Leonor Varela

Leonor Varela Actress - Born December 29, 1972 · Santiago, Chile

Birth name Leonor Varela Palma

Nickname Leo

Height 5′ 6½″ (1.69 m)

Mini Bio Leonor Varela was born on December 29, 1972 in Santiago de Chile, Chile, the daughter of Leonor Palma, a massage therapist, and Francisco Varela (Francisco Javier Varela Garcia), a biologist, neuroscientist, and philosopher. Her family fled to Costa Rica, leaving behind the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. They subsequently resided in Germany, USA, and France, where Varela studied.

In the '90s she appears in the Chilean soap Tic Tac (1997), and in other French and Europeans productions like Pony Trek (1995), Sous le soleil (1996), Shooting Stars (1997), A Legend to Ride (1997), Le juste (1996), or Bouge! (1997). Her career in Holywood began in 1998, when she joined the cast of The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) when she starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, and she appeared in The Bible Collection: Jeremiah (1998) opposite Patrick Dempsey. The following year (1999), she played the title character in the ABC TV movie "Cleopatra" (1999) (TV) opposite her future fiancé Billy Zane and Timothy Dalton

She appeared in The Tailor of Panama (2001) as Marta and in Texas Rangers (2001) as Perdita opposite Ashton Kutcher. In 2002 she appeared as the fanged vampire princess Nyssa in the action film Blade II (2002) opposite Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson and directed by Guillermo del Toro. After that came Paraíso B (2002) as Gloria and in Pas si grave (2003) as Angela.

Varela also had a short recurring role in the Fox Television show Arrested Development (2003) 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 (2004).

In 2005 she appeared playing Adela in Americano (2005), and her following projects included Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) as the journalist Jordana Garcia, Where God Left His Shoes (2007) with John Leguizamo and the TV series produced by Jennifer Lopez Como ama una mujer (2007).

In the 2008 Sundance Film Festival she screened Sleep Dealer (2008) and the Larry Bishop's Hell Ride (2008), opposite Michael Madsen and Eric Balfour and produced by Quentin Tarantino.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ninde

Family Spouse

Lucas Akoskin (April 15, 2013 - present) 2 children M1. Matteo Varela Akoskin () F2. Luna Mae Akoskin ()

Children

Matteo Varela Akoskin

Luna Mae Akoskin

Parents

Francisco Varela

Leonor Palma

Trivia

She is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Her maternal grandfather Daniel Palma Robledo (born in the north of Chile in October 1915), a former Communist Party member until 1951, was kidnapped by DINA, Pinochet's political police, on August 4, 1976, and to this day is a missing person.

Her son Matteo, was diagnosed with leukodystrophy shortly after his birth and died on November 16, 2018 at the age of 5.

Mother, with husband Lucas Akoskin, of son Matteo Varela Akoskin (November 20, 2012-November 16, 2018) and daughter Luna Mae Akoskin (b. February 25, 2015).

Her family fled to Costa Rica, leaving behind the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Beat out 35 other actresses to play the title role in Cleopatra (1999).

Friend of the Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.

Appeared on the cover of thirteen separate editions of the Maxim magazine, each naming a different North American city as the greatest on Earth.

Her maternal grandmother, Rosalía Keller Keller, was born in 1919 in Tasnad, Romania, to Pablo Keller and Fanny.

She is of Chilean (including Galician Spanish) ancestry. She is also said to have some French, Hungarian, Syrian, and German roots.

Formerly engaged to Billy Zane, her co-star from the miniseries Cleopatra (1999).

Has 3 siblings, Alejandra, Javier and Gabriel.

Was featured as #11 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002)

Daughter of Leonor Palma, a massage therapist, and Francisco Varela (1946-2001), a famous biologist, neuroscientist, and philosopher.

Her stay in Chile was brief, and she soon found herself in Germany, then back in Chile, and finally in France in her late teens.

Filming a documentary about Aysén and its natural beauty in Chile.

(April 15, 2013) Married her boyfriend of 2 years Lucas Akoskin. They have 2-year-old son Matteo together.

Her favorite actresses are Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett.

Ranked #69 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" special supplement (2006).

As a child, she got to see her homeland another time when her family returned to Chile.

Member of NGOs for the conservation of the environment like WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Global Green USA, Oceana (Osean Conservation Group) and Centro Ballena Azúl (Chile).

She lived in Paris from the age of 14.

Has actively participated in various ecological causes like "Save the Whales Again!".

After graduating from the Ecole du Passage and the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris, she was ready for the big screen.

Has a French bulldog called Monroe, or simply Mo.

Led huge Anti-whaling Rally on the Eve of the 2008 Meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Santiago, Chile.

One of her favorite writers is Milan Kundera.

Her favorite place in California is Carbon Beach, Malibu.

Support the candidate's campaign of Chilean president Michelle Bachelet.

Quotes

In this business, if you don't have the capacity to step back and have some sort of relativity about things, you're screwed.

I don't need jewels and cars. It's about the delicacy of the way I'm handled.

I'm not good with limitations. I tend to like to find my own. It hurts sometimes, but it's good. I'm little extreme in that sense-the middle ground is not my forte.

I don't believe in nudity for nudity's sake, but it's really beautiful when it's done well, when it's within a story. I'm very comfortable with my body. I grew up mostly in France, where nudity is not taboo. It's not this hypocritical thing where we go, "No!" and then it's "Oh, yes!" When we strip away the clothes, the jewelry, that's who we really are. I walk around naked in my house.

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