Gloria Velez

Gloria Velez (born December 18, 1978) is a Puerto Rican bikini model, dancer, rap artist and actress who is a native of Long Island, New York.

Related Topics:
December 18 - 1978 - Puerto Rican - Bikini - Actress - Long Island, New York

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Velez knew what she wanted to be since she was a young girl, and, during her teenage years, she attended the John Casablancas modeling school, which led her to being signed by the Elite Modeling Agency. Casablancas' school had a contract of exclusivity with Elite Models at the time, and Velez joined other models, such as Cindy Crawford, as a member of Elite.

Related Topics:
Teenage - John Casablancas - Elite Modeling Agency - Cindy Crawford

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Velez immediately began to work in the entertainment world, going on tour with *NSYNC and Sisqó. A newcomer with a feminist attitude (she once declared that men in the music industry were afraid of women "with brains", for example), Velez was still a schoolgirl, and she had to fly over to *NSYNC and Sisqó concert locations during weekends and free days when she wasn't on vacation.

Related Topics:
*NSYNC - Sisqó - Feminist - Brain - School - Fly

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Velez was influenced by Sisqó, *NSYNC and other singers, and soon, she began to pursue a career as a rap artist. She founded her own studio, and, soon enough, she was discovered by music executive Tyrone Fyffe, who signed her to his music company.

Related Topics:
Rap - Tyrone Fyffe

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Soon after, Velez switched to Rodney Jerkins' Cash Money/Darkchild Imprint label, but, because of her earlier contract with Fyffe, a court case followed in which Fyffe tried to claim her back to his own label. Velez decided to end the problem by getting a release from both of her contracts, and she independently released her first CD, "Glory". "Glory" was proceeded by Velez's first promotional tour.

Related Topics:
Rodney Jerkins - Cash Money/Darkchild Imprint - CD

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Not to lose touch with her beginnings in the entertainment world, she began posing with bikinis for magazines, and she has been featured on a number of publications. She was one of around 60 Hispanic models to be portrayed in a special issue of Blackmen, which was released on February of 2005.

Related Topics:
Magazines - Hispanic - Blackmen - February - 2005

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On that issue, she addressed a question that many non-Puerto Ricans ponder about Puerto Ricans born outside Puerto Rico, when she declared that "(she) was born in Long Island, (her parents) were born in New York, but (her) grandparents were born in Puerto Rico, so (she is) 100 percent Puerto Rican".

Related Topics:
Puerto Rico - New York

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Velez's plans include releasing a DVD named "Doin Tha Damn Thing", keeping on working as a model for the national clothes chain, BellaHoney, and keeping her magazine modeling career on going.

Related Topics:
DVD - Doin Tha Damn Thing - BellaHoney

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