When True Blood returns for its fourth season Sunday, viewers will notice the town of Bon Temps, La., has had a healthy population increase in the time since season three wrapped.
Along with the new vampires and shapeshifters who'll interact with Sookie and Bill, there is a new group of witches, one of whom is the Spanish-speaking Antonia, played by Paola Turbay. Before she makes her first big splash on the HBO hit, Us Weekly uncovers five need-to-know details about the 41-year-old Colombian-American actress.
1. She's already well prepared for her close-up. Representing Bogota in the Miss Colombia beauty pageant, Turbay took that title in 1991 and went on to finish as the first runner-up in the 1992 Miss Universe pageant. In the years since, Turbay has appeared in a series of telenovelas and even hosted Colombia's version of Dancing With the Stars before making her U.S. TV debut on CBS' Cane.
2. Turbay has quickly learned the art of keeping True Blood spoilers under wraps. "You know what, I can't say anything!" the actress told WetPaint.com of her character, who will first appear in episode two. "The only thing I can say is that she's a witch from the 17th century, so she's around creating terrible situations. Her presence is really going to put the show on fire."
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3. The actress doesn't just play a mom on TV in ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager — it's a role she assumes at home, too. Married to Alejandro Estrada since 1994, Turbay has two children: a daughter, Sofia, and a son, Emilio. "It is a rule at home that everyone speaks Spanish," the actress has said of her family life with Estrada and the kids. "And at night, we always have dinner together and talk about our day."
4. If the brunette beauty looks familiar, chances are its because you've seen her face on TV hawking products like Colgate toothpaste, Pepsi, Gillette, Maybelline and many others.
5. Turbay's stint on True Blood has been a long time coming. In fact, the actress auditioned for the first time two seasons ago to appear as a vampire who'd interact with Alexander Skarsgard's Eric. When the timing didn't work out and the part was given to another actress. the star thought her luck had run out. "I was like, 'Oh my God, it was my lucky day…it would have been amazing! It's not going to happen again!' she told WetPaint.com. "But it did, they called me [a second time]. I went in the next day to read for [creator] Alan Ball and the casting director, and three hours later it was mine."
True Blood's fourth season premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. (EST) on HBO.
By Allison Corneau for Us Weekly. For more Channel Surfing, click here.
