Talisa Soto

American actress and model

Costas Mandylor

(m. 1997; div. 2000)

Benjamin Bratt

(m. 2002)

Children2

Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American former actress and model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill, and as Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film Mortal Kombat and its 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Prior to her acting career, Soto worked as a model, appearing in magazines such as Mademoiselle, Glamour and Elle.

Early life

Soto was born in Brooklyn, New York City,^[4] the youngest of four children of parents who moved to New York from Puerto Rico.^[5] During her early childhood, her parents moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated in public schools.^[6]

Career

Modeling

At age 15, Soto signed with Click Model Management and began modeling during summer vacations. Weeks after being signed, she traveled to Paris where she appeared in a layout for Vogue shot by Bruce Weber. Soto returned to Northampton after the summer to resume her schooling. She modeled only on occasion until after she graduated from high school.^[6]

She later was featured on the covers of American and British Vogue, British Elle, Mademoiselle, Glamour and Self magazines. Soto has also been featured in advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Cartier, Clarins, Revlon, Salvatore Ferragamo, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Versace.^[7]

Soto appeared in her first music video with former boyfriend Nick Kamen, behind Madonna's song "Each Time You Break My Heart", directed by Tony Viramontes.^[6] Soto and Kamen were often used as models by Ray Petri, the late fashion stylist and creator of the 1980s London "Buffalo Boy" look.^[8]

Acting

In 1988, when Soto returned to the United States, she auditioned and landed the role of "India" in her feature debut, Spike of Bensonhurst, a comedy starring Sasha Mitchell and Ernest Borgnine. In 1988, Soto was cast as Lupe Lamora, in the James Bond film Licence to Kill, starring Timothy Dalton, and as Maria Rivera in The Mambo Kings.

Soto appeared in more than twenty films, including Mortal Kombat (1995) as Kitana; Island of the Dead as Melissa O'Keefe; Piñero (2001) as Sugar, starring Benjamin Bratt; and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) as Ryne alongside Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas. Soto also made two guest appearances on the television series C-16: FBI.

In 1995, she played the role of Doña Julia, Johnny Depp's first love interest in the tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, Depp playing the title role. She also made an appearance in Marc Anthony's music video for "I Need to Know". In 1996, Soto played the title role in the campy film Vampirella based on the comic book character. Her last major film appearance was in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever before retiring from acting after marrying Benjamin Bratt.^[9]

She made one more film, La Mission (2009), which was directed by her brother-in-law Peter Bratt.^[9]

Public image

In 1990, Soto was chosen by People as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.^[10] In 1995, she was featured in the Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Issue".^[7] She was ranked #58 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002.^[11]

Personal life

In 1997, Soto married actor Costas Mandylor. They divorced in 2000.^[9]

In 2002, she began dating actor Benjamin Bratt; they married on April 13 in San Francisco. The two had met ten years earlier during a casting audition. During the filming of Piñero (2001) they began to develop a relationship. They married in April 2002 and their first child, daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, was born on December 6, 2002; their second child, son Mateo Bravery Bratt, was born on October 3, 2005.^[12]^[13]

It was revealed in 2024 that Soto was diagnosed with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that she has since been deemed "cancer-free".^[14]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	The Pope of Greenwich Village	Studio Dancer	Uncredited
1988	The French as Seen By...	French Girl	Episode: "The Cowboy and the Frenchman"
1988	Spike of Bensonhurst	India
1989	Licence to Kill	Lupe Lamora
1990	Silhouette	Marianna Herrera	Television film
1991	Prison Stories: Women on the Inside	Rosina	Television film
1992	The Mambo Kings	Maria Rivera
1992	Hostage	Joanna
1993–1994	Harts of the West	Cassie	15 episodes
1994	Don Juan DeMarco	Doña Julia
1995	Mortal Kombat	Princess Kitana
1996	Spy Hard	Seductress In Hotel Room	Credited as Desiree More
1996	The Sunchaser	Navajo Woman
1996	Vampirella	Vampirella	Direct-to-video
1997	Flypaper	Amanda
1997	The Corporate Ladder	Susan Taylor
1997	Mortal Kombat Annihilation	Princess Kitana
1998	C-16: FBI	Rosemary Vargas	2 episodes
2000	That Summer in L.A.	Marisabel
2000	Flight of Fancy	Mercedes Marquez	Alternative titles: Facing Fear Flight
2000	Island of the Dead	Melissa O'Keefe	Television film
2001	Piñero	'Sugar'
2002	Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever	Rayne Ecks / Vinn Gant
2009	La Mission	Ana	Credited as Talisa Soto Bratt
2013	Elysium	Tisha	Uncredited

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film
1989	ShoWest Convention	Won	Female Star of Tomorrow	-
2002	ALMA Award	Nominated	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Piñero

References

^ Tomassini, Christine (May 26, 2003). Magill's Cinema Annual. Gale Research International, Limited. ISBN 9781558624597 – via Google Books.
^ DeMichael, Tom (December 1, 2012). James Bond FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Everyone's Favorite Superspy. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781480337855 – via Google Books.
^ Candelaria, Cordelia (December 26, 2004). Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313332111 – via Google Books.
^ Candelaria, Cordelia; Aldama, Arturo J.; García, Peter J. (2004). Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture. Vol. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 778. ISBN 0-313-32215-5.
^ Miller, Samantha (April 29, 2002). "Benjamin's Surprise". People. 57 (16). ISSN 0093-7673.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Talisa Soto: Catwalk Queen Strides To New Life". New Sunday Times: 2. July 23, 1989.
^ ^a ^b Talisa Soto at Fashion Model Directory
^ Limnander, Armand (October 19, 2009). "Ray Petri's Enduring Style". nytimes.com. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Talisa Soto Biography (1967-)". filmreference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
^ "50 Most Beautiful People". People: 57. May 9, 1990. ISSN 0093-7673. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
^ "The 2002 Hot 100 List". maxim.com. April 20, 2009. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
^ Silverman, Stephen M. (December 17, 2002). "New Bratt in the House for Ben, Talisa". people.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^ "Benjamin Bratt & Wife Have a Boy". people.com. October 7, 2005. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^ Donnelly, Erin (March 14, 2022). "Benjamin Bratt reveals wife Talisa Soto was diagnosed with breast cancer during the pandemic". Yahoo! News. Retrieved March 30, 2024.