Somaya Reese

 Ginie Somaya Reece was born December 27, 1980, in Los Angeles, California. A naturally theatrical child, Somaya spent much of her youth singing in church, rapping in the streets and dancing in after-school programs. “My dream was to become a great actress and musician,” she admits.

Somaya chose to pursue her dream by taking theater classes at UCLA. Although the classes sharpened her skills, Somaya was actually discovered far away from the footlights when she was working at the front desk of a hotel in Beverly Hills. As she recalls, “I worked my butt off and became a part of the Actors Guild and well, I started working right away on commercials, television and films.”

somaya reece in american psycho

Somaya made her big-screen debut in 2000, playing a bar girl in the disturbing thriller American Psycho. She then enjoyed a more substantial role the following year in Slammed, an amusing wrestling comedy starring Justin Whalin.

It was during this exciting time in her career that Somaya was approached by a talent scout and asked if she wanted to make the transition into modeling. “I declined it and then decided 'hm... heck, I will try it,'” she recalls.

somaya reece on entourage

It proved to be a savvy decision, and Somaya soon began appearing in print and television campaigns for brands such as Budweiser, Pepsi, Coors Light, Skechers, Ralph Lauren and Gap, among others.

Somaya also continued to act, and she made brief but memorable appearances in The Scorpion King (2002), starring The Rock, Ride or Die (2003), starring Vivica A. Fox, and Miss Cast Away (2004), starring Eric Roberts. She also made a splash on the small screen with roles in hit shows like Girlfriends and Entourage.

somaya reece on myspace

Not content with merely being a bit player, Somaya chose to take control of her career in 2006 by launching her very own MySpace page. Once again, her instincts paid off, and it wasn’t long before she was being flooded with 3,000 to 5,000 friend requests every day. Somaya now has nearly 600,000 MySpace friends, making her the most popular Latina on the planet’s most popular social networking site. "MySpace has been a very good vehicle,” she admits.

somaya reece sings "mira mi pum pum"

In fact, MySpace has been so good to Somaya that she has also used it to help launch her burgeoning music career. Her debut single, "Mira mi pum pum," has enjoyed over 3.3 million spins in just ten and a half weeks. “I love music,” she says. “It's something I can do to de-stress and say what I feel.”

Another way she relaxes is through photography. Although taking snapshots began as a hobby, Somaya now operates a successful full-service photography company with five photographers on staff. “I am published and work closely with big clients such as Motorola, Maxim, Fitness magazine, AOL, and Yahoo,” she says. “I do a lot of the photo shoots myself -- if I am too busy I have other great photographers on staff whom I trust and work with.”