“I was probably on the runway for only about 60 seconds, but in those 60 seconds, I gave it everything I had. For the first time, I carried my roots with me. I felt like I belonged. Then the lights dimmed, and the moment faded fast… In the midst of feeling disappointed, I realized how proud I was to have walked that runway representing my Wayuu heritage. That was my breakthrough moment. It was when I truly embraced who I was and where I came from.”
I had the pleasure of talking with Patricia Velásquez. Patricia is a Venezuelan actress, model, author, and humanitarian whose multifaceted career spans fashion runways, major Hollywood films, and grassroots advocacy for Indigenous rights. She gained global visibility for her role as Anck-su-namun in The Mummy (1999) and its sequel The Mummy Returns (2001), but her influence extends far beyond entertainment, marked by decades of work in cultural representation, humanitarian efforts, and LGBTQ+ visibility.
Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, Velásquez is the fifth of six children in a family shaped by multiculturalism and international mobility. Her father, of mestizo heritage, worked for UNESCO, while her mother is from the Indigenous Wayuu people of Venezuela. Due to her father’s career, Velásquez spent parts of her childhood in France and Mexico, experiences that would influence her later advocacy work. She is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Italian, and credits her diverse upbringing for instilling resilience and a sense of global perspective.
Velásquez’s entry into the public eye began with the 1989 Miss Venezuela pageant, where she placed second runner-up. Shortly after, she moved to Milan and embarked on a modeling career at a time when few Latinas were represented in high fashion. Working with brands such as Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, and Victoria’s Secret, she became a regular on international runways and appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. As the face of CoverGirl for eight years, she broke ground as one of the first Latina supermodels to achieve mainstream commercial success.
A pivotal moment in her modeling career occurred when she advocated to be included in a Rainforest Foundation benefit fashion show in London, led by Sting and Trudie Styler. Despite being unknown at the time, Velásquez paid her own way to participate. Though she only walked briefly in the show, she later described it as transformative: the moment she embraced her Wayuu identity and began to see modeling as a platform for deeper cultural expression. This act of self-assertion caught the attention of designer Karl Lagerfeld, leading to her first magazine cover and further cementing her place in the industry.
Velásquez transitioned into acting in the late 1990s after studying in Los Angeles and New York. Her breakout role in The Mummy franchise came following a general meeting with a casting executive at Universal Studios. Initially met with skepticism by the film’s director, she was ultimately cast with the support of a key advocate at the studio. The experience — on a large-scale production with Egyptian-themed sets and global reach — served as both an introduction to mainstream cinema and a defining career shift. She would later appear in other films, including The Curse of La Llorona (2019) and Liz in September (2014), as well as TV series like CSI: Miami, The L Word, Arrested Development, and Ugly Betty. Her voice has also been featured in popular video games, such as SSX Tricky and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
In 2002, Velásquez founded the Wayúu Tayá Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Indigenous communities in Latin America through education, healthcare, and sustainable development. Her work with the foundation earned her appointments as a UNESCO Artist for Peace and as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Organization of American States. Through these roles, she has worked to amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples on an international stage while delivering direct aid to under-resourced communities, particularly in Venezuela.
In recent years, Velásquez has expanded her focus to include keynote speaking, participating in forums at institutions like Stanford University ,Milken, TED, and the Clinton Global Initiative. In 2024, she was featured in Time magazine and starred in Maya, a film addressing human trafficking.
Velásquez frequently emphasizes themes of self-transformation, inner certainty, and action in both her public remarks and humanitarian work. These ideas, she says, stem from formative experiences in childhood — such as hauling water up 15 flights of stairs in her Maracaibo apartment building — and from key moments in her career when perseverance led to unexpected breakthroughs.
Her foundation currently supports over 12,000 children and has benefited over one million people through the distribution of vital medical aid, access to clean water, and sustainable programs in nutrition, education, health, and community development across Venezuela. It also runs a youth orchestra program for Indigenous children and promotes women’s empowerment through sustainable initiatives.
Today, Velásquez divides her time between acting, public speaking, and managing her foundation. She continues to advocate for representation across media and society, calling attention to the intersection of art and activism. From fashion runways to film sets to humanitarian outreach, her career reflects a commitment to visibility — not just for herself, but for communities historically left in the margins.
Yitzi: Patricia, it’s so good to see you again. Before we dive in deep, our readers would love to hear about your personal origin story. Could you share a story from your childhood and how you grew up?
Patricia: I grew up in Venezuela — well, not exactly. I’m originally from Venezuela, but my dad worked for UNESCO in Paris, so we lived there for the first few years, then moved to Mexico, and eventually returned to Venezuela. I can’t remember exactly if I was nine or ten at the time.
Then, when I was 18 years old, I left to work as a model — actually on May 1st. May 1st is Worker’s Day for us. I’m not sure what the equivalent is here, but for me, it was very meaningful. What really motivated me was remembering how, when we returned to Venezuela, life was a bit challenging. We used to carry buckets of water upstairs. I’d say to myself, “Seven more flights, just seven more flights,” because we had to carry the water up 15 floors. It was really hot; my hands would ache, my fingers would burn, and I’d wonder if this was normal. Why did we have to go through this?
I was only 10 years old, and my mom would just quietly press on. I could see how exhausted she was. But something inside me pushed me forward. I was determined to help my mom and my family, and I believe that’s when my sense of certainty was born.
I went to school, later became a dancer, and studied at university. Then I got an offer to work as a model in Milan. Back then, there was no internet or cell phones, but it was a legitimate agency. My mom let me go, so I dropped out of college. I began my journey on May 1st to start working as a model — and the rest is history.
Yitzi: You probably have some amazing stories from the different parts of your successful career. Can you share with our readers one or two stories from your professional life that stand out most in your mind?
Patricia: I’m going to tell you one that really stands out. When I was in Milan, I eventually went to Spain and Japan, but I was still just starting out. I was later chosen to go work in Paris. I had just arrived in Paris, hardly spoke English, and I heard about an event — a fashion show organized by the Rainforest Foundation in London, which supports indigenous groups in the Amazon. Sting and Trudie Styler were behind it, and Versace was the designer of the show.
I thought, Wait a minute. If I am an indigenous Wayuu woman, I must be part of that show. In my broken English, I found the courage to ask my agency if I could participate. But nobody knew me; I was still very new in the modeling world. They said no.
I felt rejected and went back to the model’s apartment where I was staying. A few hours later, the phone rang, and I understood that the organizers had reconsidered — I could join, but I would have to pay for everything myself. Unlike all the other models whose expenses were covered, I was on my own.
It was really scary, but something inside me said I had to go. I bought the cheapest ticket I could find, spent the last of my money, and went to London. I stayed in a hostel with a tiny bed and a shared bathroom.
At the show, there were maybe 60 models. It was the first time I saw all the supermodels — Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, you name it. The energy was just incredible. Normally, in a show, a model would have four or five runway exits. I think I had just one. Maybe two.
I was probably on the runway for only about 60 seconds, but in those 60 seconds, I gave it everything I had. For the first time, I carried my roots with me. I felt like I belonged. Then the lights dimmed, and the moment faded fast.
I walked back to my tiny hostel room, sat on the edge of the little bed, and suddenly felt the weight of not being seen. I had spent everything I had to get there, and it felt like no one even noticed — like no one cared.
But that night, the silence was louder than the music from the runway. Something shifted inside me. In the midst of feeling disappointed, I realized how proud I was to have walked that runway representing my Wayuu heritage. That was my breakthrough moment. It was when I truly embraced who I was and where I came from.
That determination changed everything. It’s what made my career. After that show, I returned to Paris, and shortly after, Karl Lagerfeld noticed my indigenous features. He gave me an opportunity — my first photo shoot for a magazine called Votre Beauté. From there, everything just took off.
Every time uncertain times came, I felt tested, but I always held onto that courage, knowing that every little sacrifice mattered — one step at a time, one action after another.
And look what happened — I became a supermodel.
One of the proudest moments of my life was when I was able to buy an apartment for my mom in a beautiful part of our city. It had water, elevators, and a view of the lake that she could wake up to and enjoy every morning. I handed her the keys and said, “Here you go, Mommy. No more climbing the stairs.”
Yitzi: Beautiful. It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake you made when you were first starting acting or modeling — and the lesson you learned from it?
Patricia: I’ll tell you — when I was already working as a supermodel for quite a few years, I got a call from my agents in Paris. I happened to be in L.A. at the time, and they told me there was going to be the biggest film production ever made in France up to that point.
At that time, I had just seen how Cindy Crawford was criticized for transitioning into acting, and I felt terrible for her because I was sure she had to work very hard, and yet it was still difficult to be taken seriously. There was this idea that models couldn’t act and that we weren’t smart enough.
So, when they asked me to go see someone about this big French film, I almost said no. But my agent said, “Wait a minute, Patricia. Haven’t you always talked about your communities? This is an opportunity — the film is about saving indigenous communities, and you’ll be acting alongside Jean Reno — he’s fabulous, from The Professional — and it’s a very big production.”
So I said yes. I met with the director, and they offered me the role.
Next thing you know, I was in the Amazon jungle, acting alongside Jean Reno and Danny Trejo. I mean, how could you not fall in love with that, right?
I had a few months to prepare, and when I came back, I said to myself, I am going to study acting seriously.
But during that film, something humorous happened. It was my first time ever acting in a movie. We were in the jungle, and I had to do my first take.
Danny Trejo played the bad guy in the story, and I was promised to him — we were part of an indigenous community. Jean Reno’s character had traveled from Paris to help save the Amazon, and Patrick Bruel was also in the film. Our characters ended up falling in love.
In the first scene I had to film, I was supposed to walk in, see Danny doing something wrong, and break a bottle over his head to save the others. It was a prop bottle, supposed to shatter easily.
Well, the bottle broke… but so did Danny.
We did the first take, and suddenly, I saw blood pouring from his neck. I’m not kidding — there was blood everywhere.
I didn’t know what to do. It was my very first film take, and I was petrified, Yitzi. Petrified.
I ran over to Danny and said, “I’m so sorry!” And Danny just looked at me and said, “Honey, this is nothing. You have no idea where I’ve been.”
It was such a beautiful moment because he was so gracious. Actually, I saw Danny not too long ago at a convention, and it was so wonderful to reconnect after all those years.
Yitzi: It’s a great story. Beautiful. We love hearing stories where someone who’s a bit further ahead opens a door or creates an opportunity that changes another person’s career trajectory. Can you share a story where someone did that for you, or where you did that for someone else?
Patricia: I’m going to tell you an incredible story. This is unbelievable. I had just arrived in Los Angeles when I got a call from my agent saying, “Patricia, you’re going to Universal. You have a meeting.”
At the time, we used to do what they called general meetings or go-sees, where you’d meet with casting directors. We don’t do them as much anymore, but back then, they were wonderful opportunities for me.
So I walked into the meeting with Joanna Colbert, who was the head of casting at Universal. We talked, and she was so kind — so kind.
That same afternoon, I got a call from my agent, Larry, saying, “They want you for a movie. A big one. It’s called The Mummy. Brendan Fraser is attached.”
I was pretty new in the industry, but there I was, packing my bags for London, heading into one of the biggest Hollywood productions of the time.
I remember landing at Heathrow, completely jet-lagged and nervous, and going straight to Shepperton Studios. The sets were massive — pyramids were being built, stunt rehearsals were happening — and honestly, I felt like I was walking into a dream. The difference was, I was awake — and I was Anck-su-Namun.
Brendan Fraser was at the heart of it all. He was so warm, so humble. I had never experienced anything like it.
Suddenly, I was in full body paint — it took four people ten hours to paint me — delivering lines in Egyptian.
That film changed everything for me. It wasn’t just about the role, Yitzi. I was a Latina, a Venezuelan woman, playing a powerful character in a global blockbuster.
The circle of what I believed I was capable of expanded.
When we finished the film, I went back to Joanna to say thank you. Behind her desk, I remember so clearly, there was a picture of me — just a simple picture.
She smiled and said something I’ll never forget: “I had to fight for you.”
At the beginning, the director didn’t want me. But Joanna had that certainty. She took courageous action. In the end, the director sent her flowers and a card thanking her, because I turned out to be the right fit for the role after all.
Her certainty, her courage, her risk, her action — that changed my life.
That role made me a Latina actor in Hollywood at a time when there weren’t many of us. And suddenly, it wasn’t just about helping my family buy water anymore — it became about uplifting the community. That circle expanded again.
The lesson I take from all of this, related to your question, is: be kind to everyone. No one is better than you, and you are better than no one.
Yitzi: Amazing story. Love it. Can you share what the most challenging role you’ve taken on was, and why?
Patricia: You know, I tend to be attracted to roles that are challenging. Maybe it’s because of my foundation — I feel that if we can use our art to make a difference, it’s so powerful. No role is easy. I trained with many teachers, but I would have to say that Ivana Chubbuck is the one who stayed with me for many years.
One thing you learn as an actor is that there’s no such thing as an easy scene. If you want to bring your best, every single scene has to feel like life or death. The stakes have to be super high. Even something as simple as a basic movement in a scene — it has to matter like it’s life or death.
Of course, some roles are more challenging than others, but they’re all demanding in their own way. I would probably say one of the most challenging films I did was Maya.
It was about my daughter being trafficked. But you try to focus on the positive. Even playing La Llorona in The Curse of La Llorona was challenging. It’s a horror movie, with a lot of physical action, but emotionally it was heavy too, because it’s about losing your two children and trying desperately to get them back.
It doesn’t matter the genre — every role should be challenging. With La Llorona, I tried to do right by her because I truly felt, Yitzi, that she chose me. Here we were, telling a folktale deeply rooted in our culture through an American film. I felt she picked me to make sure I honored her story properly.
You really feel the weight of that responsibility. There’s no such thing as an easy role.
Yitzi: That’s great. So, Patricia, you have such impressive work, both in your acting and humanitarian efforts. We’d love to hear about the exciting things you’re working on now.
Patricia: Well, I have to say, I’m obviously working on a lot of things. I do conventions, I continue acting, but I’m very selective about the roles I take. If I don’t love the role, I’m not doing it. I really enjoy doing conventions, and I also do a lot of speaking engagements. I’ve been invited to speak at places like Stanford, Milken, CGI — you name it.
Now, I’m doing it more professionally. I’m focusing on keynote speaking because I truly believe it’s important. Everything I have received in my life wasn’t given to me for free, and I feel a deep responsibility to give back.
I believe I can help empower people to walk a path toward their truth. My journey has taught me that transformation isn’t about knowing all the answers — it’s about finding the strength to ask the right questions.
Questions like: What do I stand for? What’s holding me back? What small action can I take today to move forward?
I believe I can help people create that transformation. Certainty grounds you, courage propels you, and action transforms you. These forces have shaped my life, and they can shape others’ lives too. Transformation doesn’t happen overnight, but if I can help someone embrace their purpose, trust me, Yitzi, they become unstoppable.
If you move forward with certainty, everyone feels it. If you act with courage, your situation transforms. If you take action, the people around you feel it. And when you embrace wisdom, all your relationships deepen.
Most importantly, when you choose to face uncertainty with persistence, live with courage, take action, and lead with authenticity — nothing can stop you. That’s what creates real change, and that has me very excited.
Of course, I also have my foundation, which takes a significant amount of my time. We’re sending a lot of aid to Venezuela. Last year, we helped over a million people.
We’re sending medicine, feeding over 12,000 children, and we have partnerships with many organizations. We run sustainable programs for women, distribute water, and we even have an orchestra program with almost 300 indigenous children participating.
It takes a lot of time and effort, but I’m just really grateful.
I think it’s a time of transition, and with everything happening in the world, it’s incredibly important to use everything we have to create hope. Everything we need is within us. When we hold onto our values, we can face any challenge with strength, certainty, and a drive to create real, lasting change.
Yitzi: You mentioned The Mummy. I just want to ask — the Mummy franchise has been very beloved. What do you think it was that captured people’s hearts and minds about the series?
Patricia: The magic of that film, I really believe, came from the magic with which it was made. Working on that film, the energy among everyone — the crew, the studio, the artists — was incredible. It’s so wonderful when you can create something as an artist, whether you’re a set designer or an actor, and you have a studio behind you saying, “Yes, go for it.”
At the end of the day, we all want to be seen and heard. And I feel like on that film, that’s exactly what happened. Everyone was seen, everyone was heard. That energy elevated the entire project.
When you have the right people, it makes all the difference. Brendan Fraser, for example — the love and joy he brought to the set were amazing. He could not have been nicer, sweeter, more talented, or more open. His energy lifted everyone around him.
I feel like the film itself has an extraordinary combination of family values, entertainment, just enough horror that the whole family could enjoy it, a great script, adventure, and dreamlike elements.
It also has the exotic mystery of the past — things like ancient Egypt that have always fascinated people. We all wonder: Is there life on other planets? What was life really like during the time of the pharaohs? There’s an innate human curiosity about history and the unknown future.
I think The Mummy films captured all of that beautifully.
Yitzi: How would you compare and contrast your personal character, Patricia, with Anck-su-Namun? How are you similar? How are you different?
Patricia: Wow, I have to say, that’s a great question. Well, let’s talk about Anck-su-Namun and Meela because they’re two characters, right? I think Anck-su-Namun is a girl who was trapped in an environment where she felt like a prisoner, and she found love. There have been many times where I have felt like a prisoner too, but my hope has always gotten me out.
Anck-su-Namun and Imhotep loved each other; they just made the wrong choices, and that’s why they came across as bad. But really, they were just a couple in love. Meela, on the other hand, she’s evil, and she enjoys being evil. What I like about Meela, and what I learned from her, is that, for example, when I do things with the foundation, I don’t see any limits. I know we’re going to get it done because it’s not about us — it’s about helping. So the universe has to provide because we’re just passing through to get the job done. There are no limits to what I believe the foundation can achieve.
In relation to my own life, that’s not always the case, and that’s something I’ve learned from Meela — her determination, her infinite power to get things done. She has a mission, and she knows she’s going to accomplish it. Not once, while playing Meela, did I feel doubt. Not once. In connection to the foundation, yes, but in relation to myself, that’s something I learned from her, and it gives me permission.
Now, I get this question all the time — and you probably will ask too — do I think what she did at the end, betraying Imhotep, was the right thing? I have to tell you honestly, I gave myself permission to do that because I thought I was going to come back. That’s the reason I betrayed him. But in my heart — even though it was Meela — Meela would do that. Anck-su-Namun wouldn’t. They’re the same soul, but maybe they’re two sides of the same soul, right? Meela is the one who betrayed him, not Anck-su-Namun. I believe it’s because, in the union of these two souls, we thought we would come back and get him back. That gave me permission to do it. We just never got to. We just never came back — or at least not yet. I betrayed him.
Yitzi: Amazing. Can you share with our readers the self-care routines you do to help your body, mind, and heart thrive?
Patricia: I love doing hot yoga. I believe that it’s inevitable — social media, AI — we’re all addicted to it, and we have to look at the good side of it. But I believe the only way we’re going to be able to control this, Yitzi, the only weapon or tool we have to keep it under control, is by keeping our minds under control.
Doing things like staying away from the phone for a bit, practicing yoga, and meditating really help. I know it sounds very dreamy, but it truly does help because every answer you’re looking for is within you. It’s not outside of you. All the needs we have — to feel worthy, to feel energized, to feel hopeful — they’re all within us. If we keep looking for reassurance outside of ourselves, we’re never going to be satisfied.
For me, exercise is very important. If I don’t do hot yoga, I love a steam room — it’s my favorite thing in the world. I love cooking too. Honestly, I don’t do much; I should do more when it comes to keeping myself balanced, but yeah, I think exercise, meditation, and spending time in the steam room really help.
I love going to the beach — that’s my favorite thing. I love going to Hawaii. I used to go to Margarita Island a lot in Venezuela, but now we go to Hawaii more often. I’m here in California, so being close to the water definitely gives me a lot of peace.
Yitzi: This is our final aspirational question. Patricia, because of your great work and the platform you have built, you’re a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea, put out an idea, or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Patricia: I would say that life challenges can keep us feeling stuck or unsure, doubtful about the next step we should take. We wonder, what if we make the wrong decision? What if we make a mistake? What if we fail? We all have those feelings, but all those feelings are based in fear.
And the truth is, fear can paralyze us. So what do we do in the face of fear? What is it that we can tap into to help us move forward? This is the answer to your question: inner certainty.
This is the idea. It’s that deep connection between your purpose, your values, and your everyday decisions. This certainty is what fuels your courage to take action. When we trust our intuition and embrace the wisdom we’ve gained through our experiences, we learn to move forward with clarity and confidence. That courage then turns into action. And when we take those actions, real change happens — not only for ourselves, Yitzi, but for our families, our communities, and beyond.
So I would say the idea is to remind you that we are all capable of transforming fear into certainty, certainty into courage, courage into action, action into wisdom, and wisdom into change.
If we commit to this path, Yitzi, our lives and our work are going to be transformed. We’re going to make decisions based on clarity and confidence because we know they are rooted in purpose rather than fear.
From our side, we’re going to experience a deeper fulfillment because we’ll know that our choices are not only transforming our own lives, but also inspiring and uplifting others.
Yitzi: How can our readers continue to follow your work? How can they engage you if they would like to hire you as a speaker? How can they support you in any possible way?
Patricia: That is so kind, Yitzi. You can contact us through Instagram or through my website.
@wayuuprincess
Yitzi: Patricia, it’s so delightful to see you again. I wish you continued success and blessings and good health. And I hope we can do this again next year.
Patricia: Thank you, Yitzi. Really appreciate it.
Patricia Velásquez on ‘The Mummy,’ Embracing Her Wayuu Heritage and Why Art Must Lead to Action was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.