"Leonor Varela"

Leonor Varela Pilme (born December 29, 1972) is a Chilean actress and model. She played the title role in the 1999 television film Cleopatra, and vampire princess Nyssa Damaskinos in the 2002 film Blade II.

Varela was born in Santiago, Chile, the daughter of Leonor Pilme-Keller, a massage therapist, and Chilean biologist and cognitive neuroscientist Francisco Varela García. She has a sister, Alejandra, and two brothers, Javier and Gabriel. Her mother was of French, Hungarian, and Syrian descent. When Varela was a child, her family fled Chile when it was overtaken by a military regime. In the early 1990s, her parents moved back to Chile while she remained in Paris where she studied acting at the Niels Arestrup School, L'École du Passage, and Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris.

Varela's first acting job was in 1995, playing Anette in Pony Trek, a children's film. Filming was in Iceland and Leonor was riding horses for three months. Then, referred to a French filmmaker by her dentist, she played in Shooting Stars (1997). Varela found her popularity on the rise at home when she was cast in the Chilean soap opera Tic Tac.

After appearing in a few more television productions in the late 1990s, Varela was cast in a small role in The Man in the Iron Mask. In 1999, she played the title character in the TV movie Cleopatra.

Roles in The Tailor of Panama and Texas Rangers (both in 2001) followed shortly thereafter, before playing vampire princess Nyssa in the 2002 blockbuster film Blade II. After that came Paraíso B and Pas Si Grave.

Varela also had a short recurring role in the Fox Television series Arrested Development as the original Marta. She was nominated for the Ariel Award in 2005 in the category of Best Actress for Innocent Voices (2004). She also had a non-recurring role in Stargate: Atlantis.

She appeared in Americano and played journalist Jordana Garcia in the film Goal II: Living the Dream.

In 2012, she appeared as Marta Del Sol on the TNT television series Dallas.

Varela was engaged to Billy Zane, her co-star in the 1999 television film Cleopatra.

In November 2012, Varela and producer Lucas Akoskin welcomed their first child together, a son named Matteo.

Varela, a vegetarian, is a marine life activist who is concerned with the welfare of whales, working with groups such as Save The Whales Again.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1997	Bouge!	La Danseuse	Film
1998	The Man in the Iron Mask	Ballroom Beauty	Film
1998	Jeremiah	Judith	Film
1999	Les Parasites	Fidelia	Film
1999	Cleopatra	Cleopatra	Film
1999	Les Infortunes de la Beauté	Annabella	Film
2001	The Tailor of Panama	Marta	Film
2001	Texas Rangers	Perdita	Film
2002	Blade II	Nyssa Damaskinos	Film
2003	No Big Deal	Angela	Television film
2003	Tais-toi	Sandra/Katia	Film
2004	Innocent Voices	Kella	Film
2005	Americano	Adela	Film
2006	The Curse of King Tut's Tomb	Dr. Azelia Barakat	Film
2006	Seed of Contention	Mila	Television film
2007	Goal II: Living the Dream	Jordana Garcia	Film
2007	Where God Left His Shoes	Angela Diaz	Film
2008	Hell Ride	Nada	Film
2008	Sleep Dealer	Luz Martínez	Film
2008	Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach	Norma Sanchez	Film
2008	Hindsight	Maria	Film
2008	Love and Virtue	Morgana	Film
2009	Wrong Turn At Tahoe	Anna	Film
2010	Monsterwolf	Maria	Television film
2010	Que Pena Tu Vida	Alma Subercaseaux	Film
2014	Ride		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1995	Pony Treck	Anette	Soap Opera
1996	Sous le soleil	Jeanne	Soap Opera
1997	Tic Tac	Pola Santa María	Soap Opera
1997	A Legend to Ride	Anette	Soap Opera
1997	Shooting Stars	Vanessa	Panel Game
1997	Inca de Oro	Flor Del Inca	TV Series
2002	Paraíso B	Gloria	Television series
2003	Arrested Development	Marta Estrella	Television series
2005	Stargate Atlantis	Chaya Sar	Television series
2007	Como ama una Mujer	Sofia	Television series
2009	Deseo	Gilr	Television series
2010	Feroz	Laura Palma	Soap Opera
2010	Human Target	Maria	Television series (2 Episodes)
2012	Dallas	Marta Del Sol	Recurring role
2013	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Camilla Reyes	Television series (1 episode)

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/