Carmen Electra

Carmen Electra was born Tara Leigh Patrick on April 20, 1972 in Sharonville, Ohio,[4] to Harry Patrick, a guitarist and entertainer, and his wife Patricia (d. 1998), a singer.[5] The youngest of six children (she has four brothers and one sister), Electra attended Ann Weigel Elementary School and studied dance under Gloria J. Simpson at Dance Artists studio in Western Hills until age nine, when she enrolled in the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), a magnet arts school in the Cincinnati Public School District.[6] There, she was an older classmate of Nick Lachey, with whom she appeared in a production of Peter Pan.[7][8] Electra, who told People Magazine in 1997 that she'd "wanted to dance on Broadway," graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville in 1990, having transferred there from SCPA two years prior.[9][10] Additionally, Electra attended and graduated from Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Cincinnati.[11]

Electra claims to be of Cherokee, German, and Irish descent,[12] and was very close to her family. She said of her mother, "My mom was my rock," and described her older sister Debbie as being "like a second mother to me".[13] After Debbie moved to Illinois, Electra said her life "revolved around my mom. She was my best friend, in my life 24/7 whether I wanted her there or not."[13]

Electra in 2013

In August 1998, Electra's mother died of brain cancer, and two weeks later, her older sister, Debbie, died of a heart attack.[7][15] During this time, Electra had been dating NBA star Dennis Rodman. She and Rodman wed in November 1998 at Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada.[21][22] Nine days later, Rodman filed for annulment, claiming he was of "unsound mind" when the pair wed.[23][24] Electra explained, "It's easy to get caught up in a moment. You think it's romantic, but then you realize, God, we did it in Vegas? It's like getting a cheeseburger at a fast-food restaurant."[9] The couple reconciled and celebrated New Year's Eve together, but four months later they mutually agreed to end their marriage in April 1999 under "amicable circumstances".[9][25]

In November 1999, Electra and Rodman were arrested for misdemeanor battery after police were notified of a domestic dispute at a Miami Beach hotel.[26] They were released on $2,500 bail each and ordered to stay away from each other.[27] The charges were eventually dropped.[28]

Five years later, Electra gave an interview to Glamour in which she admitted that she married Rodman in 1998 in direct response to the numbing emotional pain of having lost both her mother and sister:

I was just going through the motions. I was completely numb. At the time, I was dating Dennis Rodman. He was such a fun person to be around, and we went out every night. I remember thinking, this is my out. I'm just going to have fun, and I'm not going to worry about anything. Right after my mom and sister died, I flew to Las Vegas and Dennis and I got married. I guess I was trying to cling to whatever I had. I'd lost my mom and my sister; I didn't want to lose anyone else. We were married for about five months. When I started going through some really hard times with Dennis, I became addicted to feeling that pain instead of dealing with my feelings about my mom and sister. But at some point, I realized I had to stop blaming him. So I got out of my marriage and started reading a lot of self-help books and watching Oprah [Winfrey]. And one day Oprah said, In order to heal, you have to feel. At that moment I realized I wasn't letting myself feel what I needed to.[13]

On November 22, 2003, Electra married Dave Navarro, lead guitarist for the rock band Jane's Addiction. The couple documented their courtship and marriage in an MTV reality television show called 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen and Dave.[29] On July 17, 2006, she and Navarro announced their separation, and Electra filed for divorce on August 10, 2006; it was finalized on February 20, 2007.[30][31]

In April 2008, Electra's representative confirmed that she was engaged to Rob Patterson, a member of the nu metal band Otep and hard rock band Filter.[32] Despite remaining engaged for several years,[33] the couple did not wed and in 2012, she appeared as one of the celebrity bachelorettes on the TV dating show The Choice.[34]

Electra in 2011

Electra is often spotlighted for her looks and has been considered a "sex symbol" and "pop culture icon".[38][39][40][41] She has modeled for the covers of the comic books Razor and the Ladies of London Night by London Night Studios.[42] In 1997, Electra appeared as the face and spokesperson for Max Factor cosmetics in their television and print ads.[43] From 2004 to 2005, she appeared in commercials for Maxim Men's Hair Color products. In 2006, Electra signed on as the spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is the oldest cover girl in the publication history of FHM Magazine.[44]

• How to Be Sexy (2007) (Self-help book)

• Official website
• Carmen Electra on Facebook
• Carmen Electra on Instagram
• Carmen Electra on Twitter
• Carmen Electra at IMDb
• Carmen Electra at People.com
• "Dirty Dozen: Carmen Electra". Playboy. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009.