Patricia Carola Velásquez Semprún (born January 31, 1971 in Maracaibo, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan model and actress.
She's best known for playing Anck-Su-Namun in The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns. Coming out as a lesbian in 2014, Velásquez is the mother of one daughter with her former partner. She is of mestizo and indigenous descent, with her mother being from the Wayuu people. She has been very active in defense of the Wayuu. Velásquez has been identified as the first Latina and Native American supermodel.
Selected filmography:
- Le Jaguar: Maya
- Beowulf: Pendra
- The Mummy (1999): Anck-Su-Namun
- The Mummy Returns: Anck-Su-Namun/Meela Nais
- Arrested Development: Marta Estrella
- CSI: Miami: Celia Gonzalez
- The L Word: Begoña/Karina
- Ugly Betty: Victoria Velez
- Liz in September: Liz
- The Curse of La Llorona: Patricia
- Hawaii Five-0: Teresa Estrada
- Malignant: Nurse Velasquez
Tropes in her work include:
- Fake Nationality: She's largely played Latinas who are not Venezuelan, and is most famous for her role as Egyptian Ankh-Su-Namen.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's a model, and her characters have frequently worn revealing clothes (e.g. Anku-Su-Namen's rather stripperific outfits), appeared nude and some have had sex scenes.
- Queer Character, Queer Actor: Even prior to coming out she played lesbian Begoña on The L Word. She went on to also play the lesbian lead character from Liz in September the same year she'd come out.
