Show bee coupon A Deiow tor detans Justina Machado now lives in LA far from Chicago’s HIT TV SHOW about undertakers? They may have laughed at the very projects and cold winters “But I’m not an ocean person” she told me idea three years Personal: Born Sept 6 1972 in Chicago III Single Television: Includes Goode Behavior 1997: ER 1997: Six Feet Under 2001- The Johnny Chronicles 2002 Films: Include She's So Lovely 1997: The Week That Girl Died 1998 Swallows 2000: Following Paula 2000 Sticks 2001 At: Artificial Intelligence 2001: Dragonfly 2002 Full Frontal 2002 Final Destination 2 2003: Torque 2003 Theater: Includes Shadow of a Man 1992: Real Women Have Curves 1993: Black Butterfly 1996: Blade to the Heat 2000 ago but no longer HBO’s Six Feet Under has established itself as a critical and ratings winner And Justina Machado — the sexy actress who plays Vanessa the wife of ambitious mortician Federico Diaz — is building herself quite a reputation as well "1 like the way my character is developing It's so exciting — a great new story line for both of us with Federico now a partner in the business The show w ill be on through May and then we’ll come back to work on a fourth season in October" Not bad for a feisty Puerto Rican kid who grew up in Chicago the oldest of five children "We lived in a very poor neighborhood in Lincoln Park that's very affluent now" Justina told me “My mom was a single mother and lived for a time with my grandmother I hated high school I knew I wanted to act I had a friend who knew an agent and they steered me to the Latino Chicago Theater” Success on the stage convinced Justina she had a future After a brief stay in New York she headed for LA and has rarely stopped working She was in Steven Soderbergh's groundbreaking Full Frontal What was that like? "A labor of love very experimental" Justina said “At the start we were told ‘No makeup no hairdresser no trailers no “I I episode in 1997 asked Justina if the different Latin cultures clash or blend together in Los Angeles “Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are very different — the food the cultures the language” she said “even though we 1 costumes' We all thought they were kidding but it was really like that" Machado also w orked w ith Sean Penn in the film She 's live up by the mountains near Silver Lake as close to the city as I can get like lots of people around" She does stage work at LA’s Mark Taper Forum and her theatrical experience came in handy when she was cast in a guest spot on ER tor its special live both speak Spanish But we get along” I’d been told Justina was serious about a singing career "Unfortunately it’s on hold because of work” she said “Maybe I’ll So Lovely and w’as in the box-offic- e hit Final Destination 2 In her next film Torque— Ice Cube and due out in October — she plays an FBI agent coping with two rival LA biker gangs “It's pretty awesome” said Justina “I got to drive a Hummer They had to put things under my butt so could sit up high 1 Photo hi Hand Ruse lor PARADE: hair bs Andre Blaise for Exclusive Artists makeup by Kathleen Crawford: slyhny b Joanna Saunders fur factors Artists: blouse b Development: earrinys b Madles Justina Machado of HBO's Six Feet Under just finished film a bihen where she drives a Hummer on some sitting guy's lap enough to drive but I think they were afraid I was going to kill someone so they had me sit on the lap of a guy you can't see and he really drove iDE not me” For more on Justina Machado visit 28 commitments yet — though do have to work today” I “Yes” she replied “But not too hard In this scene have to lay on Oh? I wwwparadecom and click on "In Step With" PAOE get serious about it again during this hiatus I did two movies last year but no APRIL 27 my husband’s Tap” 2003 PARADE MAGAZINE |