Jaci Velasquez

Velasquez appeared at the December 2003 issue of Right On! Magazine, where editor Cynthia Horner called her, among other things, a true role model to teens.
. After remaining on the public light, Velasquez was given a chance, in 2002, to act in her first Hollywood movie. Chasing Papi, which stars her, Sofia Vergara, Puerto Rico's Roselyn Sanchez and Eduardo Verastegui, was released nationwide in the United States in April of 2003. 1980:. After that, Velasquez was able to achieve the crossover appeal she desired, building a fan base among hispanics as well as Americans. 1971:. Velasquez released her first cd in 1996, and five of the songs in that cd became hits. In 1998, she was signed over by Sony Latin and introduced to Rudy Perez, who had helped the careers of José Luis Rodríguez El Puma, Jose Feliciano and Julio Iglesias, among others. 1970:.

It was while on the road that she was discovered by a representative of Myrrh Records. 1968:. When she was ten years old, her parents sold their Houston home and dedicated themselves to touring the United States with their Christian music. 1967:. Velasquez grew up attending church, and her parents were singers. 1966:. Jaci Velasquez (born October 15, 1979) is a Mexican-American gospel and pop singer. 1965:.

Heavenly Place (1996). 1964:. Doc (on PAX) (2004). 1963:. Chasing Papi (2003). 1962:. Beauty Has Grace (2005). 1961:.

Mi Historia Musical (2004). 1960:. Milagro (2003). 1959:. Unspoken (2003). 1958:. Navidad (2001). 1957:.

Christmas (2001). 1956:. Mi Corazon (2001).
. Crystal Clear (2000). She is buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Llegar A Ti (1999). The exact circumstances of her death remain the subject of much speculation.

Jaci Velasquez (1998). She was in the middle of filming of the movie Brainstorm and preparing to make her stage debut in a Los Angeles production of Anastasia, opposite Dame Wendy Hiller, when she drowned in a 1981 overnight accident while their yacht was anchored at Catalina Island, off the coast near Los Angeles at the age of only 43. Heavenly Place (1996). Her two marriages to actor Robert Wagner, conducted in the public eye, were stormy; but they were once more reconciled at the time of her death. Keep The Fire Burning (Unknown). During these years, which were the best of her career as an adult actress, she was a real Hollywood star, and was compared favorably with Elizabeth Taylor. Help Me (Unknown). Having a nice voice, she was supposed to sing all her songs; however, in the end she was dubbed by professional singer Marni Nixon, which was to her a great disappointment.

Another of her great films was the musical by Leonard Bernstein, West Side Story, in which she played the leading character Maria. By the time she was 28, she was already a three-time Oscar nominee, winning Academy Award nominations for Rebel Without a Cause, Splendor in the Grass and Love With the Proper Stranger. A well-known child star, she was one of the relatively few who made the transition to adult stardom. Soon her parents changed their surname to Gurdin, and at the age of 4 she was billed as Natasha Gurdin.

She was born in San Francisco, California as the daughter of Russian immigrants. She was the sister of the also famous actress Lana Wood. Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko (July 20, 1938 - November 29, 1981), better known as Natalie Wood, was an American film actress. C.H.U.D. (1983).

The Last Married Couple in America (1980). Willie and Phil (1980). Corvette Summer (1979). Peeper (1975).

The Candidate (1972). Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice (1969). This Property is Condemned (1966). The Great Race (1965).

Sex and the Single Girl (1964). Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). Gypsy (1962). Splendor in the Grass (1961).

West Side Story (1961). All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960). The Searchers (1956). Rebel Without a Cause (1955).

Muir (1947). The Ghost and Mrs. Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Golden Globe Award - From Here to Eternity (1979) (mini) - Best TV Actress: Drama (won!).