Leonor Varela was born on December 29, 1972 in Santiago de Chile, Chile, the daughter of Leonor Palma, a massage therapist, and Francisco Varela (Francisco Javier Varela Garcia), a biologist, neuroscientist, and philosopher. Her family fled to Costa Rica, leaving behind the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. They subsequently resided in Germany, USA, and France, where Varela studied.

Family

Spouse Lucas Akoskin

Trivia

She is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.
Formerly engaged to Billy Zane, her co-star from the miniseries Cleopatra (1999).
Beat out 35 other actresses to play the title role in Cleopatra (1999).
Appeared on the cover of thirteen separate editions of the Maxim magazine, each naming a different North American city as the greatest on Earth.
Daughter of Leonor Palma, a massage therapist, and Francisco Varela (1946-2001), a famous biologist, neuroscientist, and philosopher.

 this business, if you don't have the capacity to step back and have some sort of relativity about things, you're screwed.
I don't need jewels and cars. It's about the delicacy of the way I'm handled.
I'm not good with limitations. I tend to like to find my own. It hurts sometimes, but it's good. I'm little extreme in that sense-the middle ground is not my forte.
I don't believe in nudity for nudity's sake, but it's really beautiful when it's done well, when it's within a story. I'm very comfortable with my body. I grew up mostly in France, where nudity is not taboo. It's not this hypocritical thing where we go, "No!" and then it's "Oh, yes!" When we strip away the clothes, the jewelry, that's who we really are. I walk around naked in my house.