Vanessa Rosalia Marquez (December 21, 1968 – August 30, 2018) was an American actress. She was primarily known for her recurring role in the first three seasons of '' ER'' as nurse Wendy Goldman, as well as her role as Ana Delgado in the 1988 biographical drama film, ''

Stand and Deliver ''Stand and Deliver'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca, based on the true story of a high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. For portraying Escalante, Edward James Olmos wa ...

''.

Career

Marquez appeared in a 1992 episode of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' called "

The Cheever Letters "The Cheever Letters" is the 48th episode of the American sitcom ''Seinfeld'', the eighth episode of season four. It was written by Larry David, Elaine Pope, and Tom Leopold, and directed by Tom Cherones. It premiered on October 28, 1992. In this ...

", portraying a secretary in the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Permanent Mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

(the US and Cuba did not have mutual embassies from 1961 to 2015). Her success with ''Stand and Deliver'' led to a career in film and television, with roles in the crime drama, ''

Blood In Blood Out ''Blood In Blood Out'' (also known as ''Bound by Honor'' and ''Blood In Blood Out: Bound By Honor'') is a 1993 American epic crime drama film directed by Taylor Hackford that has become a cult-classic film with a cult following among the Mexic ...

'' (1993), and the independent film, ''

Twenty Bucks ''Twenty Bucks'' is a 1993 film directed by Keva Rosenfeld and starring Linda Hunt, Brendan Fraser, Gladys Knight, Elisabeth Shue, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, David Schwimmer, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Spalding Gray. The fil ...

'' (1993). Her television work included guest spots on popular programs, including ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

'' in 1994 and ''

Malcolm & Eddie ''Malcolm & Eddie'' is an American sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The program was ...

'' in 1999, and recurring roles on ''ER'' from 1994 to 1997. In addition to her acting credentials, Marquez appeared as a singer in the 2000 thriller film, '' Under Suspicion''.

Personal life

Vanessa Rosalia Marquez was born in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

. She was the daughter of John Marquez, who died during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

when she was one and half years old; and Delia. She grew up in Montebello, where she attended

Schurr High School Schurr High School is a public high school in Montebello, California, United States, a suburb in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Part of the Montebello Unified School District, it has an enrollment of approximately 3,500 students in grades 9-1 ...

. Prior to her death, Marquez made headlines related to the #MeToo movement, alleging that she endured harassment while on the set of ''ER''. In October 2017, she accused series star

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

of helping to "blacklist" her after she complained to executives about the harassment. Clooney denied the allegations.

Mental illness and health problems

Marquez appeared in an early episode of the

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...

reality television series '' Intervention'', as she tried to manage her

shopping addiction Shopping addiction is characterized by an eagerness to purchase unnecessary or superfluous things and a lack of impulse control when it comes to shopping. It is a concept similar to compulsive buying disorder (''oniomania''), but usually has a more ...

. Marquez was given an "intervention" by friends (including ''Stand and Deliver'' co-star, Karla Montana) to get her to go to treatment (she later said that her treatment was not successful). She had serious mental health issues, including

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

, that ended her career as an actress and left her almost entirely homebound. She also had

celiac disease Coeliac disease (British English) or celiac disease (American English) is a long-term autoimmune disorder, primarily affecting the small intestine, where individuals develop intolerance to gluten, present in foods such as wheat, rye and barl ...

fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a medical condition defined by the presence of chronic widespread pain, fatigue, waking unrefreshed, cognitive symptoms, lower abdominal pain or cramps, and depression. Other symptoms include insomnia and a general hyp ...

, and depression at the time of her death, and had regular

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

Death

Marquez's death occurred during an incident on August 30, 2018, at her home in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It ...

, where a

wellness check In the United States and Canada, a wellness check (also known as a welfare check as well as a Safe and Well check) is an in-person visit from one or more law enforcement officers, especially in response to a request from a friend or family member w ...

by local authorities led to an armed confrontation. Her home was found in a state of disarray and she claimed to be experiencing a seizure, for which paramedics and a mental health expert were called to evaluate her. Marquez was shot several times by police after she pointed a firearm and advanced toward the officers, who had retreated down the stairs after initially seeing the firearm. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead at 2:36 p.m. local time. The firearm was later determined to be a

BB gun A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls), which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used on shotguns ( in diameter ...

. The

Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is George Gascón. Some mi ...

's Office has ruled that the police officers had acted in lawful self-defense in the shooting. In February 2019, attorneys representing her mother filed a

wrongful death claim Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...

against the City of South Pasadena. The claim alleges

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

negligence Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

unlawful entry Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding ...

false arrest False arrest, Unlawful arrest or Wrongful arrest is a common law tort, where a plaintiff alleges they were held in custody without probable cause, or without an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Although it is possible to sue ...

and

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

, wrongful death, negligent training,

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

, seizure of property, failure to summon prompt medical care and violation of the Bane Act. In March 2020, the South Pasadena Police Department released

bodycam A body camera, bodycam, body worn video (BWV), body-worn camera, or wearable camera is a wearable audio, video, or photographic recording system. Body cameras have a range of uses and designs, of which the best-known use is as a part of poli ...

footage from the incident, showing Marquez pleading to the officers to kill her, as well as pointing the BB gun at them. The LA County District Attorney's Office released its report on February 25 the same year. On February 23, 2021, the City of South Pasadena settled the wrongful death suit with Marquez's mother in the amount of $450,000.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video

References

External links

* *
Police bodycam footage of shooting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Vanessa 1968 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles County, California American actresses of Mexican descent American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths by firearm in California Defensive gun use Filmed deaths of entertainers Filmed killings by law enforcement Hoarders Latino people shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States People from Montebello, California People from South Pasadena, California People with autoimmune disease People with bipolar disorder People with epilepsy People with obsessive–compulsive disorder