Carmen Electra was born in Cincinnati (Ohio) on April 20, 1972. Of course, back then she was Tara Leigh Patrick, just a little girl growing up in White Oak, Ohio. At the age of 9, she was selected for the School for Creative and Performing Arts. While she was there she took singing lessons, and by her teenage years, she was dancing in musicals and doing her own choreographing for the school's theater ensemble. Her goal was to eventually make it out to Los Angeles and get a record deal, and at age fifteen, she took her first big step. She moved out to Minneapolis to stay with her sister and half sister, and earned money acting as a model for the Target department stores. Four years later, she packed up shop and moved to L.A., changed her name to Carmen Electra, and one week later, she met the artist formerly known as Prince. For all practical purposes, she had just been "discovered".
In 1992, after meeting and auditioning for Prince, Carmen was signed to his Paisley Park Records label. Despite the fact that Prince took her under his wing (including promotions for her album in Rolling Stone and on MTV) her first album was a dud. The video for the single "Go-Go Dancer" was seldom seen on MTV, and when the single hit the stores in June (1992) it almost went straight to the bargain bin. In 1995, Carmen reinvented herself and appeared on the Nickelodeon show ALL THAT. In March of 1996, Carmen posed nude for Playboy and did a Playboy video, PLAYBOY CHEERLEADERS, in which she sings the show stopper "2-4-6-8". Also in 1996, Carmen hosted MTV's Loveline - only a glimpse of things to come.
In 2005, Carmen Electra began the Naked Women's Wrestling League, acting as the commissioner for the professional wrestling promotion.In late 2006, Carmen began to be featured in commercials by Taco Bell. Electra is the current spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is featured in some video spoofs of Lonelygirl15 that are advertising Epic Movie. |
