Patricia Michelle de León (, born in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

) is a Panamanian

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

TV host A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for people who garner ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

and beauty pageant title holder. She started working as a model at an early age. After being crowned

Miss Panama Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...

(1995), she hosted ''

La Corte de Familia ''La Corte de Familia'' (translated ''Family Court'') is a Spanish-language reality court show that aired on Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Te ...

'' and ''

La Corte del Pueblo ''La Corte del Pueblo'' (translated ''The People's Court'') is a Spanish-language reality court show that originally aired on KWHY-TV in Los Angeles but later moved to Telemundo. The show was presided over by Cristina Pérez in its first seaso ...

'' on

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

. She was also featured on ''Juez Franco'' on

TV Azteca TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two national ...

, and the Billboard Latino. From her work on

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

, de Leon obtained roles on American TV, including '' Lincoln Heights'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'', and ''

Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in ...

''. Her movie role include ''

The Pool Boys ''The Pool Boys'' (also known as ''American Summer'') is a 2008 American comedy film directed by James B. Rogers. It stars Matthew Lillard, Brett Davern, Rachelle Lefèvre, Efren Ramirez and Tom Arnold. Principal photography began in late April ...

'' (where she plays the Latina ''Julia'').

Early life and education

De Leon was a contestant in Miss Panama (now

Señorita Panamá Señorita Panamá is a national beauty pageant in Panama. As of the 2021 edition, its winners represent Panama in Miss International and Miss Supranational. The Miss Panama brand started in 1952, when the Panamanian Institute of Tourism receiv ...

), she finished in third place and was crowned Miss Hispanidad 1995 at 19 years of age. Her debut on TV was doing the weather for a local station in Panama TVN-Channel 2, followed by featuring as an anchor and a reporter for a news program on the same network. She also created, produced and hosted a tourism show for RPC TV/MEDCOM. She became an actress in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

by accepting the role of ''"La Llorona del Río"''. She has been able to pursue both the Hispanic and American market. She has been featured on shows like ''Cold Case'', ''Crossing Jordan'', ''Lincoln Heights'' for ABC Family, ''La Corte del Pueblo'' for

, ''Perro Amor'' for the same network, and ''The Chicago Code'' for

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

, and in films like ''"How the Garcia Girls spent their summer"'', ''"All in"'', ''"Love Orchard"'' and ''"Pool Boys"''.

Activism

Patricia de Leon believes is the spokesperson for "One Love Foundation", which defends the rights and fights against the discrimination of the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Community. De Leon is a vegetarian and supports

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

, she has campaigned against

bullfighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...

."Veg Celeb: Q & A with Patricia de Leon"
vegetariantimes.com. Retrieved 8 February 2022.

Filmography

* ''La llorona del río'' (short) (2001) as Esperanza * ''A Design for a Life'' (short) (2001) as The Wife * ''

'' (TV series) (2001) as Interviewer * ''

The Master of Disguise ''The Master of Disguise'' is a 2002 American adventure comedy film directed by Perry Andelin Blake in his directorial debut, written by Dana Carvey and Harris Goldberg, and starring Carvey, Brent Spiner, Jennifer Esposito, Harold Gould and Jam ...

'' (2002) as Waitress * ''

'' (TV series) (2003) as Interviewer * ''

All of Us ''All of Us'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by ...

'' (2004, episode: "Wedding Dance") as an Actress * ''

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer ''How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer'' is a 2005 American comedy film starring America Ferrera. It was not released on DVD until May 16, 2008. The film won the Silver George for the Best Film of the Perspective competition at the 27th Moscow ...

'' (2005) as soap opera actress * ''Drowned Lives'' (2006) as Policewoman * ''All In'' (2006) as Maria * '' Cloud 9'' (2006) as Corazon * ''

'' (2006, episode: "Baby Blues") as Marta Chavez * ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate with ...

'' (2006, episode: "Drowned Lives") as Policewoman * ''

Perro amor ''Perro Amor'' (''Dog Love'') is a Spanish-language telenovela produced by the United States-based television network Telemundo that originally ran in the United States from January to July 2010. This is a Colombian remake of the 1998 Cenpro Tele ...

'' (23 episodes) as Jennifer Lopez * ''

'' (2007, episode: "Isolation") as Magda Garcia * ''Blue Lake Massacre'' (2007) * '' Lincoln Heights'' (2007–2009, 4 episodes) as Sofia/Sophia Muñoz * ''Juez Franco'' (TV series) (2008) as Interviewer * ''Mr. Sadman'' (2009) as Maria * ''

Men of a Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as three b ...

'' (2009–2011, 6 episodes) as Fantasy woman * ''

'' (2011) as Julia * ''

The Chicago Code ''The Chicago Code'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan that aired on Fox in the United States. The series was filmed in Chicago, Illinois, originally airing from February 7 to May 23, 2011, with Fox announcing ca ...

'' (2011, episode: "Black Hand and the Shotgun Man") as Beatrice Romero * '' Fighting for Freedom'' (2013) as Maria * ''

Confessions of a Womanizer ''Confessions of a Womanizer'' (also known as ''Confessions of a Sex Addict'') is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Miguel Ali and starring Gary Busey, C. Thomas Howell, Andrew Lawrence (actor), Andrew Lawrence, and Jillian ...

'' (2014) as Patricia * ''A Christmas Reunion (2015)'' as Janette Crowder * '' NCIS'' (2015, episode: "The Artful Dodger") as Gloria Hernandez * '' Notorious'' (2016, episode "Kept and Broken") as Silvia Baez * ''

Rica, Famosa, Latina ''Rica, Famosa, Latina'' (''Rich, Famous, Latina'') is an Estrella TV reality series which was co-created by Lenard Liberman of ''Estrella TV'', and by Joyce Giraud. The Spanish-language show was inspired by the ''Real Housewives'' franchise. '' ...

'' (2017, 4 episodes) as herself * ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

'' (2017) as Lucinda * ''

A.X.L. ''A.X.L.'' is a 2018 American science fiction adventure film written and directed by Oliver Daly and starring Alex Neustaedter, Becky G, Alex MacNicoll, Dominic Rains, and Thomas Jane. It tells the story of a teenage boy who encounters a robotic ...

'' (2018) as Joanna Reyes * '' Causa Justa'' (2019) * ''

The Terminal List ''The Terminal List'' is an American action thriller television series based on Jack Carr's 2018 novel of the same name. The series tells the story of a Navy SEAL who seeks to avenge the murder of his family. It stars Chris Pratt (who also serve ...

'' (2022) as Paola

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leon, Patricia 1978 births Living people Señorita Panamá People from Panama City Panamanian female models Panamanian actresses Panamanian beauty pageant winners Panamanian emigrants to the United States Panamanian activists Panamanian LGBT rights activists