Soto was born in Brooklyn, New York City,[4] the youngest of four children of parents who moved to New York from Puerto Rico.[5] During her early childhood, her parents moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where Soto and her siblings were raised and educated in public schools.[6]
Career
Modeling
At age 15, Soto signed with Click Model Management and began modeling during summer vacations. Weeks after being signed, she traveled to Paris where she appeared in a layout for Vogue shot by Bruce Weber. Soto returned to Northampton after the summer to resume her schooling. She modeled only on occasion until after she graduated from high school.[6]
Soto appeared in her first music video with former boyfriend Nick Kamen, behind Madonna's song "Each Time You Break My Heart", directed by Tony Viramontes.[6] Soto and Kamen were often used as models by Ray Petri, the late fashion stylist and creator of the 1980s London "Buffalo Boy" look.[8]
In 1995, she played the role of Doña Julia, Johnny Depp's first love interest in the tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, Depp playing the title role. She also made an appearance in Marc Anthony's music video for "I Need to Know". In 1996, Soto played the title role in the campy film Vampirella based on the comic book character. Her last major film appearance was in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever before retiring from acting after marrying Benjamin Bratt.[9]
She made one more film, La Mission (2009), which was directed by her brother-in-law Peter Bratt.[9]
Public image
In 1990, Soto was chosen by People as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.[10] In 1995, she was featured in the Sports Illustrated "Swimsuit Issue".[7] She was ranked #58 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002.[11]
In 2002, she began dating actor Benjamin Bratt; they married on April 13 in San Francisco. The two had met ten years earlier during a casting audition. During the filming of Piñero (2001) they began to develop a relationship. They married in April 2002 and their first child, daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, was born on December 6, 2002; their second child, son Mateo Bravery Bratt, was born on October 3, 2005.[12][13]
It was revealed in 2022 that Soto was diagnosed with breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that she has since been deemed "cancer-free".[14]
^Candelaria, Cordelia; Aldama, Arturo J.; García, Peter J. (2004). Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture. Vol. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 778. ISBN0-313-32215-5.
