Carmen Electra [ 3 ] born Tara Leigh Patrick , April 20, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince who produced her self-titled debut studio album , released in Electra began modeling in with appearances in Playboy magazine, before relocating to Los Angeles , where she had her breakthrough portraying Lani McKenzie in the action drama series Baywatch — She has also occasionally worked as a dancer, most notably with The Pussycat Dolls , as a featured guest of the group on VH1 Divas Electra, who told People in that she had "wanted to dance on Broadway," graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville in , having transferred there from SCPA two years prior.
Electra is of Cherokee, German, and Irish descent, [ 14 ] and was very close to her family. She said of her mother, "My mom was my rock," and described her older sister Debbie as being "like a second mother to me".
Electra started her professional career in as a dancer at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio , performing in the show "It's Magic", one of the more popular shows in the park's history. In May , she was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, the first of several. Electra was featured in Playboy four more times: June , December , April , and the January anniversary issue. She was on the cover of the last three of these issues. Electra moved to Los Angeles , where she made her acting debut in the independent comedy horror film American Vampire In she was cast as Lani McKenzie in the American drama series Baywatch , for which she achieved her breakthrough.
The role lasted a year and helped to establish her as a sex symbol , [ 14 ] which has lasted since the late s and the s. In , Electra starred in the family comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen 2 , which received negative reviews from critics, although it was a moderate box-office success and Electra's performance was praised, with Andrea Gronvall of The Chicago Reader writing that she was "the most winning performer of the bunch".
That same year, she joined the voice cast of the animated series Tripping the Rift , replacing Gina Gershon as the voice of the android "Six". In she appeared in Date Movie. In , she became a published author with the release of her book, How to Be Sexy. She was featured in some video spoofs of lonelygirl15 that advertised Epic Movie. She acted as a replacement for Amanda Holden , who was absent due to complications following child birth. Electra is often spotlighted for her looks and has been considered a " sex symbol " and " pop culture icon ".
