Cindy Vela

Cindy Vela (born January 4, 1979) is an American actress, model, and saxophonist. She appeared in Black November (2012), Endgame (2015), Camino (2016) and Run Hide Fight (2020).

Cindy Vela
Born (1979-01-04) January 4, 1979
Brownsville, Texas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (B.A.)
OccupationActress, model, saxophonist
Years active2000–present
Partner(s)Kiefer Sutherland (engaged)
Websitecindyvela.com

Early life and education

Vela was born in Brownsville, Texas in 1979.[1] She later lived in Olmito.[2] Vela is the daughter of Lupita and Fred Vela. She has a brother named Freddy Vela.[3] She graduated from Los Fresnos High School.[2] Vela attended the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College,[3] where she was the lead saxophonist in the jazz band and concert band. She later received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education.[4] She became a band director at Memorial Middle School and briefly[5] directed the band at Harlingen High School. In 2000, she won the title of Miss Latina.[6][7] A photographer discovered her while she was in college and Vela moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and modeling.[4]

Career

Vela has played supporting roles in Mexican-American productions including Harvest of Redemption (2007), Desdemona: A Love Story (2009), and Thou Shalt Not Kill (2014). Vela's first appearance is in 2005 drama Puños rosas, in an uncredited role. In a 2009 film Ready or Not, she played one of Alex Rocco's mistress. She was praised for her role in Desdemona: A Love Story (2009), which won best feature film at the Boston Film Festival.[1][8] Vela appeared in a music video for Kris Allen's "The Truth" in 2010.[8] She had previously been in videos for Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera and Daddy Yankee.[9] In 2012, she appeared in Black November, as agent Consuelos.[4] She appeared as a TV reporter in a 2016 film Camino starring Zoë Bell. Vela appeared in the film It's Gawd (2017) as Lucy.[6] One of Ray Bradbury final plays he produced, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suite, featured Vela.

Exhibit B5

Vela appeared in the short film Exhibit-B5 directed by Kyle Rankin and co-starring Corin Nemec and Mircea Monroe. In the film Vela is shown being hit by a car after being "pranked" by her roommate. The film was shared widely on social media as being real.[10][11] The video was covered by MSNBC Caught on Camera, for which Vela gave an interview. In an interview with Herald de Paris, Vela states that she realised the impact of Exhibit B-5 when she began to be asked for interviews from foreign media outlets.[4]

Modeling career

Vela has taken part in several modeling campaigns. She appeared on boxes of Special K in Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico.[2] She was handpicked for the campaign by designer Ximena Valero.[12] She has also appeared in campaigns for Motorola, Bio Ionic, OPI Products and Wells Fargo.[4] She was a cover girl for Bella Petite[13] and L'Estilo magazine.[14] In 2015, Mexican-American artist George Yepes selected Cindy Vela as the cover model the artwork used on Alfredo Vea, Jr.'s novel The Mexican Flyboy. This collaboration led to Yepes using Cindy as his muse for various paintings. Vela has also been the subject of works created by contemporary artist RETNA, some of which were used on billboards across Los Angeles, and Maria Kane.

Personal life

Vela is a trained saxophonist and a fan of Harry Potter.[6] Her brother Freddy is a local news and weather anchor in the Rio Grande Valley.[3][15] Vela began dating actor Kiefer Sutherland in 2014. They kept their relationship private up until 2017.[16][17] Vela goes with Sutherland and his band on tour promoting his album Down in a Hole. Vela and Sutherland became engaged in 2017.[17] As of 2019, Vela resides in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles with Sutherland.[18]

Filmography
Year Title Role Note
2005 Puños Rosas La Gritona
2006 Hollywood Familia Teen francesca
2007 Harvest of Redemption Troquero's Daughter
2009 Ready or Not Don Julio's Girl
2009 Desdemona: A Love Story Desdemona Lead Actress
2010 Exhibit B-5 Rachel Viral Video
2010 Boyle Heights Girl cop Short film
2012 La Chamba Pregnant Chola TV Series, 5 Episodes
2012 Black November Agent Consuelos
2012 Nuclear Family Karen TV Movie
2012 The Polterguys Mindy
2014 News Burrito Cindy
2014 Alma Becky Short film
2014 Thou Shalt Not Kill Gabby Pensiero
2015 Endgame Detention Teacher
2016 Camino TV Reporter
2017 It's Gawd! Lucy
2020 Run Hide Fight Ms. Nunez

References
  1. "Movie Starring Valley Actress Wins Top Prize at Boston Film Fest". The Monitor. October 2, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Martinez, Marcy (October 13, 2011). "Kellogg's Special "K" model Cindy Vela speaks with Marcy Martinez". Valley Central. CBS 4 News Rio Grande Valley.
  3. Garcia, Kevin (May 11, 2003). "UTB-TSC graduates awarded degrees". Brownsville Herald. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  4. Hernandez, Alan Carlos (February 11, 2013). "Cindy Vela Model, Actor, Musician and quite possibly the next big thing". Herald de Paris. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  5. "Valley Actress Cindy Vela's New Movie Includes General Hospital ER Cast Members". The Monitor. September 11, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Telling, Gillian; Stone, Natalie (July 12, 2017). "Kiefer Sutherland Is Dating Cindy Vela — 5 Things to Know About the Actress". People. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  7. "hall of fame - past titeholders". misslatina.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  8. Garcia, Brandon R. (August 27, 2010). "Brownsville's Cindy Vela Takes Us Behind the Scenes of Kris Allen's New Music Video". The Monitor. Retrieved May 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Top 5 Rising Valley Stars". The Monitor. December 26, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Exhibit B-5: Girl Gets Hit By Car After Prank Goes Wrong". snopes.com. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  11. "Kiefer Sutherland y Cindy Vela, nueva pareja" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. July 13, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  12. "Fighting for a chance at stardom has always been a part of Cindy Vela's life". CBS 4 News Rio Grande Valley. October 14, 2011.
  13. "Model and Talent Industry News: The Bella Petite Hour [petite model]". Bellapetite. December 8, 2010. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  14. "Marzo/Abril 2013". L'Estilo Magazine. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  15. Villafañe, Veronica (January 26, 2016). "KGBT hires Vela as weekend weather anchor". Media Moves. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  16. Nolasco, Stephanie (July 12, 2017). "Kiefer Sutherland 'secretly dating' Cindy Vela, says report". Fox News. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  17. Teague, Jack; Hines, Dominique (July 13, 2017). "Kiefer Sutherland 'engaged' to girlfriend Cindy Vela as secret relationship is revealed". Sunday Express. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  18. Bertodano, Helena de (February 14, 2020). "Kiefer Sutherland on Hollywood hellraising and bouncing back: 'I am one of the luckiest people I know'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
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