Vanessa Marcil (/mɑːrˈsɛl/ mar-SEL; born Sally Vanessa Ortiz; October 15, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her television roles as Brenda Barrett on General Hospital, Gina Kincaid on Beverly Hills, 90210, and Sam Marquez on Las Vegas.
Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera General Hospital, in 1992. She garnered three Daytime Emmy Award nominations (in 1997, 1998, and 2003) for her portrayal, and won in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.