Marisa Miller

She's said that if she weren’t a model she’d be a sportscaster. In December 2004 Paz Vega made her Hollywood debut - as a Mexican housekeeper - alongside Adam Sandler in the romantic comedy Spanglish. From an early age Marisa loved surfing, was a standout volleyball player on her high school team, and has long been a big sports fan in general. Soon after, she could be seen in the musical romantic sex comedy, The Other Side of the Bed (El otro lado de la cama, 2002). In 2004 she served as a modeling judge in the short-lived reality television series Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model. The film also starred her 7 vidas co-star Javier Cámara and went on to win an Oscar for Best Screenplay, almost unheard of for a foreign-language film. She's also appeared in other magazines such as Fitness, Shape, and Vogue, as well as worked on campaigns for Nordstrom, J.Crew, and Tommy Hilfiger. In 2001 she appeared alongside Sergi López as a battered wife in the brutal Solo mía and in 2002 no less than Pedro Almodovar, gave her a part in his film "Talk to Her" (Hable con ella).

Atypically, she was able to move from a start as a nude magazine model to high profile mainstream work with the likes of no less than Victoria’s Secret and the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue (2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005). With a Goya under her belt, Paz was now certainly destined for greater things. Although she came in third behind Ashley Degenford and Monica Hansen in Perfect 10's first annual model search, she was repeatedly showcased in following issues, including the covers of the Winter 1998, Aug/Sept 1999, and Fall 2004 editions. The film, an erotically charged piece of work, soon became an international success, winning Vega a Goya (Spain's answer to an Oscar) for Best Female Newcomer. Marisa Lee Miller (born Santa Cruz, California, August 6, 1978) is a buxom American model who first gained attention when she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. In order to concentrate on the role, Paz had to leave 7 vidas. Paz was chosen to play the title role in his "provocatively sensual" project Sex and Lucia (Lucía y el sexo), the story of a naïve young girl gradually coming to terms with her own sexuality with a hedonistic writer on a remote island.

The next Spanish film maker to be captivated by Paz Vega was Julio Medem. After seeing Vega on 7 vidas, film maker Mateo Gil was so taken with her that he gave her a substantial role in his film Nadie conoce a nadie, scripted and soundtracked by Alejandro Amenábar (who was later to be instrumental in the transatlantic "success" of Penélope Cruz and successful internationally in his own right as director of The Others). The series is still running on Telecinco to this day (2004), albeit without Paz Vega. Paz played Laura, a perky Andalucian girl who had come to stay in the flat of David, who had recently come out of a coma.

The series was billed as a Spanish "Friends" and went on to become one of the country's best-loved domestic sitcoms. Yet it was with the series 7 vidas (also in 1999) that Paz's real big break came. The same year she also had a minor role in the David Menkes movie "I Will Survive" (Sobreviviré) alongside Emma Suarez, Juan Diego Botto and a cameo from Boy George. After appearing in two other series in 1997 — Mas que amigos and teen drama Compañeros — she went on to grace the silver screen in 1999 in Zapping.

Paz made her television debut in the Spanish TV series Menudo es mi padre, which starred pint-sized rhumba singer El Fary. After two years at the stage school and two more years studying media studies, Paz moved to the Spanish capital hoping for a lucky break into the acting world. After completing compulsory education at 16 she was accepted at the prestigious Centro Andaluz de Teatro stage school. After attending a performance of Federico García Lorca's La casa de Bernarda Alba at the age of 15 she was convinced that she wanted to become an actress.

Her stage name comes from her grandmother. Paz Vega, real name Paz Campos Trigo (born January 2, 1976, in Seville, Andalucía) is a Spanish actress.