Tasha de Vasconcelos

'Tasha de Vasconcelos' (qv) was born in Beira, Mozambique, with Portuguese ancestry on her father's side and British on her mother's side. Her old European background is very evident in her multilingual diversity and her capacity to interact with different cultures. Due to social unrest in Africa her family moved to Canada, where Tasha went on to study international relations at the University of British Columbia. In 1998 Tasha graduated in International Strategy at the Centre for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies in Paris.Tasha's modelling career began when she was spotted in Canada. A highly successful career as an international model was established with New York photographer Steven Meisel shooting Tasha for her first Vogue cover. Her acting debut was with a part in French movie _Riches, belles, etc. (1998)_ (qv) with 'Claudia Cardinale', 'Marisa Berenson' (qv) and 'Anouk Aimee'. Tasha studied acting at the Cours Florent and the Central School of Speech and Drama. She went on to play the sexually liberated minx Lauren in the leading female role opposite 'Paul Kaye' in the BBC comedy series _Perfect World (2000)_ (qv).Then followed the remake of _Murder on the Orient Express (2001)_ (qv) for CBS with Tasha playing a Russian jewel thief opposite 'Alfred Molina' (qv). Her next UK appearances were in _Largo Winch - Gefährliches Erbe (2001)_ (qv) as a feisty independent writer and love interest of 'Paolo Seganti' (qv) and in _Relic Hunter (1999)_ (qv) playing the part of a warrior princess. Both launched in the US, with Largo Winch also distributed in Europe.In 2002 Tasha filmed the independent feature film _Dot the I (2003)_ (qv) acting alongside 'Gael Garcia Bernal' which was well received at Sundance Film Festival 2003. Tasha performed alongside 'Judi Dench' (qv) and 'Gillian Anderson' (qv) at "An Enchanted Evening" at London's Theatre Royal, a gala performance of the music of 'Richard Rodgers' (qv) in aid of the Neurofibromatosis Association.April 2003 saw Tasha's first major feature film release in the spoof Bond movie _Johnny English (2003)_ (qv) directed by 'Peter Howitt' and starring 'Rowan Atkinson' (qv), 'Natalie Imbruglia' (qv) and 'John Malkovich' (qv). Tasha plays the manipulative villainess Contessa Alexandra in the film's opening scene opposite 'Rowan Atkinson' (qv), Tasha takes on the femme fatale mantle of actresses such as 'Sophie Marceau' (qv) and 'Grace Jones' in the original Bond films. Among her sporting skills, Tasha is an outstanding horsewoman and pentathlon competitor.Tasha's other great passion is helping underprivileged children, supporting charities such as the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and the Association for Drug-addicted Children in Portugal. She is a goodwill representative for UNICEF to Bolivia for malnourished children and to Algeria for war-ravaged children. Tasha is also the goodwill ambassador appointed by Bolivia's first lady for the "Children of Pailaviri" project.::Angela Jackson