Nadine Velazquez Interview

Nadine Velazquez stars as 'Catalina,' the sexy hotel maid and stripper with a heart of gold, on NBC's hit comedy series "My Name is Earl," opposite Jason Lee and Jaime Pressley.
Velazquez was born and raised in Chicago, IL. A middle child in a family of three girls, she dreamed of being a ballerina and prepared by doing flips off the bed and practicing splits in her Sunday best. It wasn't until she was 13 that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her idols Punky Brewster, Webster and Annie; to do so she either had to become an orphan or turn to acting. Velazquez booked her first job, a McDonald's commercial, while attending Columbia College in Chicago, and she never looked back.
Velazquez spent her first three years in Hollywood honing her skills in projects such as "Biker Boyz," "Chasing Papi," "Sueno," HBO's "Entourage," "The Bold and the Beautiful," Las Vegas," and "The Last Word" with Dennis Hopper. Most recently she was seen in the Lions Gate feature film, "War" alongside Jason Statham and Jet Li. In addition to this action thriller and in the lead role on A&E's original movie, "Kings of South Beach," in which she portrays the real life party socialite, Ingrid Casares, opposite Donnie Wahlberg and Ricardo Chavira.
Daily Variety picked the talented Velazquez as one of "Ten Actors to Watch" in their 2005 special issue, and USA Today named her "One of Five Rising Stars to Watch Closely." She was additionally picked by Entertainment Weekly for their summer "Must List," was nominated for an ALMA award for Best Supporting Actress and included in People En Espanol for its "50 Most Beautiful People."