Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra
Electra on the red carpet for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards in Sydney. (Photo by Toby Foraggio)
Birth name	Tara Leigh Patrick
Born	April 20 1972 (age 36) Sharonville, Ohio, USA

Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20 1972), is professionally known as Carmen Electra,^[1] is an American glamour model, television personality, singer and actress.

Biography

Early life

Linni was born in Sharonville, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, to Patricia, a vocalist, and Harry Patrick, an entertainer and guitarist; her mother died of a brain tumor in 1998. She had an older sister, Debbie, who died from a heart attack, also in 1998.^[2] Linni attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Princeton High School in Sharonville and also attended, very briefly, Forest Park High School.^[3]

Career

After moving to California, she met singer Prince (a Minneapolis native), who persuaded her to change her name to Carmen Electra. Soon after, she signed a recording contract with Paisley Park Records, Prince's company, marking the start of a short-lived rap career, which included one album.

In 1995, Electra started appearing in various television programs. Then, in May of 1996 she was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, the first of several. This exposure led to higher profile television appearances, including Baywatch (cast member from 1997-1998) and MTV's Singled Out. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

Electra has appeared in several films, such as Good Burger (1997), The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999), the horror spoof Scary Movie (2000) and also appeared in Scary Movie 4 (2006), Epic Movie (2007), and the remake of the 1970s TV show Starsky & Hutch (2004). She has also made cameo appearances as herself in the comedy American Dreamz. She regularly performed with the exotic dance troupe The Pussycat Dolls. Electra also created the highly successful Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease series of DVDs which combines classic stripping moves with a low impact workout. Her most recent movie appearance is a leading role in I Want Candy (film)

Her acting work is generally panned by critics.^[4]

In 2005, she joined the voice cast of the animated series Tripping the Rift, replacing Gina Gershon as the voice of the sexy android "Six". In late 2006, Carmen began to be featured in commercials by Taco Bell.

Electra is the current spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is featured in some video spoofs of Lonelygirl15 that are advertising Epic Movie.

She is a playable character in the video game Def Jam: Fight for New York and is one of the celebrity challenges in the video game, ESPN NFL 2K5, along with Steve-O, Jamie Kennedy, and others.

Personal life

Shooting a commercial.

Carmen Electra was previously romantically involved with rap star B Real of Cypress Hill from 1995 to 1998. Electra achieved publicity during her on-again, off-again marriage to basketball star Dennis Rodman from 1998 to 1999. The wedding to Rodman took place at Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Later, she had a brief affair with Tommy Lee, the ex-husband of Pamela Anderson.

On November 22, 2003, Electra married Dave Navarro, former lead guitarist for the rock bands Jane's Addiction and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The couple documented their courtship and marriage in an MTV celebreality show called 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave.^[5] On 17 July 2006, she and Navarro announced their separation. Their rep confirmed their separation to Star Magazine. Electra filed for divorce on 10 August. It was finalized on February 20, 2007.^[6][7] She was recently linked with Joan Jet romantically, but Electra's publicist has insisted they are "just friends".

Charity Work

As a result of her mother's death from a brain tumor, Electra co-founded Head to Hollywood^[8] with Ken Baker. It is "[a]n organization that brings brain-tumor patients and their families to Tinseltown for a VIP experience".^{[citation needed]}

Trivia

• In 2006, Electra claimed that when she was eight years old she had a "little girl crush" on Janet Jackson. She remembered watching Jett in the video "Do You Wanna Touch Me" where Jett opens a trenchcoat to reveal her bikini clad body.^[9][10]

Discography

• Carmen Electra, 1993

Single songs

• Fantasia Erotica
• Go Go Dancer
• Everybody Get Up
• 2-4-6-8 (Playboy's Cheerleaders film contains a music video of the song)

Filmography

• An American Vampire Story (1997)
• Good Burger (1997)
• Starstruck (1998)
• The Chosen One: Legend of the Raven (1998)
• The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999)
• Christmas Vacation 2000 (1999)
• Scary Movie (2000)
• Sol Goode (2001)
• Perfume (2001)
• Get Over It (2001)
• Rent Control (2002)
• Whacked! (2002)
• Uptown Girls (2003)
• My Boss's Daughter (2003)
• Starsky & Hutch (2004)
• Mr. 3000 (2004)
• Max Havoc: Curse of the Dragon (2004)
• Dirty Love (2005)
• Lil' Pimp (2005) (direct-to-DVD) (voice)
• Searching for Bobby D (2005)
• Getting Played (2005)
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
• Date Movie (2006)
• Scary Movie 4 (2006)
• Hot Tamale (2006)
• lonelygirl362436 (2006)
• National Lampoon's Pledge This! (2006)
• Epic Movie (2007)
• I Want Candy (2007)
• Full of It (2007)
• Christmas in Wonderland (2007)
• Last Call at Murray's (2008)

Television work

Carmen Electra at the 2007 Spike TV Awards.

• Singled Out (host in 1997)
• Loveline (host in 1997)
• Baywatch (cast member from 1997-1998)
• Electra's Guy (2000)
• Carmen & Dave: An MTV Love Story (2002)
• Livin' Large (2002-2004) (frequent host throughout run)
• BattleBots (host in 2002)
• Dance Fever (2003) (canceled after 6 episodes)
• Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
• 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen and Dave (2004) (limited run of 7 episodes)
• Monster Island (2004)
• Summerland as Mona (2004)
• Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model (2004-2005)
• Tripping the Rift (cast member in 2005) (voice)
• Lolo's Cafe (2006) (voice)
• Full Frontal Fashion (2007 guest host)

Other Work

• Carmen Electra Prepaid MasterCard is a debit card sponsored by Carmen Electra, displaying her image as part of the design.

• Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease is a five-disc DVD exercise series that combines teaching classic stripping moves with a low impact cardio workout.

• Embrace is a comic book written by Electra for London Night Studios.

• Soccer AM - Carmen waved goodbye on 15 April 2006.

• "Glam Slam Ulysses" Interactive Musical Theatrical Production,” conceived by Prince. Debuted at Prince's legendary Glam Slam L.A. nightclub.

• Commercials for Maxim Men's Hair Color products (2004-2005) and Taco Bell (2006-2007).

Footnotes

Wikipedia information about Carmen Electra This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Carmen Electra". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.