Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American retired actress and model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film Licence to Kill and Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film Mortal Kombat and its 1997 sequel Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Prior to her acting career, Soto worked as a model, appearing in magazines such as Mademoiselle, Glamour and Elle.
Early life
Soto was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the youngest of four children of parents who moved to New York from Puerto Rico. During her early childhood, her parents moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated in public schools.
She later was featured on the covers of American and British Vogue, British Elle, Mademoiselle, Glamour and Self magazines. Soto has also been featured in advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Cartier, Clarins, Revlon, Salvatore Ferragamo, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Versace.
Soto appeared in her first music video with former boyfriend Nick Kamen, behind Madonna's song "Each Time You Break My Heart", directed by Tony Viramontes.
Acting
In 1988, when Soto returned to the United States, she auditioned and landed the role of "India" in her feature debut, Spike of Bensonhurst, a comedy starring Sasha Mitchell and Ernest Borgnine. In 1988, Soto was cast as Lupe Lamora, in the James Bond film Licence to Kill, starring Timothy Dalton, and as Maria Rivera in The Mambo Kings.
Soto appeared in more than twenty films, including Mortal Kombat (1995) as Kitana; Island of the Dead as Melissa O'Keefe; Piñero (2001) as Sugar, starring Benjamin Bratt; and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) as Ryne alongside Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas. Soto also made two guest appearances on the television series C-16: FBI.
In 1995, she played the role of Doña Julia, Johnny Depp's first love interest in the tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, Depp playing the title role. She also made an appearance in Marc Anthony's music video for "I Need to Know". In 1996, Soto played the title role in the campy film Vampirella based on the comic book character. Her last major film appearance was in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever before retiring from acting after marrying Benjamin Bratt.
Public image
In 1990, Soto was chosen by People as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. In 1995, she was featured in the Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Issue".
Personal life
In 1997, Soto married actor Costas Mandylor. They divorced in 2000.
It was revealed in 2022 that Soto was diagnosed with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that she has since been deemed "cancer-free".
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1984
| The Pope of Greenwich Village
| Studio Dancer
| Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1988
| The French as Seen by...
| French Girl
| Episode: "The Cowboy and the Frenchman"
|-
| Spike of Bensonhurst
| India
|
|-
| 1989
| Licence to Kill
| Lupe Lamora
|
|-
| 1990
| Silhouette
| Marianna Herrera
| rowspan="2" | Television film
|-
| 1991
| Prison Stories: Women on the Inside
| Rosina
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1992
| The Mambo Kings
| Maria Rivera
|
|-
| Hostage
| Joanna
|
|-
| 1993–1994
| Harts of the West
| Cassie
| 15 episodes
|-
| 1994
| Don Juan DeMarco
| Doña Julia
|
|-
| 1995
| Mortal Kombat
| Princess Kitana
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| Spy Hard
| Seductress In Hotel Room
| Credited as Desiree More
|-
| The Sunchaser
| Navajo Woman
|
|-
| Vampirella
| Vampirella
| Direct-to-video
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| Flypaper
| Amanda
|
|-
| The Corporate Ladder
| Susan Taylor
|
|-
| Mortal Kombat Annihilation
| Princess Kitana
|
|-
| 1998
| C-16: FBI
| Rosemary Vargas
| 2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2000
| That Summer in L.A.
| Marisabel
|
|-
| Flight of Fancy
| Mercedes Marquez
| Alternative titles: Facing Fear<br />Flight
|-
| Island of the Dead
| Melissa O'Keefe
| Television film
|-
| 2001
| Piñero
| 'Sugar'
|
|-
| 2002
| Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
| Rayne Ecks / Vinn Gant
|
|-
| 2009
| La Mission
| Ana
| Credited as Talisa Soto Bratt
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Result
! Category
! Film
|-style="background-color: #EAEAEA;"
|1989
|ShoWest Convention
|Won
|Female Star of Tomorrow
|
|-
|2002
|ALMA Award
|Nominated
|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
|Piñero
|}