Son of the Beach

Background:

"I find sexiness in personality, attitude and sense of humor, their intelligence, and the way they treat other people." Leila Arcieri

Miss San Francisco in the 1997 Miss America pageant, model and actress Leila Arcieri later gained notice on screen while portraying sizzling lifeguard Jamaica St. Croix in the comedy series Son of the Beach (2000-2002). She also received attention on the big screen when she appeared in such films as xXx (2002), Daddy Day Care (2003) and Wild Things 2 (2004). More recent, Leila could be seen in the 2005 films King's Ransom and A Perfect Fit.

Half African-American, half Italian, Leila Arcieri was the spokesmodel for Coors Lite 2000. On her private life, the 5' 4" inches tall model and actress is currently dating Oscar winner actor Jamie Foxx.

Tomboy

Childhood and Family:

In San Francisco, California, Leila C. Arcieri was born on December 18, 1973, to an Italian father and African-American mother (works for Lucasfilm). After her parents divorced, 2-years-old Leila was raised by her mother in the small town of Sebastopol, California.

When she was in Junior High School, shy Leila joined her school's cheerleader group. She was also a tomboy and a sports fanatic, enjoying such sports as swimming, volleyball, basketball, football, rock climbing, and kickboxing.

Wild Thing

Career:

Starting her modeling gigs when she was in high school, Leila Arcieri desired to have a job behind the scenes. After graduation, she packed for San Francisco to try her hand in graphic design and photography, but eventually landed a job as a make-up artist.

The path to fame arrived when she was crowned Miss San Francisco in 1997. She was subsequently handed several modeling and commercial jobs, including work from 1-800-COLLECT and Starburst. Leila also modeled for Boyz II Men music videos.

Two years after her spot as a guest in an episode of the series Mad TV (December of 1997), Leila finally stepped on to the wide screen by appearing in several B-movies. She played a bit part in the drama action Master P's Hot Boyz (1999, starring Gary Busey, Silkk the Shocker and Snoop Dogg). She followed it up by character Pam Washington in Tyler Maddox-Simms' rarely seen Beverly Hood (opposite Chris Albanese) and appearing in Dave Meyers' Foolish (alongside Eddie Griffin and Master P). As for the small screen, Leila guest starred on Rescue 77 and the Howard Stern show.

The portrayal of sexy lifeguard Jamaica St. Croix in the Baywatch spoof, the FX series Son of the Beach (2000-2002), was Leila's breakout role. In the series, written and produced by Tim Stack, Leila was teamed with actors Jaime Bergman, Amy Weber and Roland Kickinger. While working in the series she also played a lead role in Jean-Claude La Marre's 2001 comedy film, Higher Ed. Leila also landed a contract to be the spokesmodel for Coors Lite Beer 2000.

In 2002, filmmaker Rob Cohen cast her to work with Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson in his action adventure xXx. In the following year, Leila returned to comedy by joining Eddie Murphy in Steve Carr's Daddy Day Care, in which she played character Kelli. She also gained notice when she teamed with Susan Ward to portray two sticky Florida high school girls who arrange a murderous plan to win an inheritance, in Jack Perez' 1998 second installment thriller, Wild Things 2 (2004).

Leila continued to grace the screen in 2005. She costarred with Adrian Grenier in Ron Brown's psychological drama, A Perfect Fit, and with Anthony Anderson in Jeff Byrd's disappointing crime comedy, King's Ransom.

Currently, Leila, who was approached by MTV to be their one-year recurrent VJ, spends most of her time joining auditions for movie roles. Despite the fact that she is building her career, the beauty declines to pose or do nude scenes, as she refers to the acclaimed actress Julia Roberts.

"She's America's sweetheart, yet she hasn't had to become a sex symbol or use her body." Leila Arcieri