AllMovie

Smolderingly beautiful actress Vanessa Marcil had a talent for performing from the time she was a little girl. She started out by acting in school plays and in talent shows, eventually winning the role of Brenda Barrett on the daytime soap General Hospital in 1996. Later that same year, she caught the attention of a much wider audience when she was cast opposite Nicolas Cage in the high-octane action thriller The Rock. A few years later, she joined the cast of the tawdry night-time soap Beverly Hills 90210, which she stayed with for two seasons. In 2003, she was cast in the series Las Vegas, a one-hour dramedy about the ins and outs of a high-roller casino. Audiences loved the show and they loved Marcil just as much -- she stayed with the series for multiple seasons. Once Las Vegas ended, Marcil did a few guest spots on shows like Lipstick Jungle and Without a Trace before making a highly-publicized return to General Hospital.