Verushka Scalia

Verushka Scalia is a Venezuelan actress, comedian, producer, and model. At an early age Verushka began to participate in different artistic activities, which included three years of music theory and sight singing at the Jose Lorenzo Llamozas School of Music, where she was also part of the Children's Choir, as well as the prestigious Jose Angel Lamas School of Music. She also participated in dance, painting, and sculpture workshops, among other crafts. Besides her involvement with artistic activities, Verushka also took swimming lessons and earned awards in local competitions. During her childhood and teen years Verushka organized performances with her siblings and cousins at home, and with her classmates at school. She took on the roles of writer, director, producer, actress and singer, while also participating in other artistic activities organized by the school. Verushka studied Arts at the Central University of Venezuela but was unable to complete her BA degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in Film. She also took some classes in Marketing. At the age of 18, Verushka participated in her first professional theatre workshop under the guidance of Veronica Artigas Oddo, Giovanni Reali and Omaira Abinade, among others. She also took acting lessons at Venevision's Acting Academy with Professor and Director Marcos Reyes Andrade, and at RCTV's Acting Academy with Professor Carlos Ospino. Verushka's first professional theatre performance was in Leoncio & Lena (Leonce & Lena), and ever since then has appeared in several major television productions, short-films, films and theatre plays. Her acting career includes the plays Decameron: Paraiso Erotico (Decameron: Erotic Paradise) and Espectros (Ghosts), which was selected in 2002 to represent Venezuela at the International Theatre Festival held in Caracas, Venezuela. Other performances include Laramie Project: 10 Years Later and Un Cuarto Para Las Cuatro (One Room for Four), presented at the Venezuelans in New York Fest (2010 and 2011, respectively). This festival featured outstanding Venezuelan talent in the city of New York. Verushka was part of the cast of very popular Venezuelan TV serials and movies such as Estrambotica Anastasia (Eccentric Anastasia) - a wildly popular international hit, interpreting the deliciously evil character Dr. Manuela Fast, and also co-starred in the role of Rita in Guayoyo Express, a comedy series produced and broadcasted by TELEVEN. Guayoyo Express marked a milestone in Venezuela by breaking the 50-year television programming tradition of playing only soap-operas during prime time, while also beating their ratings. Other performances include Te Llegue a Querer (I loved You), La Calle del Cementerio (Cemetery Street), Planeta de 6 (Planet of 6), Felina (Feline), Regalo de Navidad (Christmas Present), Viva la Pepa (Pepa The Great), Hechizo de Amor (Love Spell), and El Pais de las Mujeres (Country of Women), all of which have received tremendous acceptance both in Venezuela and throughout the Spanish speaking world, thereby becoming smash hits. Some of them have been translated to accommodate the demand of foreign markets. Verushka was also part of the cast of internationally acclaimed Venezuelan film Maroa. This film was Venezuela's Official Selection for the 79th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film category in 2007. It also represented Venezuela at the Goya Awards in Madrid, Spain, and received 3 awards in Cartagena, Colombia, and an award at The Biarritz International Festival of Latin American Cinema, in France. The film was also shown at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in the United States, and was critically and commercially acclaimed throughout Europe. In 2009 Verushka also Co-Hosted with Nelson Bustamante - International TV Host, Journalist and Emmy Winner - in the contest TV show Aqui Todos Ganan (Everyone Wins Here), produced by Florida's Network America TeVe. She has become the face of various TV publicity and ad campaigns, including the lead female face for Empresas Polar and their famous Pedroso Campaign, where an animatronic was first used in a Venezuelan production. Other campaigns include ads for Farmatodo, Time Warner Cable USA, Chance Lottery, Stay Free Feminine Products, Subway, Valmy, Nokia, Sony Entertainment Television, Calzados Gran Turismo and Tiendas Rori. Verushka also has been part of prints and magazines such as Lider Deportes Newspaper, the cover of Atelier Magazine, and Urbe Bikini Magazine, with a special appearance in their 2006 Anniversary Edition. Verushka's career as a producer and director started simultaneously and has been running in parallel with her acting career. Her work includes theatre plays, music videos, TV commercials and television programmes.