Varela was born in Santiago, Chile, the daughter of Leonor, a massage therapist, and the famous Chilean biologist and cognitive neuroscientist Francisco Varela. She has one sister Alejandra and two brothers, Javier and Gabriel. Varela's family fled to Costa Rica in her early childhood when her homeland was overtaken by a military regime. She subsequently resided in Germany, the U.S., and France. In the early 1990s, her parents moved back to Chile, while she remained in Paris where she studied acting at the Neils Arestrup's School, The Ecole de Passage, and Conservatoire Superieur de Paris.

Varela's first job was in 1995, playing Anette in Pony Trek, a children's film. Filming was in Iceland and Leonor was riding horses for three months. Then, referred to a French filmmaker by her dentist, she played in Shooting Stars (1997). Varela found her popularity on the rise at home when she was cast in the Chilean soap opera Tic Tac.

After appearing in a few more television productions in the late 1990s, Varela was cast in a small role in The Man in the Iron Mask. In 1999, she played the title character in the TV movie Cleopatra. She fell in love with actor Billy Zane (Mark Antony) on the set, but they split up two years later. She has been married to philanthropist and musician Kevin Duane Taylor of Garland, Texas since April 13, 2008.

Roles in The Tailor of Panama and Texas Rangers (both in 2001) followed shortly thereafter, and as the fanged vampire princess in the action film Blade II. After that came Paraíso B and Pas Si Grave.

Varela also had a short recurring role in the Fox Television series Arrested Development as the original Marta. She was nominated for the Ariel Award in 2005 in the category of Best Actress for Innocent Voices (2004). She also had a non-recurring role in Stargate: Atlantis.

Her latest projects are Americano, Caleuche: The Call of the Sea, Casas de Cartón and Gigola where she plays feminist Laure Charpentier. She played Jordana in Goal! 2. Jordana was a journalist who had a one-night stand with Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker).

Varela is fluent in Spanish, English and French. She is also a marine life activist who is concerned with the welfare of whales. Leonor is also a vegetarian.

• Bouge! 1997 La Danseuse
• The Man in the Iron Mask 1998 Ballroom Beauty
• Jeremiah 1998 Judith
• Les Parasites 1999 Fidelia
• Cleopatra 1999 Cleopatra
• Les Infortunes de la Beaute 1999 Annabella
• The Tailor of Panama 2001 Marta
• Texas Rangers 2001 Perdita
• Blade II 2002 Nyssa Damaskinos
• No Big Deal 2003 Angela
• Tais-toi 2003 Sandra/Katia
• Innocent Voices 2004 Kella
• Americano 2005 Adela
• The Curse of King Tut's Tomb 2006 Dr. Azelia Barakat
• Goal! 2: Living the Dream... 2006 Jordana García
• The Sleep Dealer 2006 Luz
• Caleuche: Call of the Sea 2006 Isabel Millalobos
• Seed of Contention 2006 Mila
• Hell Ride 2008 Nada
• Sleep Dealer 2008 Luz Martínez
• Balls Out: The Gary Houseman Story 2008 Norma Sanchez
• Caleuche: El llamado del mar 2008 Isabel Millalobos
• Hindsight 2008 Maria
• Love and Virtue 2008 Morgana

You can edit this page to add links to blogs, sites, and other information... If this page has a "PageType" set above - that will determine where the page is listed on SideReel. You can add text, a picture, links or more by editing the page... Check out the links above if you need help.