Carmen Electra Biography
A stunning, sexy star with an enviable array of dance moves who has built an increasingly high-profile career primarily on her considerable erotic appeal while maintaining a nice-girl-next-door persona, Carmen Electra effectively transformed herself from pop star protege and Playboy model into a pop culture phenom.
The petite brunette with the arresting eyes was born Tara Patrick in the suburbs of Cincinatti and began preparing for show biz early, taking dance classes as early as age five and dreaming of hoofing on Broadway. He parents supported her by enrolling her in a performing arts school, and immediately upon her graduation in 1990 she relocated to Los Angeles. Dancing in an L.A. nightclub she caught the eye of a talent scout and landed an audition with the hugely successful pop singer Prince (actually, at that point, the Artist Formally Known as Prince), who was looking to assemble an all-girl rap group for his record label. Although he didn’t tap her for the group, Prince later wrote a song for her demo album and rechristened her as Carmen Electra (”You look like a Carmen,” he told her, reportedly thinking of the Bizet opera and adding the heroine of the Greek tragedy as her new surname). Although she flopped with her eponymous 1992 debut album (produced by her purple-minded mentor) but later scored in 1996 by baring it all for the pages of Playboy and racking up guest spots on several TV series, including a stint on “Baywatch Nights.”