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Daphne Rubin-Vega (born November 18, 1969 in Panama City, Panama) is a dancer, singer, and actress. She is best known for originating the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent, and the role of Lucy, in the Off-Broadway play Jack Goes Boating. Rubin-Vega was born in Panama City, Panama, the daughter of Daphine Vega, a nurse, and Jose Mercedes Vega, a carpenter. Her stepfather, Leonard Rubin, was a writer. She began her musical career as the lead singer for the Latin freestyle group Pajama Party, placing three songs on the Hot 100 in 1989 and 1990. As a solo artist her biggest... MORE

Daphne Rubin-Vega (born November 18, 1969 in Panama City, Panama) is a dancer, singer, and actress. She is best known for originating the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent, and the role of Lucy, in the Off-Broadway play Jack Goes Boating. Rubin-Vega was born in Panama City, Panama, the daughter of Daphine Vega, a nurse, and Jose Mercedes Vega, a carpenter. Her stepfather, Leonard Rubin, was a writer. She began her musical career as the lead singer for the Latin freestyle group Pajama Party, placing three songs on the Hot 100 in 1989 and 1990. As a solo artist her biggest success is on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where in 1996 she hit #1 with the song "I Found It." She returned to the top of the dance/club play charts in 2003 with a dance version of Elton John's "Rocketman". In 2001 she recorded her debut full-length rock album of original songs ("Souvenirs") but it fell through the cracks when her record company Mercury merged. Rubin-Vega performed in the Broadway musical Rent, starring as Mimi Marquez, heroin-addicted nineteen-year-old with HIV who works at the Cat Scratch Club as an exotic dancer. One of her castmates was Wilson Jermaine Heredia, with LESS