The gorgeous actress currently stars on NBC's sensational new hit series "Las Vegas", Marcil’s pion for the performing arts began at a very young age leading her to spend her early teen years working in theater. She earned roles in such productions as Neil Simon’s “Fools,” and the clic “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Marcil received critical acclaim for her performance in the stage production “Southern Rapture,” starring country singer/actor Dwight Yoakum and Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland. Making her television debut on the daytime drama “General Hospital,” Marcil recently won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress and garnered several nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress and Hottest Female Star. After her six-year run on the daytime series, Marcil ventured into primetime television appearing as a series regular on “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Her other television credits include guest-starring roles on “NYPD Blue,” “High Incident” and “Spin City,” as well as starring in the TV movie “To Love, Honor and Deceive.” Marcil made her feature-film debut in the blockbuster “The Rock,” starring alongside Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery. Her other feature credits include the independent films “The Space Between Us” and “Nice Guys Sleep Alone” with Sean O’Bryan. Along with her work on screen, Marcil works closely with Sojourn Services for Battered Women and Their Children, as well as with programs isting those who have been affected by drug and alcohol abuse. She will soon open Patricia House in Los Angeles, which will aid women who can no longer care for their children and is in the process of creating a hotline for these women to have their babies placed in good homes.

Vanessa Marcil, née Vanessa Ortiz, was born in Indio, California, on October 15, 1969 and named in honor of actress Vanessa Redgrave. In her family, her father Peter is a contractor; her mother Patricia is a herbalist; she also has two older sisters, Tina and Sherry; and an older brother named Sam. She is of Mexican, French, Italian and Portuguese descent. Her father, Peter, is Mexican. Her mother, Patricia, is French, Italian and Portuguese. The youngest of four children, Marcil moved with the rest of her family to Anchorage, Alaska. By age 8, Marcil began acting in a local theater in Palm Desert, after she and her family returned to California. Although she was acting at an early age, Marcil studied law after graduating from high school. She finally decided to pursue a career in acting and took her theatrical talents to the stage in performances such as Neil Simon's Fools, Pygmalion, The Miracle Worker, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Southern Rapture, co-starring country music singer Dwight Yoakam and actress Sally Kirkland, and under the direction of Peter Fonda, and Sweet Bird of Youth, to name a few. In 1989, Vanessa married actor Corey Feldman. The two later divorced in 1991.

In 1992, Vanessa became widely known as Brenda Barrett, the character she portrayed on the popular ABC daytime soap, General Hospital. Her stint as Brenda Barrett lasted six consecutive years (she later returned in 2000, 2002 and 2003) and was her first recurring role as an actress. She received a Hottest Female Star Award at the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Awards, Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1997 and 1998, and a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1998. While working on General Hospital, Vanessa kept busy with other projects. Fittingly enough, Vanessa was featured as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in People magazine's 1995 edition, and was honored by her friend, Prince, who wrote the song "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" for her (she starred in the hit video).

After leaving General Hospital in August 1998, Marcil joined the cast of the popular Aaron Spelling primetime soap Beverly Hills, 90210, replacing Tiffani Thiessen as the show's vixen. However, Vanessa left Beverly Hills, 90210 in 2000 to pursue other projects. Amid her stint on 90210, Vanessa starred in the disappointing films Nice Guys Sleep Alone (1999) and This Space Between Us (2000). After another disappointing film in 2002, entitled Storm Watch, Vanessa finally made her return to television in 2003, on the NBC drama Las Vegas with co-stars Molly Sims, Nikki Cox and James Caan, and did another movie entitled Fish Without A Bicycle, with Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Brian Austin Green, whom she's been engaged to since 2001. She also made a short return to General Hospital, from 2002 to 2003, which was honored by the Soap Opera Digest Awards, with a trophy for Favorite Return in 2003. Was offered the cover and a layout in but she declined. She is reportedly very shy about revealing her body.
She is a vegetarian. Vanessa is the great granddaughter of French mime Marcel Marceau, though she never met him. In March 2002, Vanessa gave birth to a baby boy named Kius Lijah Marcil-Green, and she is currently living with her fiancé, Brian Austin Green and her two dogs, Woof and Joey. She plans to begin her own line of babywear called, 'Cash' which is to raise money for HIV/AIDS "Cash in Africa."

Vanessa Marcil is the queen of TV

Not only is Vanessa the "Most Beautiful Girl in the World," as Prince so mildly put it, she is also y, smart, petite, and the queen of soap operas, both daytime and nighttime ones. Vanessa Marcil has a gift. She has the uncanny ability to convince otherwise sane men to endure hours and hours of less than manly TV viewing such as Beverly Hills, 90210 and General Hospital. Lucky for us, she moved on to the NBC hit Las Vegas, in 2003, which is more acceptable for male-viewing audiences. Not to mention, she co-stars with fellow hotties Nikki Cox and Molly Sims. Although Vanessa has tried to make a respectable movie career for herself, it seems that she was meant to be the queen of television. Which isn't so bad, especially considering that people tend to watch the shows she stars in just to see her.

Vanessa is a cool cat. There's no denying that Vanessa is as y as they get. She has the shiny black hair, the cat-shaped eyes, the tiny, tight little body, and of course, a smile that can make us say "yes" to any and all of her demands. Although she never really made it big in film, Vanessa Marcil has had a pretty lucrative television career. From the soap operas General Hospital and 90210 to her current stint as Samantha on Las Vegas, and made-for-TV movies like To Love, Honor, and Deceive, Vanessa has done pretty well herself and has easily managed to stay gainfully employed. She aldo gained some notoriety as a Head & Shoulders model, and as Prince's muse for his song, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

Vanessa Marcil combines good taste in clothing with trend-setting style to make her quite the fashion maven. Whether she's dolled up for an awards show or dressed down for a day of shopping, Vanessa has the kind of body that could make a garbage bag look stylish. "Because of my crazy work schedule, I have become something of a master at changing my clothes while driving. The men driving next to me love it," says Vanessa Marcil.

Vanessa Marcil: Sin City Pretty

When Stuff gambled on a photo shoot with Las Vegas’ Vanessa Marcil, we put all our money on iness. The result? We won…big!

Your Las Vegas costar James Caan used to be one of Hollywood’s preeminent bad boys. From what you’ve seen, is he now one of Hollywood’s preeminent bad senior citizens?
He’s hot! We were just doing a big press junket, and every girl who sat down to interview him turned red. It took me, like, two weeks to get past the fact that he’s not Sonny from The Godfather. “You’re Sonny. Please, do not speak to me, because I’ll have to pee.” When I get nervous, I have to pee. And then I hold myself, because I never got over that when I was a kid. [One time,] I was shopping, and the girl in the store was like, “Why are you holding your bird?”—which is what we call it.

I’ve got a letter here from reader Sydney Hershel*, who’s looking for advice on how to spice up her relationship with her boyfriend.
Send him on a scavenger hunt. Write little notes to him and send him driving all over town to find the next note. The last note should send him to a hotel. There should be an envelope taped to the hotel door. He opens the envelope and inside is a blindfold. Then he walks into the room—which is difficult with the blindfold on. Inside the room, you take off all of his clothes; you sit him down on a chair. You order all of his favorite foods. You sit on his lap and tie his hands behind the chair. He should be feeling your fishnet stockings. You feed him. When you’re done, you put him in a bubble bath so he doesn’t have food all over him. Then you take him back to the chair and tie him back up.

Sin City y and Pretty Vanessa Marcil

When Stuff gambled on a photo shoot with Las Vegas’ Vanessa Marcil, we put all our money on iness. The result? We won…big!

Prince cast Vanessa Marcil as “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” for his video, and her baby daddy—Marcil’s former Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Brian Austin Green—definitely agrees. As for Stuff? Well, we decided we’d wait to p judgment until after we’d photographed the SoCal supernova at an expensive mansion in scenic Southampton, New York. The verdict? The star of NBC’s Las Vegas is beautiful as charged, Your Honor! But before the prosecution rests, we’d like you to review the mountain of evidence. For example, was this former General Hospital star actually married to Corey Feldman? Furthermore, did the accused really give Luke Perry a chubby while shooting 90210 love scenes with him? And finally, what’s with all this lame legal lingo when she’s clearly starring in a show about casinos? Uh…guess we’re out of order.

STUFF: Your ex Corey Feldman claimed that his drug problem was so severe that he—
VANESSA: Oh, we were never seeing each other, and I was never married to him. Rumors. We were a part of a group of kids who did drugs together. We all drank a lot, and we’d do our occasional hit of E. Nobody knew that he was even doing [heroin]. It was a surprise to all of us when he got arrested. He was a great kid when I knew him. I was never his wife, so that’s the only thing that confuses me about it.

Have you confronted him about that?
No. I don’t really feel the need to defend myself.

Would you say that Corey had a License to Drive, or was he more of a Lost Boy when it came to his prowess in the bedroom?
How long did it take you to come up with that one? I can’t answer questions about somebody who I knew for five minutes. I drank too much when I was a teenager and don’t remember much about most of the people I was hanging out with.

Your Las Vegas costar James Caan used to be one of Hollywood’s preeminent bad boys. From what you’ve seen, is he now one of Hollywood’s preeminent bad senior citizens?
He’s hot! We were just doing a big press junket, and every girl who sat down to interview him turned red. It took me, like, two weeks to get past the fact that he’s not Sonny from The Godfather. “You’re Sonny. Please, do not speak to me, because I’ll have to pee.” When I get nervous, I have to pee. And then I hold myself, because I never got over that when I was a kid. [One time,] I was shopping, and the girl in the store was like, “Why are you holding your bird?”—which is what we call it.

I’ve not heard of this euphemism.
Oh, you haven’t? It’s a nice, clean one. You know how guys always walk around and adjust? I always find a need to adjust. I actually don’t really need to adjust, it’s just that I feel comforted.

Aside from crotch grabbing, what else is particularly guylike about you?
I don’t like to cuddle. After , I like to eat and go to sleep. I don’t like to cuddle and talk. I’m not into getting married.

I thought you were engaged to Brian Austin Green!
No, I’m not. All rumor. I’ve never been married. I’m not engaged. All rumors.

Speaking of Brian, give me a review of his 1996 album, One Stop Carnival.
I was ready to say “Hate it. Understand why it didn’t do well.” But I heard it, and I love it. I think it’s a great damn CD.

Underwear preference: Cotton and modest, or lingerie is hottest?
I like cotton, but not modest. I like little cotton boy shorts. I like the innocent look, but they’re accidentally supertiny.

I’ve got a letter here from reader Sydney Hershel*, who’s looking for advice on how to spice up her relationship with her boyfriend.
Send him on a scavenger hunt. Write little notes to him and send him driving all over town to find the next note. The last note should send him to a hotel. There should be an envelope taped to the hotel door. He opens the envelope and inside is a blindfold. Then he walks into the room—which is difficult with the blindfold on. Inside the room, you take off all of his clothes; you sit him down on a chair. You order all of his favorite foods. You sit on his lap and tie his hands behind the chair. He should be feeling your fishnet stockings. You feed him. When you’re done, you put him in a bubble bath so he doesn’t have food all over him. Then you take him back to the chair and tie him back up.

Why didn’t the guy you did this to ask you to marry him right then and there?
He did, actually. The next day, we picked out the ring. [Getting anxiously back to her story] So he’s tied back up. You put some music on, and you strip for him. Now you have to rub up on him, because he can’t see. At some point, you take the blindfold off, and then you finish stripping for him. Tell Sydney to treat the man like a prince.

I’ll tell her. You were named after Vanessa Redgrave. Do you also share her deep-seated hatred of democracy?
[Laughs] I’ll p on that question.

So you’re a socialist. I’ve heard that Luke Perry admitted in an interview—
Oh, no.

That he would get visibly aroused during your love scenes. Is this news to you, or was it painfully obvious?
Painfully obvious. I used to laugh it off. He made it appear as though it was something he had no control over. I think he was fine with it.

Did Prince really have 400 purple roses delivered to you?
Prince has done a lot of amazing things that I would never talk about, out of respect for him and his privacy.

I’ve read that he responds to Victor. You know I’m going to need to ask why.
Nope. Can’t answer it.

If he were feeling particularly sy, would he ever go by Victoria?
No, he would not. I will tell you that.

When it comes to gambling in the sack, have you ever bet on black?
[Laughs] Absolutely! And is it true what they say? Absolutely. But really, as long as a guy’s funny and smart. You know guys are the visual ones.

I can’t speak for my entire gender.
Yeah, but go ahead and do it.

You’re right.
[Laughs] You visual bastard!

More about Vanessa Marcil

Do you relate at all to your character? How?
"Not at all. My character is a social climber."

What's your sign?
"I am a Libra and like Libras, I have trouble making up my mind."

What TV show from your childhood would you want to guest star on?
"I Love Lucy!"

What is your number one pet peeve?
"People that lie to my face."

Which actor/actress/performer did you have a childhood crush on?
"I love Ralph Fiennes."

Do you relate at all to your character? How?
"Not at all. My character is a social climber."

What's your sign?
"I am a Libra and like Libras, I have trouble making up my mind."

What TV show from your childhood would you want to guest star on?
"I Love Lucy!"

What is your number one pet peeve?
"People that lie to my face."

Which actor/actress/performer did you have a childhood crush on?
"I love Ralph Fiennes."

Vanessa Marcil stars in the fast-paced, y drama ''Las Vegas''

Starring as the wheeling and dealing Samantha “Sam” Jane on the stylistic, new NBC drama “Las Vegas,” Daytime Emmy Award winner Vanessa Marcil showcases her ability to wine-and-dine the high rollers. From Gary Scott Thompson -- the writer of the hit film “The Fast and the Furious” -- comes “Las Vegas,” this season’s number-one freshman drama in the key adults 18-49 demographic. This fast-paced, y drama follows the elite Las Vegas surveillance team charged with maintaining the security of one of “Sin City’s” largest resorts and casinos.

Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominee James Caan (“The Godfather,” “Misery”) stars as Big Ed Deline, the head of the surveillance team for the Montecito Resort & Casino.
With his protégé, Danny McCoy (Josh Duhamel, “All My Children”) an ex-U.S. Marine and Las Vegas native, they deal with card-counting cheaters, costly streaks of random luck and rival casinos stealing their big-money players.
If the typical job-related pressures weren’t enough, Big Ed recently found Danny in bed with his only daughter, Delinda (Molly Sims, MTV’s “House of Style”).

Rounding out this cast of high rollers is Danny McCoy’s longtime, savvy friend -- and soon to be director of special events -- Mary Connell (Nikki Cox, “Nikki”), the all-knowing valet Mike Cannon (James Lesure, “For Your Love”), sleek pit boss Nessa Holt a.k.a. “The Ice Queen” (Marsha Thomason, “Black Knight”) and elusive former competitor Samantha “Sam” Jane (Vanessa Marcil, “Beverly Hills, 90210”).

Thompson also serves as executive producer along with Gardner Stern (NBC’s “Law & Order,” “NYPD Blue”), Scott Steindorff (“The Human Stain”), Justin Falvey (“Undeclared”) and Darryl Frank (“Taken”) for this series from NBC Studios and DreamWorks Television.