Paola Turbay Gómez (born November 29, 1970 in Houston, USA) is an American actress, model, and television presenter.
Turbay
 represented Bogotá in the Miss Colombia beauty pageant, which she won 
in 1991. She was the first runner-up in the 1992 Miss Universe 
competition.
 
After
 finishing her studies in psychology at the Universidad de los Andes, 
Turbay focused on her career as a model and presenter in entertainment 
news segments on Noticias QAP and Noticiero C newscasts, as well as an 
actress, with shows like Hola Paola ("Hello Paola") during the 1990s. In
 2005 she was the official presenter, with Miguel Varoni, of the 
National Beauty Pageant. She has also made cameo appearances in several 
Colombian series like O todos en la cama, Ecomoda (sequel to Betty la 
fea) and Leche ("Milk").
After studying acting in 
Hollywood, Florida, Turbay became the main character of the RCN TV 
comedy Noticias calientes ("Hot News") in 2002. Two years later she 
would star the telenovela Las noches de Luciana ("The Nights of 
Luciana") and in 2006 would present the Colombian version of Dancing 
with the Stars, Bailando por un Sueño. Paola has also made brief 
appearances in films such as Lenny the Wonder Dog and Love in the Time 
of Cholera.
In 2007, Turbay played Isabel Vega on the 
CBS series Cane, which was canceled in May 2008 after only one season. 
In 2008 she has been participating as a recurring guest star on the ABC 
series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She also guested on the
 Showtime series Californication (Season 2, ep. 8, "Going Down and Out 
in Beverly Hills") and had a recurring role as an LAPD detective during 
the fifth season of TNT's The Closer.
On Jan. 6, 2010, she played the role of Beatriz on the CBS series The Mentalist (Season 3, ep. 11, "Bloodsport").
Paola has been cast on the role of Antonia Gavilán for the fourth season of the HBO series True Blood airing in 2011.