Vanessa Marcil, named after the actress Vanessa Redgrave, was born in Indio, CA, on October 15, 1969. The youngest of four children, Marcil moved with the rest of her Portuguese family to Anchorage, Alaska. By age 8, Marcil began acting in a local theater in Palm Desert, after she and her familly returned to California.

Although she was acting at an early age, Marcil studied law after graduating from high school. She finally decided to pursue a career in acting and took her theatrical talents to the stage in performances such as Neil Simon's Fools; Pygmalion; The Miracle Worker; Southern Rapture, co-starring country music singer Dwight Yoakam and Sally Kirkland, and under the direction of Peter Fonda; and Sweet Bird of Youth, to name a few. While in college, she starred in the fantasy film 976-Wish.

As of September 18, 1992, the television viewing audience welcomed Brenda Barrett, the character portrayed by Marcil on the popular ABC daytime soap, General Hospital. Marcil described her charcter as the "black sheep of the Barrett family", as she portrayed the alluring and independent woman who had female audience members endlessly discussing her relationships with her husband and former lover. Her stint as Brenda Barrett lasted six years and was her first recurring role as an actress. Her portrayal as Brenda was also highly recognized as Hottest Female Star Award at the 1997 Soap Opera Awards, an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1997 and 1998, and Outstanding Lead Actress in 1998, are among the honors Marcil has won.

While working on General Hospital, one can also add a recurring guest role on ABC's primetime cop show High Incident, and host of the ABC late-night In Concert series to her repertoire of jobs on the small screen. She also had a lead role in the 1996 ABC made-for-TV movie, To Love, Honor and Deceive.

It was not only the television audience who noticed this stunning beauty. She was featured as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in People magazine's 1995 edition and was honored by her friend, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. The song, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" was written for her and she starred in the hit video of the same name.

In 1996, Marcil played the role of Nicholas Cage's girlfriend in the blockbuster hit The Rock.

After leaving General Hospital in August 1998, Marcil joined the cast of the popular Spelling primetime soap Beverly Hills, 90210, replacing Tiffani Amber Thiessen as the show's vixen. As Gina Kincaid, a role highly contrasting that of Brenda Barrett, Marcil would stir trouble in the lives of the beautiful 90210ers. She left Beverly Hills, 90210 in the middle of its final season to pursue other projects.

In addition to acting, Marcil also lends her help and support to others by volunteering for various charities. Some more fun facts about Marcil: she has a tattoo on her lower back; she considers herself a tomboy and is a huge sports fan; she would rather wear vintage clothing than designer labels; she is an active runner and bodybuilder; she lives with her two lucky dogs, Woof and Joey.