Vanessa Marcil

Vanessa Marcil (born Sally Vanessa Ortiz; October 15, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Brenda Barrett on General Hospital, Gina Kincaid on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Sam Marquez on Las Vegas.

Since mid-2010, she goes by the name Vanessa Marcil-Giovinazzo.

Early life
Marcil, the youngest of four children, was born in Indio, California, the daughter of Patricia (née Marcil), an herbalist, and Peter Ortiz, a contractor and self-made millionaire. Her parents are separated. Marcil's father is Mexican and her mother is an American of French, Italian, and Portuguese ancestry.

Career
Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera General Hospital in 1992. She garnered three Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1997, 1998 and 2003) for her portrayal, winning in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.

In 1994, she was cast in the Prince music video, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", and made People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful list the next year. She made her feature film debut in the 1996 film The Rock, in which she appeared opposite Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris.

After six years on General Hospital, she left the show in 1998, to star in the made-for-television movie To Love, Honor and Deceive, and had a recurring guest role on the police drama High Incident produced by Steven Spielberg. Marcil joined the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 in November 1998 as Gina Kincaid and remained with the show for one-and-a-half seasons. In 1999, she starred in two independent films: Nice Guys Sleep Alone with Sean O'Bryan and This Space Between Us with Jeremy Sisto.

She returned briefly to General Hospital in 2000 and from 2002 to 2003, as Brenda Barrett, in a recurring role.

In 2001, Marcil was awarded the Sojourn Service Award and has supported Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their children by hosting charity events and making appearances on Wheel of Fortune, playing for funds for the organization. Through her fundraising efforts, she hopes to increase awareness of domestic violence and inspire battered women to take control of their lives.

Marcil formerly starred in the NBC television series Las Vegas as Samantha Jane "Sam" Marquez. She has been featured in several Men's magazines, including Stuff, FHM, and Maxim. She was named #19 on Maxim's Hot 100 of 2005 list and was featured on the cover of the issue that included the list, as well as #92 in the 2006 FHM Hot 100 list.

In fall of 2008, Marcil guest starred on Lipstick Jungle, playing Shane's new talent manager. As of November 2008, she hosts and is the head judge of Lifetime's reality television show, Blush: The Search For the Next Great Makeup Artist.

On August 11, 2010, she returned to the role of Brenda Barrett on General Hospital, as a full-time contract role.

Personal life
Marcil was married to Corey Feldman from 1989 to 1993. She dated former Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate Brian Austin Green from 1999 until early 2003. They have a son, Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green, born on March 30, 2002.

Marcil married CSI: NY actor Carmine Giovinazzo on July 11, 2010.

Credits
Film: Television