Vanessa Marcil Biography

Vanessa Marcil ( ; born Sally Vanessa Ortiz; October 15, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Brenda Barrett on General Hospital, Gina Kincaid on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sam Marquez on Las Vegas.

Early life

Marcil, the youngest of four children, was born in Indio, California, the daughter of Patricia Marcil, an herbalist, and Peter Ortiz, a contractor and self-made millionaire. Marcil's father is Mexican and her mother is an American of French, Italian, and Portuguese ancestry.

Career

Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera General Hospital in 1992. She garnered three Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1997, 1998 and 2003) for her portrayal, winning in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.

In 1994, she was cast in the Prince music video, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", and made People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list the next year. She made her feature film debut in the 1996 film The Rock, in which she appeared opposite Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris.

After six years on General Hospital, she left the show in 1998, to star in the made-for-television movie To Love, Honor and Deceive, and had a recurring guest role on the police drama High Incident produced by Steven Spielberg. Marcil joined the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 in November 1998 as Gina Kincaid and remained with the show for one-and-a-half seasons. In 1999, she starred in two independent films: Nice Guys Sleep Alone with Sean O'Bryan and This Space Between Us with Jeremy Sisto.

She returned to General Hospital from 2002 to 2003, as Brenda Barrett. In 2001, she was initially cast to join NYPD Blue's ninth season as a new series regular, Det. Carmine Olivera. However, after her first appearance in "Johnny Got His Gold", the show decided to re-do the role and replaced Marcil with Jacqueline Obradors as Det. Rita Ortiz. Marcil did make one more cameo appearance as Det. Olivera in the 11th season episode "Shear Stupidity".

In 2001, Marcil was awarded the Sojourn Service Award and has supported Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their children by hosting charity events and making appearances on Wheel of Fortune, playing for funds for the organization. Through her fundraising efforts, she hopes to increase awareness of domestic violence and inspire battered women to take control of their lives.

Marcil starred in the NBC television series Las Vegas as Samantha Jane "Sam" Marquez. She has been featured in several Men's magazines, including Stuff, FHM, and Maxim. She was named No. 19 on Maxim's Hot 100 of 2005 list and was featured on the cover of the issue that included the list, as well as No. 92 in the 2006 FHM Hot 100 list.

In fall of 2008, Marcil guest starred on Lipstick Jungle, playing Shane's new talent manager. As of November 2008, she hosts and is the head judge of Lifetime's reality television show, Blush: The Search For the Next Great Makeup Artist.

On August 11, 2010, she returned to the role of Brenda Barrett on General Hospital in a full-time contract role. Marcil's return was much publicized due to the popularity of her character and 7-year absence from the show. After her one-year contract was up, she decided not to renew with the show. However, Marcil left the door open for a return in the future.

On March 5, 2013, the announcement was made that Marcil would return to General Hospital for a short visit in honor of the show's 50th anniversary. She made her on-screen return as Brenda on April 2, 2013.

Personal life

Marcil was married to actor Corey Feldman from 1989 to 1993, although she has at times denied this fact. For example, in the June 2005 issue of Maxim, Marcil was quoted as saying, "I never married Corey. He's just a kid I did drugs with when I was a teenager." However, Nevada marriage records indicate that she in fact married Feldman on August 6, 1989 (under Marcil's birth name Sally Vanessa Ortiz). Both Marcil and Feldman have battled substance addiction.

Marcil dated former Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate Brian Austin Green from 1999 until early 2003. Marcil and Green have one son together, Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green, born March 30, 2002.

Marcil married actor Carmine Giovinazzo on July 11, 2010 in a private ceremony in New York City. In June 2011 the couple announced they were expecting their first child together, but in December 2011, Giovinazzo announced via Twitter that Marcil had suffered a miscarriage, her second that year. It was announced on August 22, 2012 Marcil has filed for divorce from Giovinazzo in L.A. County Superior Court, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce was final in March 2013.

Credits

List of film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	'	Carla Pestalozzi
1997	976-WISH	Danielle
1999	Nice Guys Sleep Alone	Erin
2000	This Space Between Us	Maggie Harty
2002	Storm Watch	Tess Woodward	Alternative titles: Virtual Storm Code Hunter
2010	'	Madison	Webseries

List of television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
	General Hospital	Brenda Barrett	Main role from: September 18, 1992 - September 11, 1998 Main role from: September 4, 2002 - February 19, 2003 Main role from: August 11, 2010 - July 21, 2011 Guest role from: April 2, 2013 - April 23, 2013
1996	To Love, Honor and Deceive	Sydney Carpenter	TV movie, aka The Protected Wife
1997	High Incident	Kerry Andrews	"Hot Wire" and "Remote Control"
1998-2000	Beverly Hills, 90210	Gina Kincaid	37 episodes
2001	Spin City	Crazy Kara	"A Shot in the Dark: Part 2"
2001 2003	NYPD Blue	Detective Carmen Olivera	"Johnny Got His Gold" "Shear Stupidity"
2003-2008	Las Vegas	Sam Marquez	106 episodes
2004 2005	Crossing Jordan	Sam Marquez	"What Happens in Vegas Dies in Boston" "Luck Be a Lady"
2008	Lipstick Jungle	Josie Scotto	3 episodes
2009	'	Kate Hewitt	Hallmark channel movie
2009	Without a Trace	Kim Marcus	3 episodes
2009	One Hot Summer	Margarita Silva Santos	Television movie
2012	Hawaii Five-0	Dr. Olivia Victor	TV series

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Title of work
1994	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Female Newcomer	General Hospital
1995	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Nominated	Hottest Soap Couple (shared with Maurice Benard)	General Hospital
1997	Daytime Emmy Award	Nominated	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	General Hospital
1997	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Won	Hottest Female Star	General Hospital
1998	Daytime Emmy Award	Nominated	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	General Hospital
1998	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Won	Outstanding Lead Actress	General Hospital
2003	Daytime Emmy Award	Won	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	General Hospital
2003	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Won	Favorite Return	General Hospital