Carmen Electra is now wealthy, but her rise to stardom was far from easy. It was filled with bedlam, near-misses, and calamity. Regardless, the superstar managed to get what she wanted from Hollywood. If there's one thing to remember about Carmen Electra, it's that she doesn't break rules. She makes up her own rules as she goes along.

Carmen Electra exemplifies a Hollywood star - period. If it's not the memory of her in Baywatch's vintage red swimsuit that's irrevocably embossed into our minds, it's the miles of IMDb credits, her high-profile love affairs, her stunning Playboy covers, her songs, and her workout videos. Although you're probably aware of many things about Ms. Electra, there's so much more about her that the masses have yet to unearth.

12 Electra Began Her Dancing Career At An Amusement Park

Tara Leigh Patrick (born 04/20/1972), professionally known as Carmen Electra, began her modeling/acting career in 1990, as a dancer at an amusement park named Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. She danced in the “It’s Magic” show, one of the more sought-after shows in the theme park’s history.

A plethora of other celebs also worked at Kings Island in the past, including Woody Harrelson, Nick Lachey, and Dan Patrick. Interesting!

11 The Late, Great Prince Discovered Electra

Prince discovered Carmen Electra in 1991. He found her after she auditioned for a girl group that would be signed to his record label, Paisley Park. Prince not only helped Electra launch her career but got involved with her romantically.

Electra was merely 18 when she dated the "Cream" singer; however, their flame quickly burned out. Prince apparently told Electra she had two alternatives - stay in Minneapolis and live by "his rules" or make her own way in Los Angeles. Electra went with the latter.

Related: 19 Stunning Photos Of Carmen Electra In Her Prime

10 Electra Went From Homelessness To The Mountain's Peak

Before Carmen Electra actually became a public figure, she was momentarily homeless in L.A. and had "a pair of Versace shoes to her name." The aspiring actress didn't have a credit card or a car. At one juncture, she had saved up $5,000 before it was filched by her then-beau, who lost all the money gambling.

Electra later told news outlets: "I got to the point where I was counting change, and had a shank in my back pocket, and a pager because I wasn't living in a good neighborhood and I would have to walk to the payphone. I didn't have a penny. I had a beautiful wardrobe and my makeup case, so people didn't really understand or realize my living situation."

9 Electra's Meteoric Rise Was Undermined By The Death Of Her Mother

As Electra's TV career was gaining steam in the late 90s, her home life was crumbling. Having just secured a role on an MTV show, she learned that her mother, Patricia, was stricken with brain cancer; her mom eventually died in 1998, after a two-year fight with the disease.

Electra later confessed that she felt a lot of guilt about her mom's passing, primarily because she was distracted with her expanding career. Electra's older brother was the one who stepped up to the plate and took care of their ailing mother.

8 Electra's Sister Died The Same Month As Her Mother

1998 was, beyond any doubt, the toughest year of the Baywatch sensation's life. Not only did Electra lose her mom to cancer, but she also lost her sister, who passed away in her sleep from a heart attack the very same month.

Electra later said that the death of her sister and mother led her down a dark path; at one point, she even sought help from a therapist. "I started drinking ... I just went into self-destruction... I started drinking," she expressed. "I felt like I was going around in a cloud, like it wasn't real. I wasn't equipped to deal with this type of emotion."

7 Carmen Electra Has Appeared In Playboy 44 Times

Carmen Electra has been featured in Playboy a whopping 44 times in 21 countries, as well as three times in the United States, between 2000 and 2009. She became very famous after her Baywatch role during 1997 and 1998; however, her American Playboy covers were released much later.

Only Pamela Anderson has appeared on Playboy more times than Electra. Pamela was featured on 151 covers in 31 countries (12 times in the United States) between 1989 and 2007.

6 Electra Had A Wild, Yet Brief Marriage To An NBA Legend

Carmen Electra and NBA rebound guru, Dennis Rodman, had been dating a mere nine months when they decided to get married in Las Vegas at 7 a.m. - a couple of hours before the chapel opened at 9 am.

"Rodman's partying the night before might have affected his judgment," said Dwight Manley, Rodman's agent at the time. Electra disregarded warnings from her agent and manager and dived headfirst into a romance with the eccentric basketball star. Nine days after the wedding, the pair filed for an annulment.

Roughly six months after their nuptials, like many quickly defunct celeb marriages (e.g. Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries), the union was formally over.

Related: 15 Facts Everyone Forgot About Dennis Rodman And Carmen Electra

5 Electra Had A MTV Reality Show With Her Second Husband

Following the short-lived marriage to Dennis Rodman, Electra went on to wed Jane's Addiction guitarist, Dave Navarro. In the golden era of reality television, the pair had two reality series, Carmen & Dave: An MTV Love Story, and the spin-off, Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen + Dave.

It appeared (at last) that the Scary Movie star had met her soul mate...until things went downhill. According to reports, after three years of marriage, Electra and Navarro separated in 2006, although the reason is still anyone's guess.

4 Simon Cowell Cheated On Electra ... Yes, You Read That Right

A lot of us don't recall this, but Carmen Electra and Simon Cowell were an actual thing. Electra revealed later that the American Idol judge had "a great sense of humor," and was "awesome" and "very charming"...besides the time he reportedly cheated on her.

Both Electra and Cowell "dismissed" their 2013 romance, however, they dated for nearly six months. Their relationship ended when Electra supposedly caught Cowell with Lauren Silverman. Cowell contended that he and Silverman were "just friends," though that was a stretching of the truth. Electra wasn't going to "stick around and be a third wheel," so she reportedly "high-tailed it out of there."

Related: 15 Little Known Facts About Pamela Anderson's Love Life

3 Electra Was Engaged To One Guy For 4 Years

Shortly after she and Dave Navarro split, Electra fell hard for Korn guitarist, Rob Patterson. The two dated for "a little under a year" before getting engaged in 2008, in Las Vegas. Their engagement spanned four years until it was obvious she was wasn't going to walk down the aisle.

In 2012, the former Singled Out host split from her rocker guy. Electra was the one who broke things off with Patterson because of his "on-off-on partying."

2 Electra Appeared In Nearly 40 Movies

Carmen Electra made her movie debut in American Vampire (1997) and later appeared in a group of films, including Scary Movie (2000), Good Burger (1998), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Scary Movie 4 (2006), Get Over It (2001), Dirty Love (both 2005), Hot Tamale (2006), and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005).

Aside from those movies, Electra appeared in 30 additional feature films, films made for TV, reality shows, and documentaries. In her last actress role to date, Electra played "Tia" in Alone Together (2018).

1 Electra Had A Music Career, Too...

In 1993, Electra launched her music career with a self-titled album. Move the needle forward 20 years - she dropped an appealing dance single in 2013, called "I Like It Loud", which hit no. 24 on the Billboard dance club songs chart. She followed up with "Werq" in 2014, and in 2015, continued rolling out the party anthems with "Around the World."

Electra recently said: "I've been wanting to get back to music for quite some time now. It's been a passion of mine since before I started to work with Prince back in the '90s, but my life and career just happened to take a different path."

Sources: Fanworld, Diply, Useless Daily, Nicki Swift, Tonsoffacts, Sunsigns

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