Birthname	Paola Turbay Gómez
Birthdate	November 29, 1970
Birthplace	Houston, Texas, USA
Spouse	Alejandro Estrada (1994-present) 2 children
Yearsactive	1994-present
Website	http://paolaturbay.com/

Paola Turbay Gómez (born November 29, 1970 in Houston, USA model, and television presenter.

Turbay represented Bogotá in the Miss Colombia beauty pageant, which she won in 1991. She was the first runner-up in the 1992 Miss Universe competition.

After finishing her studies in psychology at the Universidad de los Andes, Turbay focused on her career as a model and presenter in entertainment news segments on Noticias QAP and Noticiero C newscasts, as well as an actress, with shows like Hola Paola ("Hello Paola") during the 1990s. In 2005 she was the official presenter, with Miguel Varoni, of the National Beauty Pageant. She has also made cameo appearances in several Colombian series like O todos en la cama, Ecomoda (sequel to Betty la fea) and Leche ("Milk").

After studying acting in Hollywood, Florida, Turbay became the main character of the RCN TV comedy Noticias calientes ("Hot News") in 2002. Two years later she would star the telenovela Las noches de Luciana ("The Nights of Luciana") and in 2006 would present the Colombian version of Dancing with the Stars, Bailando por un Sueño. Paola has also made brief appearances in films such as Lenny the Wonder Dog and Love in the Time of Cholera.

In 2007, Turbay played Isabel Vega on the CBS series Cane, which was canceled in May 2008 after only one season. In 2008 she has been participating as a recurring guest star on the ABC series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She also guested on the Showtime series Californication (Season 2, ep. 8, "Going Down and Out in Beverly Hills") and had a recurring role as an LAPD detective during the fifth season of TNT's The Closer.

On Jan. 6, 2010, she played the role of Beatriz on the CBS series The Mentalist (Season 3, ep. 11, "Bloodsport").

References

External links

Paola Turbay's official website

Profile at Colarte (includes several magazine articles)

Category:1970 births Category:Colombian actors Category:Colombian television presenters Category:American people of Colombian descent Category:American people of Lebanese descent Category:Living people Category:Miss Universe contestants Category:Miss Colombia winners Category:Colombian female models

Caption	Smits at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Birth date	July 09, 1955
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, United States
Spouse	Barbara Smits (1981-1987)
Partner	Wanda de Jesus (1986 - present)
Emmyawards	Supporting Actor - Drama Series1990 L.A. Law
Goldenglobeawards	Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama1996 NYPD Blue

Jimmy Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s legal drama L.A. Law, as NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s police drama NYPD Blue, and as U.S. Congressman (and later President of the United States) Matt Santos on The West Wing. He is also notable for his portrayal of Bail Organa in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and Miguel Prado in Dexter. In the fall of 2010, he starred in NBC's short-lived series Outlaw, about a U.S. Supreme Court justice who leaves the bench to return to practicing law.

Early life

Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Cornelius Smits, was a Surinamese immigrant of Dutch descent who managed a screen-printing factory. His mother, Emilina, was a Puerto Rican who worked as a nurse. Smits was raised in a strict devout Roman Catholic family. "Jimmy" is actually the name on his birth certificate, rather than "Jim" or "James." He has two sisters, Yvonne and Diana. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood and spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood. Smits earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982. Though born in New York, Smits has deep Puerto Rican roots and frequently visits the island. In 2001, he was arrested for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices on the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques.

Career

A notable early role played by Smits was that of Eddie Rivera in the series premiere of Miami Vice. In the episode, he was Sonny Crockett's original partner, only to be shortly killed off in a sting gone wrong. He played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the long-running legal drama L.A. Law.

Smits played a Conky Repairman on Pee-wee's Playhouse as one of the show's memorable characters. He also starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in My Family/Mi Familia in 1995.

A new audience became aware of Smits for his appearance as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan who appears in the film and becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father in the film . He reappears as Bail Organa in the game .

Smits was to have hosted the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, but it was called off because of the terrorist attacks that day. He instead hosted a non-televised press conference to announce the winners.

Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas in the final two seasons of the American television drama The West Wing, joining fellow L.A. Law alumnus John Spencer. Smits's character eventually ran for and won the US Presidency in the series.

For the third season of Dexter, Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends Dexter. Smits was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role. Additionally, he portrayed the character, Alex Vega, in the CBS TV series, Cane which aired from September 25, 2007 to December 18, 2007 and was subsequently cancelled by the network due to the 2007 Screen Writer's Guild strike.

Stage performances

Smits has participated in the Public Theater's New York Shakespeare Festival, playing the role of Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night in 2002, and Benedick in Much Ado about Nothing in 2004. He is currently starring as "Alan" (opposite Christine Lahti, Annie Potts, and Ken Stott) in the critically lauded Broadway play, God of Carnage, replacing Jeff Daniels. He will perform the role beginning November 17, 2009 until February 28, 2010.

Personal life

Smits was married to Barbara Smits from 1981 until their divorce in 1987. They have two children, Taina (born in 1973) and Joaquin (born in 1983). Since 1986, Smits has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus. They reside in Los Angeles, where Smits is a fixture in his local Jai alai league. Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries. Jimmy is also an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service commercial. Most recently, Jimmy filmed a PSA for Detroit Non-Profit Cass Community Social Services. He will act as the Honorary Chair of their 6th Annual "Catch the Fireworks With Cass" event that takes place during the notable fireworks display in Detroit.

Filmography

Miami Vice (1984) TV Episode .... Eddie Rivera

Rockabye (1986) (TV) .... 2nd Policeman

(1986) TV Episode .... Hector Valdes

Running Scared (1986) .... Julio Gonzales

Hotshot (1987) .... Stars Team Member

The Believers (1987) .... Tom Lopez

The Highwayman (1987) (TV) .... Bo Ziker

Stamp of a Killer (1987) (TV) .... Richard Braden

Glitz (1988) (TV) .... Vincent Marra

Pee-wee's Playhouse (1989) TV Episode .... Your authorized conky repairman

Old Gringo (1989) .... Gen. Tomas Arroyo

Vital Signs (1990) .... Dr. David Redding

Cop Rock (1990) TV Episode (uncredited) .... Victor Sifuentes

Switch (1991) .... Walter Stone

Fires Within (1991) .... Nestor

The Broken Cord (1992) (TV) .... David Norwell

L.A. Law .... Victor Sifuentes (1986–1991)

The Tommyknockers (1993) (TV) .... Jim 'Gard' Gardner

Gross Misconduct (1993) .... Justin Thorne

The Cisco Kid (1994) (TV) .... Cisco Kid, updated version of the 1950-1956 syndicated television series The Cisco Kid (TV series)

(1995) TV Series (voice) .... Old King Cole

Solomon & Sheba (1995) (TV) .... King Solomon

My Family/Mi Familia (1995) .... Jimmy Sanchez

The Last Word (1995) .... Actor (Martin)

Marshal Law (1996) (TV) .... Jack Coleman

Murder in Mind (1997) .... Peter Walker

(1997) (TV) (voice) .... Old King Cole

Lesser Prophets (1997) .... Mike

Adventures in Wild California (2000) .... Narrator (voice)

The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) .... Geronimo

Price of Glory (2000) .... Arturo Ortega

Bless the Child (2000) .... Agent John Travis

(2002) .... Senator Bail Organa

Latin Grammy Awards (2002) .... himself and host

NYPD Blue (1994-1998 & 2004) .... Det. Bobby Simone

Lackawanna Blues (2005) (TV) .... Ruben Santiago Sr.

(2005) .... Senator Bail Organa

The West Wing (2004–2006) .... Congressman, President Elect, & President Matthew Santos

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) .... Daniel Avila

Cane (2007) (TV) .... Alex Vega

Dexter (2008) (TV) .... Miguel Prado

Mother and Child (2010) .... Paco

Outlaw (2010) (TV) ... Cyrus Garza

See also

List of notable Puerto Ricans

References

External links

http://www.hispanic-today.com/smits_article.html

Category:1955 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Actors from New York City Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Brooklyn College alumni Category:Cornell University alumni Category:Hispanic and Latino American actors Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Dutch descent Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Living people Category:American people of Puerto Rican descent Category:Puerto Rican film actors Category:Puerto Rican television actors Category:American people of Surinamese descent Category:Puerto Rican people of Surinamese descent

Jaime Bayly Letts (born , in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian writer, journalist and television personality. He is the third of 10 children and is known as "el niño terrible" (the terrible boy). and as "La Chola Gayly"

Early life

A student at Markham College, an English private school in Lima, and later at Colegio San Agustín of Lima, Bayly's academic performance was not good, as he spent most of his time playing soccer. In his early youth he was coerced by his mother to work at daily newspaper La Prensa of Lima in order to become more responsible through a part-time job. He spent every afternoon after school working in journalism until late.

In 1982 he was accepted to the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. After studying for four years, he had to leave school as he could not pass a mandatory subject.

Career

His first television appearance was in 1983 during Peruvian municipal elections, interviewing candidates and politicians. Later on, he began a career as a late show host interviewing celebrities.

Bayly's first late-night show, '1990 en America', got the attention of TV audiences and critics. The following year he hosted a copy of David Letterman's Late Show called 'Que hay de nuevo?', also highly popular.

During the 1990s Bayly hosted late-night shows in the United States at CBS Network Latin America and Telemundo for six years.

After President of Peru Alberto Fujimori sought asylum in Japan in 2001 following a ten-year term in order to avoid prosecution on charges of corruption, independent news media found itself in a better position. Bayly was able to host political programme 'El Francotirador' ('The Sniper'), interviewing candidates to the 2001 Presidential Election. In that programme, he apparently offended several personalities with his political opinions, and finally had to quit. Inspired by the experience, Bayly wrote a book titled as the show. Later he resumed the conduction of the programme.

In 2010, Bayly announced he intended to run for President in the Peruvian general election, 2011 to succeed Alan Garcia. Later that year, he supported leftist candidate Susana Villaran in her successful campaign to become mayor of Lima. As a consequence, broadcasting company Frecuencia Latina cancelled his space.

Books

His novel No se lo Digas a Nadie (Don't Tell Anyone) inspired a screenplay in 1998 directed by Francisco Lombardi starring Santiago Magill and Christian Meier. He wrote other novels, all of them on politics, sexual freedom and friendship.

No se lo Digas a Nadie (Don't Tell Anyone) (1994); film by Francisco Lombardi in 1998.

Los Últimos Días de La Prensa (The Last Days of La Prensa) (1996).

Fue Ayer y No Me Acuerdo (It Was Yesterday, I Don't Remember It) (1997).

La Noche es Virgen (The Night Is Virgin) (1997).

Yo Amo a Mi Mami (I Love My Mommy) (1999).

Los Amigos que Perdí (The Friends I Lost) (2000).

Aquí no hay Poesía (There Is No Poetry Here) (2001)

La Mujer de mi Hermano (My Brother's Wife) (2002), film by Ricardo de Montreuil in 2004

El Huracán Lleva tu Nombre (The Hurricane Has Your Name) (2004)

Y de Repente, Un Ángel (Suddenly, An Angel) (2005), finalist of Premio Planeta

El Canalla Sentimental (The Sentimental Jerk) (2008).

El Cojo y el Loco (The Crippled And The Crazy) (2009).

Morirás Mañana: El Escritor Sale a Matar (You Will Die Tomorrow: The Writer Goes On to Kill) (2010).

External links

Jaime Bayly in NTN24 from Bogota Colombia - November 2009

References

Category:Peruvian people Category:Peruvian people of British descent Category:1965 births Category:People from Lima Category:Peruvian journalists Category:Peruvian writers Category:Living people Category:Bisexual writers Category:LGBT people from Peru