KOOL TV BABE OF THE WEEK: 'DALLAS' STAR LEONOR VARELA

Bedroom eyes! The enchanting actress/model Leonor Varela. Image: via www.leonor-varela.com

Her run as Bipolar bunny boiler-to-be manipulator Marta Del Sol may have come to a sudden end in Wednesday's seventh episode screening of the re-imagined/next generation DALLAS series (on the UK's FIVE channel), literally thrown out of a hotel window to her death by the Goon Squad of oil king wannabe Carlos Bernard, but the lovely Chilean born actress/model Leonor Varela has lots more interesting acting work on the horizon beyond the cattle ranches and oil drums of SouthFork, including a film starring role in a promising new mystery from writer/director Stephen Sommers (best known for his work in resurrecting THE MUMMY and VAN HELSING for Universal Studios), ODD THOMAS, based on the Dean Koontz novel, co-starring Willem DaFoe and STAR TREK's Anton Yelchin.

The Queen of the Nile. In the starring role of CLEOPATRA. Image: ABC TV/HALLMARK.

In deep mire with Wesley Snipes in BLADE II. Image: NEW LINE.

In action with Mark Valley (centre) in HUMAN TARGET. Image: FOX.

Rising to fame in the 1999 ABC TV mini-series of Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor's legendary sixties portrayal would prove a hard act to follow, but Varela's exotic beauty and mystery helped her along just fine, with great co-star support from ex-James Bond Timothy Dalton. She also proved a worthy female foil/love interest, and kick-ass sword wielding heroine, to Wesley Snipes in Guillermo Del Toro's gorefest BLADE II, and to chiselled hero Christopher Chance in two memorable episodes of Mark Valley's much-missed HUMAN TARGET series. Other noteworthy appearances well worth checking out include the Pierce Brosnan adaptation of John Le Carre's THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, a critically acclaimed performance in Lawrence Bender's drama INNOCENT VOICES-about a brave mother caught in the Salavadoran civil war, and the popular sci-fi series STARGATE: ATLANTIS.

Continuing her career as a model, a humanist and animal rights supporter, check out her official website here: Leonor Varela ~ Official Website