Carmen does the Shuffle

Background:

"I need to keep my name in the media because I really am without talent."

Carmen Electra, former Baywatch babe, once married to controversial Chicago Bulls basketball player Dennis Rodman, and published poser for Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine, is considered to be, by some, an actor, musician and model. 5'4" Carmen, known for her physical attributes, is busy knotting up loose ends and creating new ones in order boost and showcase her talent, while making sure the name Carmen Electra does not get lost in the shuffle. Tall aspirations from a girl who confesses the flopped-film Showgirls (1975), happens to be one her favorites.

Youngest of 5

Childhood and Family:

Tara Leigh Patrick's parents gave birth to their 5th child on April 20, 1972 in Ohio. Growing up, Carmen soon discovered her number 1 love, dancing.

"Dancing is my number one love. That was my first goal as a child. I would love to do stage, maybe do Chicago. I love being in front of an audience. It's so stimulating... I also love to barbecue." --New York Post, January 10, 1999

Carmen attended Princeton High School, and then studied at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Carmen once made a living modeling for Target.

Judging a Book

Career:

Carmen Electra received her first real break when a scout for Prince noticed her working with a rap group in Los Angeles. This took place in 1991, and within a week, she met with Prince. "I'd been there a week when I went to this club called Spice, where

I was approached by a woman who said she had this all-girl band that Prince was producing, and I had the look they were after. But what was really funny was that there was a Prince look-alike at the club that night, and I thought she might have been talking about him and it was all a joke. But it wasn't, thank God, because the guy smelt really bad. I just thought, 'If Prince smells like this, I don't want to be in his group.' As a matter of fact, Prince smells heavenly. He's a very clean person and he smells lovely."

She was signed on by Prince's Paisley Park (record label) where the single Go-Go Dancer was produced. Success, however, was not to be found and life moves on. One thing significant did come out of this venture... It was Prince who inspired Carmen Electra to choose her name.

Carmen's career is fragmented. Often called a girl with a pretty face, but no talent, she acted or played hostess in many series, with some listed samplings as: Singled Out (1995), Loveline (1996), Banned in America: The World's Sexiest Commercials 2 (1999), 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock (2000), and starred with her husband, Dave Navarro, in MTV's Carmen & Dave: An MTV Love Story (2002).

If any one show brought Carmen into focus with an audience, it would have to be her character of Lani McKenzie, in Baywatch.

Carmen also is credited for being in such films as Scary Movie (2000), Whacked! (2002), and Starsky & Hutch (2004). There will be no Oscar nominations for these roles, but Carmen is young, robust in a curvy (in the right places) way and still working. Perhaps she can prove the old adage, "Don't choose a book by its cover" as true gospel.

Awards:

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MTV Movie Awards: Best Kiss, STARSKY & HUTCH (2004) - shared with Owen Wilson