Cindy Vela

American actress, model, and saxophonistTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actress, model, and saxophonist[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Cindy Vela** (born January 4, 1979) is an American actress, model, and saxophonist. She appeared in *Black November* (2012), *Endgame* (2015), and *Camino* (2016).

## Early life and education

Vela was born in Brownsville, Texas in 1979. She later lived in Olmito. Vela is the daughter of Lupita and Fred Vela. She has a brother named Freddy Vela. She graduated from Los Fresnos High School. Vela attended the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, where she was the lead saxophonist in the jazz band and concert band. She later received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education. She became a band director at Memorial Middle School and briefly directed the band at Harlingen High School. In 2000, she won the title of Miss Latina. A photographer discovered her while she was in college and Vela moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and modeling.

## Career

Vela has played supporting roles in Mexican-American productions including *Harvest of Redemption* (2007), *Desdemona: A Love Story* (2009), and *Thou Shalt Not Kill* (2014). Vela's first appearance is in 2005 drama *Puños rosas*, in an uncredited role. In a 2009 film *Ready or Not*, she played one of Alex Rocco's mistress. She was praised for her role in *Desdemona: A Love Story* (2009), which won best feature film at the Boston Film Festival. Vela appeared in a music video for Kris Allen's "The Truth" in 2010. She had previously been in videos for Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera and Daddy Yankee. In 2012, she appeared in *Black November*, as agent Consuelos. She appeared as a TV reporter in a 2016 film *Camino* starring Zoë Bell. Vela appeared in the film *It's Gawd* (2017) as Lucy. One of Ray Bradbury final plays he produced, *The Wonderful Ice Cream Suite*, featured Vela.Template:Citation needed

### *Exhibit B5*

Vela appeared in the short film *Exhibit-B5* directed by Kyle Rankin and co-starring Corin Nemec and Mircea Monroe. In the film Vela is shown being hit by a car after being "pranked" by her roommate. The film was shared widely on social media as being real. The video was covered by MSNBC *Caught on Camera*, for which Vela gave an interview. In an interview with *Herald de Paris*, Vela states that she realised the impact of *Exhibit B-5* when she began to be asked for interviews from foreign media outlets.

### Modeling career

Vela has taken part in several modeling campaigns. She appeared on boxes of Special K in Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico. She was handpicked for the campaign by designer Ximena Valero.
She has also appeared in campaigns for Motorola, Bio Ionic, OPI Products and Wells Fargo. She was a cover girl for *Bella Petite* and *L'Estilo* magazine.
In 2015, Mexican-American artist George Yepes selected Cindy Vela as the cover model the artwork used on Alfredo Vea, Jr.'s novel *The Mexican Flyboy*. This collaboration led to Yepes using Cindy as his muse for various paintings. Vela has also been the subject of works created by contemporary artist RETNA, some of which were used on billboards across Los Angeles, and Maria Kane.Template:Citation needed

## Personal life

Vela is a trained saxophonist and a fan of *Harry Potter*. Her brother Freddy is a local news and weather anchor in the Rio Grande Valley. Vela began dating actor Kiefer Sutherland in 2014. They kept their relationship private up until 2017. Vela goes with Sutherland and his band on tour promoting his album *Down in a Hole.* Vela and Sutherland became engaged in 2017. As of 2019[update]Template:Dated maintenance category, Vela resides in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles with Sutherland.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Movie Starring Valley Actress Wins Top Prize at Boston Film Fest" (in en), *The Monitor* (2 October 2009).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Martinez, Marcy (2011-10-13). "Kellogg's Special "K" model Cindy Vela speaks with Marcy Martinez", *Valley Central*, CBS 4 News Rio Grande Valley.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Garcia, Kevin (2003-05-11). "UTB-TSC graduates awarded degrees", *Brownsville Herald*.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Hernandez, Alan Carlos (February 11, 2013). "Cindy Vela Model, Actor, Musician and quite possibly the next big thing". http://www.heralddeparis.com/cindy-vela-model-actor-musician-and-quite-possibly-the-next-big-thing/.
5. ↑ "Valley Actress Cindy Vela's New Movie Includes General Hospital ER Cast Members" (in en), *The Monitor* (2009-09-11).
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Telling, Gillian (2017-07-12). "Kiefer Sutherland Is Dating Cindy Vela — 5 Things to Know About the Actress" (in en), *People*.
7. ↑ "hall of fame - past titeholders". misslatina.com. http://www.misslatina.com/fame.html. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Garcia, Brandon R. (27 August 2010). "Brownsville's Cindy Vela Takes Us Behind the Scenes of Kris Allen's New Music Video" (in en), *The Monitor*.
9. ↑ "Top 5 Rising Valley Stars" (in en), *The Monitor* (26 December 2008).
10. ↑ "Exhibit B-5: Girl Gets Hit By Car After Prank Goes Wrong". snopes.com. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/exhibit-b-5/. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
11. ↑ "Kiefer Sutherland y Cindy Vela, nueva pareja" (in es), La Vanguardia (2017-07-13).
12. ↑ "Fighting for a chance at stardom has always been a part of Cindy Vela's life", CBS 4 News Rio Grande Valley (14 October 2011).
13. ↑ "Model and Talent Industry News: The Bella Petite Hour [petite model"]. Bellapetite. 8 December 2010. http://bellapetite.com/model-and-talent-industry-news-the-bella-petite-hour.html. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
14. ↑ "Marzo/Abril 2013". L'Estilo Magazine. https://issuu.com/lestilomagazine/docs/issue\_14\_issuu=. Retrieved 27 May 2018. Template:Dead link
15. ↑ Villafañe, Veronica (2016-01-26). "KGBT hires Vela as weekend weather anchor" (in en-US), *Media Moves*.
16. ↑ Nolasco, Stephanie (July 12, 2017). "Kiefer Sutherland 'secretly dating' Cindy Vela, says report". http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/07/12/kiefer-sutherland-secretly-dating-cindy-vela-says-report.html.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Teague, Jack; Hines, Dominique (July 13, 2017). "Kiefer Sutherland 'engaged' to girlfriend Cindy Vela as secret relationship is revealed". https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/828090/Kiefer-Sutherland-engaged-girlfriend-Cindy-Vela.
18. ↑ Bertodano, Helena de (2020-02-14). "Kiefer Sutherland on Hollywood hellraising and bouncing back: 'I am one of the luckiest people I know'" (in en-GB), *The Telegraph*.

## External links

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