Page 96 - Hola_USA

PA S S P O R T

ike a true cosmopolitan Latina, Leonor Varela was born in
L Chile, studied in France, married an Argentinean, and lives
in the United States. For her latest role, the former Cleopatra
plays Shaman in the Ice Age action-adventure movie
Alpha (Sony Pictures) to be released in March 2018. Her
inspiration to be a link between two worlds comes from
unexpected circumstances. “I mostly drew from my expe-
riences with my son. He has a very complicated genetic
condition and as a consequence is nonverbal. When we
communicate and interact with one another I have to
meet him where he is at, in that place where the soul
lives, sort of between here and there. He is magical
and has taught me so much.”
She has two kids with producer Lukas Akoskin.
Matteo, her oldest, is 4 years old and Luna is 2.
The family currently lives in California. “We
speak Spanish at home, and I hope to create
interest and love for my homeland as they con-
tinue to grow up. They are still so young—it is hard
to say how things will pan out, but it’s
definitely on my radar.”
La Leo—as she’s mostly known to her
followers—was born in Chile, but
her family fled Pinochet’s coup
d’etat when she was only a
few months old. They lived
in Colorado until the 1980s,
when they were able to
return. “I was a young girl. I
remember we went straight to
my grandpa’s estate in the north of Chile,
in Valle del Elqui, through a windy dirt
road to a small but majestic town
called Monte Grande. After being
raised in a nuclear family, it was a
shock to meet my big family: uncles,

LEONOR VARELA’S CHILE

THE BEAUTIFUL MODEL, ACTRESS, AND
ENVIRONMENTALIST SHARES THE TREASURES FRANCOIS DURAND/GETTY IMAGES; ISTOCK
OF HER HOMELAND

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