Ara Celi (born May 31, 1974) is an American actress active in American film and television. She had a starring role in the minor

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

dance movie ''Looking for Lola,'' but she is probably best known for her guest starring role as Ampata Gutierrez aka "

Inca Mummy Girl "Inca Mummy Girl" is episode four of season two of the television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', originally airing on October 6, 1997. The episode was written by former series story editors Matt Kiene and Joe Reinkemeyer (penning their secon ...

" from season two of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. She is now most often seen in television advertisements for Universal Toyota car dealership in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, Charles Maund Toyota dealership in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, Boggus Ford dealership in

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits exte ...

, and Jim Norton T-Town Chevrolet in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Early life

Celi, a

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexic ...

, was born Araceli Valdez in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

, one of six children. She attended

J. M. Hanks High School J. M. Hanks High School, commonly referred to as Hanks High School, is one of seven public secondary schools in Ysleta Independent School District, which encompasses much of east El Paso, Texas. Hanks' primary feeder school is J.M. Hanks Middle ...

, graduating in 1992. While at Hanks, she appeared in student productions of ''Splendor in the Grass'', ''Crimes of the Heart'', and ''The Wiz.'' She later attended the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

. While there, she entered and won the GuyRex Mrs. Texas Pageant (1994), later becoming a semifinalist in The GuyRex Miss World USA pageant (also 1994).

Film career

She moved to Mexico at age 18 where she had a role on a Spanish language soap opera. After three months she decided to move to Los Angeles where she landed a guest appearance on '' Saved by the Bell: The College Years''. She made several other guest appearances in television series including '' The Brothers García'', ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'' and '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. In 1999, she played Raquel Dion Santos in a nine-month attachment to ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and ...

''. She was also in ''

Bruce Almighty ''Bruce Almighty'' is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. The film stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck television reporter who complains to G ...

'', '' American Beauty'' and '' From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter'', playing Esmeralda/ Santanico Pandemonium . She acted in the 2000 independent feature film ''Go Fish'', directed by Lawrence L. Simeone. She has also provided her voice as Katarina DeLeon in '' Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat''. She played a reporter in Robert Rodriguez' film ''

Machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca uses a machete to carve wood. ...

'' (2010).

Personal life

She married in 2000 to Robert Godines, a financial advisor, and in 2006 they moved to the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Amer ...

near San Antonio to start a family. They have two children, a boy and a girl. Celi is a spokesperson for a local automotive dealership, and she and her husband own a barbering franchise in San Antonio.Nicole Ochoa
"Pursuit of Passion"
, ''Inside San Antonio'' (online), 24 August 2007. Accessed March 15, 2008.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celi, Ara 1974 births American film actresses American television actresses Living people American actresses of Mexican descent Actresses from El Paso, Texas University of Texas at El Paso alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses