Patrice Martinez is not only a rare beauty, she is a bona fide actress with a strong background in theatre. However, her talents are not only limited to the stage. Her resume manifests a "well-rounded" acting career that is complemented by her film and television credits.
Patrice began her career in her early teens, when she was working as an extra in Convoy (1978) starring Kris Kristofferson and directed by Sam Peckinpah. After catching the director's eye, Peckinpah offered her a speaking role.
Still a teenager, Patrice became the lead stage actress for "La Compania", a bilingual theatrical repertory company founded by her mother, Margarita Martinez, and her mentor, Jose Rodriguez. Graduating early from high school, this diligent actress followed the footsteps of some very distinguished actors when she decided to seek formal training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, one of the world's most prestigious and respected drama schools. Among the 3000 aspiring actors from around the world vying for the only 23 coveted entries that were offered, Patrice was not only chosen but was awarded the sole scholarship of her term. While she studied there some of the alumni included such future stars as Ralph Fiennes, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Addy. Upon her graduation from RADA, she was honored with five of the most prominent awards the academy has to commend.
Patrice returned to the US after finishing her studies at RADA and moved from her home state of New Mexico to California. After being in Hollywood for only a couple of months, she was cast in a lead role in her first feature film, A Walk on the Moon (1987). Shortly thereafter she was cast in another leading role in the hit comedy ¡Three Amigos! (1986) starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short and directed by John Landis.
Patrice didn't restrict herself to just films. Producer Chas. Floyd Johnson chose her as Tom Selleck's love interest in Magnum, P.I. (1980), and out of all his leading ladies she was the only one asked back to reprise her role in the final episode. In the interim she guested on Miami Vice (1984) with Don Johnson and Edward James Olmos. She also appeared in the films Beetlejuice (1988) with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis and The Effects of Magic (1998), among others. She even managed to sneak in appearances in a few music videos with Morris Day and a double feature with Robbie Robertson. One of the highlights of her professional career was when she began to appear in international productions, such as her role in the series Zorro (1990), shot was for the Family Channel in Spain. Thereafter she worked on several other European projects, namely Winnetous Rückkehr (1998) for German television.
