Carmen Electra is a famous American singer, model, and TV personality and actress. Dabbling in many different performance fields without achieving large-scale success in any one particular one, she is better known for her racy and flamboyant character than for anything she has ever achieved career wise.

She was born Tara Leigh Patrick on April 20th, in White Oak, Ohio. Her family is of German, Irish, and Native American descent. By the age of nine she attended a performance arts school, where she developed her singing voice and dancing ability. As a teenager she moved to Minneapolis where she worked as a model for Target, and lived with her sister. Several years later in 1992, she moved to LA where she immediately met the famous singer Prince, also a native of Minneapolis.

Prince liked Tara’s voice and style so much that he signed her up with his record label, Paisley Park Records, and convinced her to change her name to Carmen Electra. Unfortunately, even though Prince did everything he could to help her music career, it never took off.

Not missing a beat, Carmen Electra was still nonetheless a celebrity, making appearances on television and in movies. In 1996, she posed for Hugh Hefners Playboy magazine which of course immediately boosted her renown in both good and bad ways. In 1997 and 1998 she starred in the TV series Baywatch, with Pamela Anderson. Also in 1997, she hosted a couple of shows on MTV. In 1998 she married the eccentric basketball star, Dennis Rodman, and the couple was separated nine days later. Their marriage was annulled shortly thereafter. In the next several years Carmen had a succession of small movie roles.

In 2003, Carmen married musician Dave Navarro, the guitarist from the band Jane’s Addiction. Prior to their marriage, MTV launched a reality show entitled ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave’, which detailed the couples efforts in planning their marriage. In 2004, she had a significant role in the movie remake of the 1970’s show Starsky and Hutch, starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.

Though she has never achieved widespread mainstream success as a singer, model or actress, Carmen Electra is still one of the most famous women in America today. The sum total of her performance experiences, and her vivacious personality has gathered her enough attention to remain in the spotlight for some years to come.