a circulation of 1,486,992 and a total audience of 5,541,000 readers, according to its corporate media kit. The...

magazines.

She also appeared in her first music video with former boyfriend Nick Kamen

Nick Kamen

Nick Kamen is an English male model, songwriter and musician, and brother of session guitarist Chester Kamen and artist Barry Kamen.-Career:...

, Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

's "Each Time You Break My Heart

Each Time You Break My Heart

"Each Time You Break My Heart" is a 1986 song recorded by singer Nick Kamen featuring Madonna and Siedah Garrett on backing vocals. It was his debut single from his album Nick Kamen, released in 1987. The song achieved success in many European countries, including Ireland, Italy, UK, Swiss, and in...

", directed by Tony Viramontes. Soto and Kamen were often used as models by Ray Petri

Ray Petri

Ray Petri was a fashion stylist and creator of the fashion house, Buffalo.Born Ray Petrie in Dundee, Scotland, Petri moved to Brisbane, Australia with his family at age 15. In 1969, feeling Australia was too provincial, he moved to London where he ran a jewelry booth at the Camden Street...

: the late fashion stylist and creator of the 80's 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

Spike of Bensonhurst

Spike of Bensonhurst is a 1988 comedy-drama and mafia film directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Sasha Mitchell. The film also features Ernest Borgnine, Maria Pitillo, Dave Bettge, and Talisa Soto.-Plot:...

, a comedy which starred Sasha Mitchell

Sasha Mitchell

Sasha Mitchell is an American actor best known for his television roles as James Richard Beaumont on Dallas and Cody Lambert on Step by Step. Mitchell also holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.-Personal life:...

 and Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...

. In 1989, she was cast as Lupe Lamora, in the James Bond

James Bond

James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

 film Licence to Kill

Licence to Kill

Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...

starring Timothy Dalton

Timothy Dalton

Timothy Peter Dalton ) is a Welsh actor of film and television. He is known for portraying James Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill , as well as Rhett Butler in the television miniseries Scarlett , an original sequel to Gone with the Wind...

 and as Maria Rivera in The Mambo Kings

The Mambo Kings

The Mambo Kings is a 1992 drama film starring Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas. Directed by Arne Glimcher in his directorial debut, the film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos...

.

Soto has participated in more than twenty films, among which are: Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat (film)

Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American action and adventure film directed by Paul Anderson. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the film was the first part of the Mortal Kombat film series...

(1995) as Kitana

Kitana (Mortal Kombat)

Kitana is a recurring player and a one-time boss character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. One of the lead characters of the Mortal Kombat saga, Kitana is the princess of the otherdimensional realm of Edenia and the daughter of Queen Sindel...

; Island of the Dead

Island of the Dead (2000 film)

Island of the Dead is a 2000 horror film directed by Tim Southam and stars Malcolm McDowell.-Plot:The story centers around a group of people that arrive at "Hart Island", which has recently been purchased by real estate tycoon "Rupert King" to build what he calls "Hope City", supposedly to help the...

as Melissa O'Keefe; Piñero (2001) as Sugar, starring Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Rey Curtis on the TV series Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies Blood in Blood Out, Miss Congeniality, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Traffic, and Piñero.-Early life:Bratt was born in San Francisco, California,...

; and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is a 2002 American action film starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Liu and Banderas play opposing secret agents who are supposedly enemies, but team up during the movie. The film was universally panned by critics, who generally regarded it as having no redeeming...

(2002) as Ryne alongside Lucy Liu

Lucy Liu

Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...

 and Antonio Banderas

Antonio Banderas

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...

. 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

Johnny Depp

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...

's many love interests in the tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco

Don Juan DeMarco

Don Juan DeMarco is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Johnny Depp as John Arnold DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and domino mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Marlon Brando's character, Dr. Jack...

, Depp playing the title role. She also made an appearance in Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...

's music video for "I Need to Know

I Need to Know (Marc Anthony song)

"I Need to Know" is a song by Marc Anthony, and was released as the lead single of his first English language album Marc Anthony, in August 1999.-Song information:...

". 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

People (magazine)

In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...

as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. In 1995, she was featured in the Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

"Swimsuit Issue

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....

". She was ranked #58 on the Maxim

Maxim (magazine)

Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....

Hot 100 Women of 2002.

Personal life

During the 1980s, Soto dated singer Nick Kamen. In 1997, Soto married Costas Mandylor

Costas Mandylor

Costas Mandylor is a Greek Australian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Kenny in Picket Fences, and for portraying Mark Hoffman in the Saw films.-Early life:...

 and they were divorced in 2000.

She met actor Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt

Benjamin Bratt is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Rey Curtis on the TV series Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies Blood in Blood Out, Miss Congeniality, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Traffic, and Piñero.-Early life:Bratt was born in San Francisco, California,...

 while the two were filming Piñero and they were married on April 13, 2002. The couple have two children: daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, born December 6, 2002, and a son, Mateo Bravery Bratt, born October 3, 2005.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	Spike of Bensonhurst Spike of Bensonhurst Spike of Bensonhurst is a 1988 comedy-drama and mafia film directed by Paul Morrissey and starring Sasha Mitchell. The film also features Ernest Borgnine, Maria Pitillo, Dave Bettge, and Talisa Soto.-Plot:...	India
1989	Licence to Kill Licence to Kill Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...	Lupe Lamora
1992	The Mambo Kings The Mambo Kings The Mambo Kings is a 1992 drama film starring Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas. Directed by Arne Glimcher in his directorial debut, the film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos...	Maria Rivera
	Hostage	Joanna
1994	Don Juan DeMarco Don Juan DeMarco Don Juan DeMarco is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Johnny Depp as John Arnold DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and domino mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiatric treatment with Marlon Brando's character, Dr. Jack...	Doña Julia
1995	Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat (film) Mortal Kombat is a 1995 American action and adventure film directed by Paul Anderson. Based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games, the film was the first part of the Mortal Kombat film series...	Princess Kitana Kitana (Mortal Kombat) Kitana is a recurring player and a one-time boss character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. One of the lead characters of the Mortal Kombat saga, Kitana is the princess of the otherdimensional realm of Edenia and the daughter of Queen Sindel...
1996	Spy Hard Spy Hard Spy Hard is a 1996 American spy comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond films and other action films. The introduction to the song is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic-Plot:...	Seductress in Hotel Room	Credited as Desiree More
	Sunchaser	Navajo Woman
	Vampirella	Vampirella	Direct-to-video release Direct-to-video Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
1997	Flypaper	Amanda
	The Corporate Ladder	Susan Taylor
	Mortal Kombat: Annihilation Mortal Kombat: Annihilation Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is a 1997 American martial arts action film that was the sequel to 1995's Mortal Kombat, and was directed by John R. Leonetti, who had served as the cinematographer for the previous film...	Princess Kitana	Alternative title: Mortal Kombat 2
2000	That Summer in LA	Marisabel
	Flight of Fancy	Mercedes Marquez	Alternative titles: Facing Fear Flight
2001	Piñero Piñero Piñero is a 2001 biopic about the troubled life of Nuyorican poet and playwright Miguel Piñero, starring Benjamin Bratt as the titular character. It was written and directed by the Cuban filmmaker, Leon Ichaso. It premiered at the Montreal Film Festival on 31 August 2001...	Sugar
2002	Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever is a 2002 American action film starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Liu and Banderas play opposing secret agents who are supposedly enemies, but team up during the movie. The film was universally panned by critics, who generally regarded it as having no redeeming...	Vinn/Rayne
2009	La Mission La Mission (film) La Mission is a 2009 drama film starring Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez. It is written and directed by Peter Bratt...	Ana
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Silhouette	Marianna Herrera	Television film
1993–1994	Harts of the West Harts of the West Harts of the West is an American Western/comedy–drama series starring Beau Bridges and his father, Lloyd Bridges, set on a dude ranch in Nevada. The series aired on CBS from September 1993, to June 1994.-Synopsis:...	Cassie	15 episodes
1998	C-16: FBI	Rosemary Vargas	2 episodes
2000	Island of the Dead Island of the Dead (2000 film) Island of the Dead is a 2000 horror film directed by Tim Southam and stars Malcolm McDowell.-Plot:The story centers around a group of people that arrive at "Hart Island", which has recently been purchased by real estate tycoon "Rupert King" to build what he calls "Hope City", supposedly to help the...	Melissa O'Keefe	Television film

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film
1989	ShoWest Convention	Won	Female Star of Tomorrow	-
2002	ALMA Award Alma Award The American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award is a distinction awarded to Latino performers who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field...	Nominated	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Piñero

External links