Trivia

She is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Her maternal grandfather Daniel Palma Robledo (born in the north of Chile in October 1915), a former Communist Party member until 1951, was kidnapped by DINA, Pinochet's political police, on August 4, 1976, and to this day is a missing person.

Her son Matteo, was diagnosed with leukodystrophy shortly after his birth and died on November 16, 2018 at the age of 5.

Mother, with ex-husband Lucas Akoskin, of son Matteo Varela Akoskin (November 20, 2012-November 16, 2018) and daughter Luna Mae Akoskin (b. February 25, 2015).

Beat out 35 other actresses to play the title role in Cléopatre (1999).

Friend of the Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.

Her family fled to Costa Rica, leaving behind the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

She is of Chilean (including Galician Spanish) ancestry. She is also said to have some French, Hungarian, Syrian, and German roots.

Appeared on the cover of thirteen separate editions of the Maxim magazine, each naming a different North American city as the greatest on Earth.

Her maternal grandmother, Rosalía Keller Keller, was born in 1919 in Tasnad, Romania, to Pablo Keller and Fanny.

Formerly engaged to Billy Zane, her co-star from the miniseries Cléopatre (1999).

Has 3 siblings, Alejandra, Javier and Gabriel.

Was featured as #11 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002)

Her stay in Chile was brief, and she soon found herself in Germany, then back in Chile, and finally in France in her late teens.

Daughter of Leonor Palma, a massage therapist, and Francisco Varela (1946-2001), a famous biologist, neuroscientist, and philosopher.

Filming a documentary about Aysén and its natural beauty in Chile. (January 2009)

(April 15, 2013) Married her boyfriend of 2 years Lucas Akoskin. They have 2-year-old son Matteo together.

Her favorite actresses are Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett.

Ranked #69 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" special supplement (2006).

As a child, she got to see her homeland another time when her family returned to Chile.

Member of NGOs for the conservation of the environment like WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Global Green USA, Oceana (Osean Conservation Group) and Centro Ballena Azúl (Chile).

She lived in Paris from the age of 14.

Has actively participated in various ecological causes like "Save the Whales Again!".

Has a French bulldog called Monroe, or simply Mo.

After graduating from the Ecole du Passage and the Conservatoire Superieur de Paris, she was ready for the big screen.

Led huge Anti-whaling Rally on the Eve of the 2008 Meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Santiago, Chile. (June 2008)

Her favorite place in California is Carbon Beach, Malibu.

One of her favorite writers is Milan Kundera.

Support the candidate's campaign of Chilean president Michelle Bachelet.