Talisa Soto (born Miriam Soto on March 27, 1967) is an American top model and actress of Puerto Rican descent.

Talisa Soto as Lupe Lamora in ‘Licence to Kill’.

Talisa landed her first modeling job in 1982, when she was 15 years old. In 1985, she tried to sign up with the Ford modeling agency, but was rejected because she looked “too” Latina. Talisa then went and signed with Click Model Management and headed for Europe. She established herself as one of the top models of the 1980s and was very busy modeling in Italy and France. She appeared on the covers of Vogue, Mademoiselle, Glamour and Self magazines.

In 1988, when Talisa returned to the United States, she auditioned and landed the role of India in her feature debut, Spike of Bensonhurst, a comedy which starred Sasha Mitchell and Ernest Borgnine. In 1989, she was cast as Lupe Lamora, in the James Bond film Licence to Kill, and as Maria Rivera in The Mambo Kings.

In 1990, Talisa was chosen by “People Magazine” as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.