Karina Lombard

Karina Lombard

Obsession Level: So We Meet Again...

By now you know about my obsession with the L Word.  When I first started watching the show it was with two friends.  One had never seen it before and the other was an addict already.  It took me being forced to watch a few episodes before I actually began to like the show, but soon I was looking forward to Girl's Night when both friends would arrive, snacks and beverages in hand, and we'd settle down to watch.  There was, of course, a lot of chatting that went on during the show about who liked who, who was the least liked character (always Tina), etc.

The one who had watched the show for ages loved Bette.  She absolutely adored her.  Bette could do no wrong in her opinion.  One night, after talking about Bette for a while, she decided to question me and the other friend about who we liked.  We both declared that we didn't know who we liked, but we could definitely say who we didn't like.  She kept insisting that wasn't good enough for her and that EVERYONE who watched the show had a favorite.  It was impossible to avoid.  

The other girl finally admitted to liking someone.  I think it was either Bette or Jenny.  I didn't want to admit who I liked, though, because I thought I'd get mercilessly teased since no one had mentioned liking this character at all.  I was intrigued by Marina.  I finally did admit it, and luckily I wasn't teased, but I was asked to explain why since she doesn't seem to be very well-liked.

To me, she's fascinating.  There are a lot of plot turns that revolve around her and sometimes you want to hate her but for some reason she makes it very difficult to hate her.  Needless to say, I was not happy when she left the show, but I was thrilled with her cameo appearances later.

After watching the show a few more times, I decided to look up the actress and see if there was anything interesting that she had been in.  I didn't remember ever having seen Karina Lombard before.  

What I did find out was interesting.  She was born in Tahiti to a European father and a Native American mother.  At about the age of one her parents split up and her father took the children to Europe where she grew up in various countries and was educated in Swiss boarding schools.  She speaks something like five languages fluently.  That explains a lot.  We could never figure out where she was from since her accent didn't really "go" with any one country.  Now I understand why.  She was mostly a model, but she's done a little acting with roles like "Girl on beach" being the most common types with a few bigger roles sprinkled in.  She's also a singer, but she sings in French.  

I also found out that she was on Legends of the Fall.  I had seen the movie once, but I guess I hadn't noticed her that time.  That meant, of course, that I had to go back and watch the movie...and yep, there she was.  She plays Isabel Two.  

After indulging also in watching quite a few interviews with her (thanks YouTube), I think this could really develop into a new obsession for me.  She hasn't done a lot, but I'm sure that I'm going to be exploring what she has done!