Carmen Electra

On an average April day in Cincinnati, Ohio, a little girl was born by the name of Tara Leigh Patrick. Attending school in White Oak, little did any one know that the sparkle behind Tara’s eyes would take her to Los Angeles, California, and into National, if not International, stardom. Tara would use her singing, dancing and choreography talents to jumpstart an entertaining career that only she was able to see, even as she sat behind her desk in White Oak.

In 1981, Tara was accepted into the School for Creative and Performing Arts, and after several years of honing her skills, she moved on to Minneapolis and received some modeling jobs with the Target store chain. Eventually moving to Los Angeles, and changing her name to the now well known ‘Carmen Electra’, Tara’s goal was to land a recording contract, as all she really wanted to do was sing.

After meeting the infamous artist Prince, she signed as ‘Carmen Electra’ to his record label, Paisley Park. After Carmen released her first album, it quickly became clear to all involved that Carmen’s voice would never allow her to make it on her own. In a bold move, Carmen decided to show-off another side of herself and pose nude in Playboy for the March, 1996 issue.

After her Playboy pictorial was released, Carmen became the new ‘It’ girl and began landing gigs on MTV, and even replacing the popular, if not annoying, Jenny McCarthy on the hit MTV game show, “Singled Out”. In 1997 Carmen was offered the chance to fill in for the well known buxom, blonde beauty Pamela Anderson on Baywatch. Carmen’s face, figure and fantastic name were becoming more and more recognizable, as posters of her in that in-famous red bathing suit from the Baywatch set hung on countless teen-boys walls across suburban America.

By now, Carmen Electra and her life, was of interest to millions of Hollywood star watchers across the country. Along with this new found fame came tabloid reports and papparazzi, and Carmen handled it all with all the grace that a good girl from Cincinnati could muster. From a quicky marriage to NBA Superstar Dennis Rodman, to Playboy Videos and large budget, movie cameos, Carmen Electra had finally found a place for herself amidst the Hollywood Stars. With her latest marriage to husband Dave Navarro, and a reality show based on their lives together, Carmen has shown once again that that sparkle in her eye is just as bright as it ever has been. Carmen Electra has found her spotlight, and though it was not exactly the same one that Tara Patrick had sought out so many years prior, it is a spotlight none the less.